James and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Refugio Frey- a palace of granite towers high up in Argentinian Patagonia. We climbed to the top of spires to be rewarded with incredible views of sweeping glacial valleys, jagged ridge lines still covered with snow, and regal soaring condors. It was a challenging trip for me, as I definitely pushed my comfort zone with climbing, and an incredible experience for James, who pushed himself in both his climbing and his ability to manage a climber who felt sometimes far too out of their comfort zone, aka me :)
I was so lucky to be here with this amazing human who is so passionate about climbing. With his climbing knowledge and my excitement to learn, we were able to put together days of climbing that made us both happy. I loved watching him get so stoked about all the different opportunities to climb different routes and different towers, both sport and trad. I learned so much from him about how to manage my fear, how to place and clean gear, how to improve my belay technique, and how to have type 1 fun climbing, at least some of the time.
I cannot think of a better place to spend time learning and loving and pushing myself. The place was inspiring. I never got tired spending time just sitting and staring, trying not to blink. Then having the opportunity to climb these towers and be part of the landscape felt so empowering and so humbling. Figuring out how to use tiny holds, put all my weight on a tenuous footholds, jam my hand as hard as I can in a crack, often leaving skin and blood behind, was a huge learning experience. Learning to trust myself, to trust gear, to trust my partner sometimes pushed me to tears, but always allowed me to grow and to both expand and find my personal limits.
Way up there on the last pitch of Trilogia you can see James and Rosten, a friend we met at the Refugio. This route was a big step forward for James, who led the quite challenging, and scary second pitch. It was important for me to watch him push himself and realize how incredible of a sport climbing is, in that any person at any level can find opportunities to grow and push themselves. With James' encouragement, I was able to make a big step forward in my climbing and lead my very first trad pitch. It was an incredible, and terrifying, experience. It took quite a lot of convincing and support from James and a TON of positive self talk from myself, but somehow I was able to place all the gear I needed, drag myself upward, and get to the top! We brought a small bottle of champagne with us and celebrated my success and the fact that it was Christmas morning while sitting on the very tippy top of the tower!!
Living in a tent in this beautiful place with my fabulous partner James was just wonderful. There were a couple days where we were stuck inside the tent, occasionally forced to hold up the poles of the tent, as wind and rain howled outside. We spent the time talking and reading and imagining how good of a story it would be later.
On Christmas Eve morning we were greeted by an giant rainbow arching across the valley below. This was my first time spending the Christmas holiday away from my family, but spending this time with James in this amazing place was definitely an great second choice. I did get my favorite Christmas book on my kindle and got to read it and imagine everyone at home.
From the towering cliffs to the tiny snow berries this place captured my imagination. When my body and brain were too tired from climbing and being scared, I took the opportunity to practice my photography skills.
Finally after an amazing trip to the Frey, we had to walk back to the real world. As we walked out, crossing back and forth across the streams, thinking about the time we had spent in the world of granite, I could not help but smile and know that James and I would return to that place soon. Hopefully returning when I have become a stronger and more confident climber and can be more active in the leading role. This trip definitely allowed me to push myself and to be a beginner and learner again. It was quite a new feeling to seem to be out of control and to rely on a new set of systems that I did not always believe would work. But it was a great experience and I am so glad that I was able to push myself. The experience of leading Jim's crack and working through my fear has become a really important metaphor for the rest of my year. Every time since that day that I have felt overwhelmed, scared, tired, etc I have been able to use that moment of tenacity, and conquering fear to help me be brave and know that I can get through anything.
