Pilot mountain and why I hate flying.

I've ranted about this enough so I'm going to make it short.
Flying sucks, delayed flights suck, missing flights because the flight before was delayed sucks, spending the night in detroit because the next flight is almost noon the next day sucks. I hate flying.

On a lighter note, the trip so far (ie 2 days) has been pretty much great. On Friday morning I met up with Limeydave to go clipping bolts at pilot mountain. After a short delay caused by an unknown party (hint: it was limeydave) we were on our way. We swung by McDonalds for breakfast to get that authentic American feel (Dave, I still owe you like 2 bucks) and were at the crag in no time.
It was a fairly nice crag, a little polished in places with a kind of Bowden/Kyloe-In esque rock.

Once got to the amphitheatre we met a group of people Dave had arranged to hook up with on the partner finding forums (people actually use those?). They were all pretty cool. Antony [sixleggedinsect], Jeff [Chezdillion-I think], Justin, and Nancy.
There was a small issue due to the fact that I forgot one of my climbing shoes (I did pack at 4 AM) but -i think it was Jeff- Lent me a nice par of Scarpa Vision Velcros which he ended up giving me at the end of the day (thanks man! 5*)

First "rouwt" Dave and i did was a 5.6 toprope, it was pretty fun. I have no idea what it was called. We climbed to the top and lowered off.

Then I tried to lead a five point ten a. I put on a show that would make Elvis proud
but managed to keep the onsight. The crux was a delicate traverse across a blank-ish face with just one foothold which made for a funky foot swap.
Then Dave had a little incident involving a stalker bee that followed him up the route he was leading buzzing around his face to the point where he almost jumped off.
After a quick munch we climbed a route (Black Rain, I think?) in two pitches so Dave could sit in the sun while he belayed me. It was a fun route - just off verticle, enough to give you a wee pump, but with big buckets and a beautiful view over what seemed to be most of NC.
Then we headed back to the amphitheater where Justin (was it Justin?) was climbing over the huge roof at the top. After a few bombz he finished the route and said i should try it on top rope.
I wasn't feeling too confident that day (having just hopped off the plane the day before) but I decided to give it a shot on TR. I fell off.
It was fun, though - nice moves from an undercling to some good jugs along the roof.

So then Justin (or was it Jeff?) gave me his shoes. That rocked. All I had to give him was a peanut butter and chocolate chip chewy bar.

Hopefully I'll have the pictures soon (though I'm not sure how many there were).

Oh, and next time I promise the writing will be better, and the subject more interesting.


Users met today:
Limeydave. Real name Dave. Funny guy, has a cool beard thing going. Doesn't like bees.
Sixleggedinsect. Real name Antony. Is just finishing a long-ish road trip, and has a cool website (http://electricant.net).
Chezdillion. Real name Jeff. A strong guy who lives just a few minutes up the road. I hope to meet him again some time when I have a rematch with that big roof (I mite try to lead it this time. Sounds unlikely though, eh?)
I also met a lady called Nancy, whom i believe has some connection with Jeff. She was also very cool and nice, and I believe the source of the free shoes. I think the camera was hers.
Moggs. Real name Justin. Another strong fellow (he also has a neat powerscream type thing) who is just starting a long road trip in his camper van. I'm hoping to hook up with him again at some point along the line.