Three Pillars of Ping

Oh Captan my Captan what's to say about the fowl cold winds that brush me bows and steers my keel from right filling my teeth with brine? Schools back in session after a long three week break, one of the oddest break I've had in years.  I'm usually off to Costa to surf, to NYC to club and visit family, or to some other adventure travel sort of destination but this break, not for lack of effort to bend it otherwise, turned every way but the norm.  The fact is that I typically have a set plan for break, I tried to have a loose plan this past break and in the future I'm going back to making definite plans.  Maybe last summers journey made me feel like settling down a bit for a break.  The original plan was to go to Hueco for a couple weeks, then a huge storm cycle hit Colorado and kept me home for a couple nights of salsa and about 10 days of deep powder skiing on Berthod and at Vail, then my Dad had some medical issues that needed attention so I visited him and got a day of skiing in at Silverton (55'' of reported fresh that day... epic).  

The combination of growing older and going into the medical profession has a way of altering the way you relate to people but in particular your parents.  I spent a good deal of time doing research on various medical conditions to prep for seeing my Dad.  Then, after doing all the research, you find that what's in the books and journals is different than what's happening in practice and you become a 4 year old and cant stop asking why.  Either that or the insurance company wont pay for what's in the literature.  

Then the plan was to return home from visiting my Dad and head to Hueco to close 08 out in good fashion but then my car broke down on route to Hueco and I returned home tail in hand and a bit bitter about the car. One of the saddest part of all that was that I wanted to shoot some pics of road side trash and of these cactuses in New Mexico that I see every time I drive down... next time, these are the coolest cacti I've ever seen, looks like a bunch of stick me being held up at gun point by the wind.

Not all was lost though, Jeff Struck (see www.traininsecret.blogspot.com) was in town from Stump Town so we got out and ran around on some Flagstaff classics.  Climbing with Jeff is great because he's seen me whimper on 5.9 so he can give me proper perspective on what to be content with.  Tim Hare was back from Bolivia so we got out to Carter Lake one day where I finally did Kahuna Roof (something I've tried on and off for years while guiding kids on BRC summer camps... wait did I just say I was trying Kahuna in the summer, ohhhhh maybe that was the issue), the hardest v5 in the universe. Tim always brings a cool crowd; for those who dont know Tim, he's one of those mysterious people who spends half the year in south america guiding youth immersion trips for Where There Be Dragons and the other half in Boulder chillin.  

One day I went to Eldo with T. Roy and started workin on the Paul Robbinsons v9 in the river next to the Rincon parking lot (note, bring a spotter, the game aint over after you do the crux move... saddle up and swallow the coconut  sized lump in your throat for the last massive lock off).  I talked to Paul last night and he wasnt sure the problem had seen a second assent yet.  He also said that he went straight up the arete with a "huge" crux move.  I found other beta that only requires a kinda-friggin-huge move that still seems stout but... anyone up for catching a 175lb male falling from 10ft into a frozen river bead?

Then I got psyched on finding a new project for the winter and started workin on the boulder canyon Replacement Killers (v11).  Wondering around up there I found a couple new problems. One is about v7 from the sit: start with both heals squeezing the arete and make a hard/crux move left off a slopper to an ok edge then go up.  Careful with the top out. If you fall toping out, try to turn around so you can run down the slab. Thanks Terra for braving the cold and taking the photos.

I also found a v10ish problem between the Castle Rock parking area and the main boulder field.  It's in the trees up against the cliff side.  The last move if lovely.  I couldnt do it but it but I'll back back to work it out soon.  It involves pinching this amazing granite wide arete with your left and making a super powerful move to a slopper with yourt right; the traverse into it is quality.  Start on the sloppy gaston and move into the steep crack traverse with knee-bar and heal hooks.  See more photos on facebook.

As for school, I've put in tones of work on setting up an international rotation in Mexico in the city of Leon north of Mexico city.  It seems that I'll be goin next winter for about a month to work on my spanish and see patients.  I've also set my 3 month family medicine rotation for Eagle Care in the Vail valley.  Speeking with my preceptor up there she says that 75% of the patients are spanish speaking only; the plan is to go to Mexico to work on my spanish so that I can come back to the Vail valley and confidently see patients.  How crazy is that?  I'll be staying for a 4th moth in Vail doing another rotation with Steadman Hawkin orthopedic surgery if all goes as planned.  Ortho's numero uno on my list of what to do post grad (a year and a half from now).  I also have some interest in Emergency Med but I'll need to wait for my 2 months of 3rd year ED rotation to figure out if that's the direction I want to go. The nice thing about being a PA is that I can do FM, ED work, and Ortho surgery with no need for an extra residency.  "Heck Ya" for PA's.

Chillin with Brent and Terra last night we got to talkin about performance in athletics and I got to thinkin about all these research ideas I had back in the days of my psychology persuits, only a few years ago  I went home last night thinkin, only somewhat seriously, about another few letters to tack on to PA.  More on these research ideas on mentation/neural related performance later.