On my previous attempt at Super Cantina Marina, I'd climbed well but fallen just below the crux. From the ground, I had decided I must do the powerful move before clipping to keep the flow of the sequence, but it didn't work.
Going back last Saturday, I decided to try a more measured approach. After a warm up, I got on to put the draws back up. I climbed slowly and steadily to my previous high point and looked around. I found a higher knee bar that not only allowed me to clip first - I was also able to shake out, brush the crucial hold, and visualise placing my feet and engaging the core. After that, I pulled over it fairly easily. Why didn't I have so much time before? I didn't try to find it.
The rest of the line went much the same; the send barely entered my mind until I was stood at the final rest. When it did, I rushed the next few moves and almost blew it, but after reversing I re-focussed and was soon clipping the chains.
I was pretty stoked with the 8a tick, but even more pleased with the way I'd gone about it. The project took just 5 attempts over four days, and I felt I'd taken the mental side of my climbing up another notch in the process.
To cap the day off Aussie strongman Gerd onsighted the same line, and watching him climb slow and measured felt like further vindication. Good climbers always look like they have loads of time, and it's easy to get a little jealous; thinking they're able to do that because they're so good - when perhaps they got so good because they learned to take their time?
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| Back on the ground with an 8a tick in the bag... happy camper! |
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| Gerd onsighting Super Cantina Marina (8a) |
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