Fresh from raising $700 in a bake sale, GWPC teen team, The East Betas, trudged up the Berkeley Hills to test their plastic beast strength on the polished boulders of Indian Rock and Mortar Rock. All the typical gromits were in full attendance led by the good looking, super talented coaches Ryan Moon, Sam Schwartz, and Ari Oppenheimer. Moon, perhaps the MOST modest of the crew, submitted this trip report to the Touchstone Blog.
We began the day with at Indian Rock. Quotes commonly heard were:
“This is AWESOME!”
“This is scary!”
“This is sharp!”
“Where’s the tape?!”
%20(1).jpg)
Attempts were made on Center Overhang, a scary V3 highball in The Pit area of Indian Rock. Although most of the teamsters were close, none of them could quite commit to the scary move to the finish jug off of the greasy side pull. Coach Sam stepped up to remind the little beasts of the origin of their teachings with a flash of Center Overhang complete with highball shakes and all. The Indian Rock portion wrapped up nicely with a team simul-waltz up the 5.EASY warm-up slab on their way to Mortar Rock across the street.
.jpg)
The crew split up into groups based on experience and went to work on some serious mega-projs. Some worked on what would become their very first boulder problem on the far side of the wall just off the back path. East Betas new school athlete, Bridget, flashed the edgy face climb with a surprise encounter with the last bit of real rock bouldering:
Bridget: “Ok…I’m at the top. What do I do now?”
Coaches: “Push!”
Bridget: “Ok. Now what?”
Coaches: “Stand up!
Bridget: “Ok. Now what?”
Coaches: “Walk off!”
Both: “Cool!”
A small crew of crushers started work on the Mortar moderate classic, The Ramp (V4). With a healthy exchange of beta between the steel fingered few, it wasn’t long before they were making slaps at the spiky summit. Grace Gibbons, an East Beta since day one, was not entirely used to the uncomfortable texture that Mortar Rock has to offer:
Grace: “OW! It feels like a thousand needles of DEATH!”
Coaches: “…Yeah.”
As things winded down and the session came to a close, the team ran a few laps on The Sidewalk Traverse (V1) for good measure. The East Betas made it into the vehicles of their respective coaches and happily made it down the hill during a classic East Bay sunset just as the marine layer set in. One could safely say that this won’t be the last time that these teens touch real rock.
-RM
Got your own tales of outdoor sweat, psych, and success? Be sure to send your trip reports to [email protected] to spray.
