Let Summer Begin!

I've been really busy over the last few weeks. I finished up my student teaching and graduated with my Master in Teaching degree from Evergreen. I was lucky enough to get a teaching job at a great school here in Olympia which I’m really excited about. My parents flew over from Scotland for my graduation and we’ve been hanging out over the couple of weeks so I haven’t been climbing too much recently other than a couple of lazy sessions at the gym, and an easy day at Little Si. I’m not in the kind of shape I was hoping to be at this point in the summer. On Thursday I’m heading out to Tensleep Wyoming for 2 weeks with Chas and Laura. Last summer we had such a good time and vowed to come back, we had hoped to bring more people with us, but it looks like its just going to be the three of us again. It'll still be a lot of fun. A couple of months ago I came up with the goal of climbing 5 routes 12d or harder on the trip. In the shape that I’m in now that seems pretty ambitious, but I’m still going to try. Whatever I end up climbing I know that I’m going to try really hard. I’m keen to see how Chas and Laura get on there, last year they climbed some personal bests, doing a bunch of 5.11’s. This year I think they’ve both got the potential to break into the Tensleep 5.12’s. It’ll be exciting to see. Tensleep will probably be my big climbing trip of the summer, but that’ll by no means be the end of my summer of climbing. I start teaching in September, and in July and August I’ll be doing a lot of planning, but I’m still hoping to get out climbing a lot. So far my wish list is; Infinite Bliss, trad up at Squamish ­­­Index and Leavenworth. Bouldering at Gold Bar, and of course cragging at Little Si and Exit 38, and maybe a trip to Horne Lake. It’s going to be a great summer, I’m so glad to be here.

With my parents at my graduation