Getting it Done

A project that matters

Particles of chalk gently alighted, circled, and danced away, illuminated by a shaft of sunlight slicing through the pines. The breeze was playing havoc with my nerves—one whispering wave would taunt me with a cool freshness from the brook, only to get sideswiped with a furnace-like gust from the sundrenched canyon sides above. I was worried. I was already greasing off the slick, tightgrain stone, and my fingers wouldn’t stop seeping. It was 8:47 a.m., yet time was short. The advancing wall of heat would finally catch up and make the long, technical line impossible.

I had figured out all the moves—the chest-smashing full-extension iron-cross, the double toe-hook hand match in that spanned position, and the seven heel-hook swaps—for me to have a go at it. I was ready to flip the kill switch.

This line wasn’t the most classic, or hardest, or tallest, but executing its insane movement was supremely important at that moment. Never quit. Never stop. Hammer down. Till death or dismemberment.

I meticulously chalked up, wiped my shoes clean, and let my fingertips settle into the micro-features of the starting hold. I took a deep breath and… “YOU’RE CLIMBING THAT TURD?! JAEGER, NO, DON’T DO IT!” The boys had shown up. The henchmen who take care of Newlin Creek in Colorado— Chris Gatzke, Hayden Miller, Bryan Johnson, and Max Krimmer—looked their part, toting shovels, pick axes, and various other implements of… construction, along with ample numbers of Sherman-certified “life support cylinders.”

After hugs, kidney punches, and high fives, I unlaced my shoes, shared a morning cold one, and unceremoniously ditched out on certain ultra-mega eternal sending glory to lend my back to moving stone and dirt for the trail day.

While I can’t say I haven’t wished that I sent that day, I honestly had more fun moving massive stones and generally wearing myself out to stabilize trails at an area that I deeply love. And, yeah, I’ve logged away the crucial beta in my mind’s massive Indiana Jones–style warehouse for the next next time I’m blessed with heading down there, but I suspect the thrill of sending will never eclipse the satisfaction of, for once, doing my part.

For Justin’s decision to drop the proj and put some work in at his climbing area, he’s getting an ARC’TERYX SQUAMISH HOODY (arcteryx.com) to keep him warm next time he has a chance to do some sending.