Tank one hundred and sixty

Total miles: 55239. Trip miles: 467.5. Gallons: 8.995. Price per gallon: $3.879.

Screen mileage: 55.0 mpg. Tank mileage: 52.0 mpg.

Mostly long drives.

outside corner j wall

outside corner j wall
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Today I went back to Quincy Quarries. I went up Balance again (J wall). I think I'm doing the route right, but there's always some fuzziness.

Then I attempted Layback, but failed again. Disappointing! I finally tried Outer Corner without much hope. I didn't make much progress there, at all.

Still, it was a great day to be out climbing! Next time I hope I'll get to stay longer.

Tank one hundred and fifty-nine

Total miles: 54771. Trip miles: 377.3. Gallons: 6.472. Price per gallon: $3.779.

Screen mileage: 55.2 mpg. Tank mileage: 58.3 mpg.

Short commutes, and longer drives.

J wall - Balance

J wall - balance
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I finally broke in my new rope at Quincy Quarries!

I successfully completed Balance (5.4), and made respectable attempts of Layback (5.6) and Lurch (5.7). To put things in perspective, I can climb a 5.6 in the gym almost like climbing a ladder. These routes are way tougher than their ratings. It would help to get in more experience climbing outdoors, too.

new rope!

climbing rope

EMS is having a (up-to) 30% sale this weekend, and I'm leaning towards buying a climbing rope. I wasn't going to get one so soon, but I don't think I'll find this kind of discount for months to come, so I should probably just do it now and catch a bargain.

I'm thinking of getting the 10.1 mm x 60 m Petzl Xion for $160, down from $200. The middle is marked, which is handy. The thickness seems about right since I assume I'll be doing a lot of top-roping to start. They say it's fine for trad climbing also. The last consideration is length. I'm sure it's plenty long for any climbing I'll be doing for quite some time.

Every time I see a rocky cliff, I start thinking about climbing it. I'm totally hooked.

tubular webbing

Today, I went out and bought some rock climbing gear that can be used to build an anchor: a few carabiners and some tubular webbing. I don't yet have a rope, so I don't know if these things will be very useful. But meantime I can use them to practice building anchors at home.

I also bought a copy of Boston Rocks a couple of other climbing books. Probably it's overkill, but I'm feeling very enthusiastic at the moment!

Tank one hundred and fifty-eight

Total miles: 54394. Trip miles: 470.5. Gallons: 8.926. Price per gallon: $3.999.

Screen mileage: 54.8 mpg. Tank mileage: 52.7 mpg.

Long drive.

boston view

boston view
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.
Did some fun climbing today.

Tank one hundred and fifty-seven

Total miles: 53923. Trip miles: 432.4. Gallons: 9.392. Price per gallon: $3.979.

Screen mileage: 51.4 mpg. Tank mileage: 46.0 mpg.

Moderate drives, short commutes.

knight's wall

I finished my rock climbing course this weekend. I got to take a stab at Knight's Wall for the second time. I finished Black Knight, although it kind of felt like a cheat because I think I was leaning on the rope at times. I attacked Double Retable but wasn't able to get very far.

The trick will be finding people to climb with, now that the course is done.