July 11, 2019: Chris battled through the short crux pitch, taking the name “Fingertip Traverse” a bit too literally as he clung onto the exposed slab with his finger tips. This was no easy task, because his rubber gloves (which he still wore despite my intermittent suggestions to remove them) wrinkled and flopped around like over-sized dish gloves as he tried in a Herculean effort to traverse the thin horizontal crack. A bit of graceful footwork and controlled breathing would have gone a long way. He got it through, though, collapsing with a grimace at the belay where I sat. Once again, he had the same expression on his face he had had after the first pitch on Vågakallen - a worrying look like he wanted to kill me. Later, Chris admitted that he had dislocated his pinky finger during the struggle and had had to force the little appendage back into place, mid-route. Even more remarkably, he confided to me that finishing that pitch was among the most rewarding experiences in his life. In the summer of 2019, I (Erik) went on a bike tour in North-Norway with my friend and old classmate from engineering school, Chris Pope. Along the way, I managed to convince him to rope up with me and climb some classics moderates. After our ascent of “North Ridge” of Vågakallen I figured he’d never want to climb with me again. Just two days later, though, when I asked if he wanted to climb the “Normal Route” of Stetinden, he agreed. I had told him it was a lot easier.
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