Miramont: The Last Climb
Such a shame. For most of the year, Rhea, Cooper, and I had squandered our rock climbing memberships at Miramont Lifestyle Fitness, climbing only 1-3 times a month for many months due to other commitments. But the last couple of months—particularly after the St. George Marathon and Boulder 100 were over—we had started to climb a lot more frequently—as much as two times per week.
And within a month, my climbing skills have never been better. Unfortunately, yesterday was very likely the last day the three of us would climb together as we all discontinued our membership effective at the end of the month due to changing life circumstances. E.g., Rhea graduating with her Masters and moving to Summit County to teach, and Cooper graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering and moving to Golden.
As our last hurrah, each of us picked some pretty hard climbs to do. For my warm-up, I went up a 5.10 which felt harder than I expected (but didn’t fall off), and subsequently flew up a 5.11+. “That was an ego-booster,” I told Rhea afterwards. “It really flowed well…”
As my third climb I lead a 5.10+ that went upside down under the roof, which you can see in the photo above. This was super fun and I took no falls again. Unfortunately, my fourth climb—a 5.11—really sapped the strength out of my arms since I got the sequence wrong near the top, and I fell off the wall three times before reaching the top.
Our final climb was a 5.10 with an overhanging section that protruded out three feet. Rhea did this one much better than I did, being a snowboarder and surfer girl with amazing flexibility. She could easily high-step, whereas I could not. It may be time to hit the yoga studios again…
But it was a fitting end to climbing with my climbing buddies, to whom I wish all the best! I will especially miss Rhea, who not only has been one of my all-time favorite climbing partners but was my housemate when I first moved to Fort Collins (before I bought a home), and hence one of my first friends in this beloved town.
The upside is when Rhea has a place in Summit County, we can climb or hit the ski slopes out there. Looking forward to that!
