Holes in the Ozone

The 'Crew'.

I don’t have a whole lot to say, and even less time to say it in, so here goes.
The weekend started off great, with a day trip to Little si, and an extra helping of Exit 38 in the same day. I have fallen in love with the bouldery moves of Judgement Day Direct(I’ve decided to call it by it’s real name since I met the creator at Little si), and I had a good re-visiting with the Shocklet link up at Nevermind, which also has very bouldery moves at the crux. Both routes involve making hard moves above the clips which is exhilarating and inspiring at the same time. Greg made leaps and bounds in his climbing confidence and started leading his first routes at 38. Feeling good he also went for the lead of Steep Street but got a little pumped out at the crux. However he managed it clean on TR his second go and I think this will be his first hard lead next time out.
That night was a blur of good and bad karaoke, but always infused with laughter and smiling faces(and some crazy dance moves!)
Sunday was a trip to a new spot, Ozone. This little crag is found skirting the banks of the Columbia River and while the drive felt like it took days, upon arrival the crag was buzzing with people, and even better new routes to feast upon. And feast we did. Jimmy and Dom crushed almost all of the .12a’s(crushed=onisghted or flashed calmly and coolly), while Laura and new friend(to me anyway) Chaz made short work of the long and involved 5.8’s/9’s/and10’s. While I wasn’t thrilled by the rock quality in some spots- the only basalt I’ve really enjoyed climbing on is the stuff at Smith-a lot of the routes were bullet hard basalt and were top notch involving many roofs, crack systems, flat edges and ledges, crimps, slopers, sidepulls, and the whole lot. It was an absolute thrill getting on new routes and I have forgotten what it feels like to visit a new crag and not be totally overwhelmed by volume or felt totally out of place. Ozone is a great crag to hang out, with the exception of the extreme downhill angle found at parts of the trail, and no matter what your skill level, offers several mixed trad/sport routes, strictly sport routes, trad routes, and some kick ass roofs. I can’t wait to go back and get my hands dirty all over again.