140-Jungle Beat Is Calling; I'm Going To Be Late...

I tried not to look behind me at the pocketed sandstone wall that loomed over us, lit dimly by the dropping November sun.  Instead, I looked Chase in the eyes knowing full well that if we choose to do this climb we’ll definitely be late to meeting our wives for dinner at 7pm.  Chase’s confidence that it’d be close encouraged me to swallow the fear that tried to press its ugly head back into my psyche.  “Jungle Beat… 5.9+ What does the plus stand for?  I say plus 1 (grade)” I read from my phone before placing it in the pack along with a bar, jerky, shoes, map, compass, and two headlamps.  First aid kit and water stayed behind—this is a full-on adventure climb and according to the comments of those who have tread this line before us, it’s epic and very difficult to get back down to the ground with one rope.  “Two hours.  I think we got this.  Maybe a little late to dinner, but I’m sure they’ll understand,” chase reassures me and without exactly saying it—"We need this adventure.”  And with an “On rope, climbing” he set off into a cavesque opening that looks like it came straight from a scene in Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

I watched as Chase ballet-ed his way up into a chimney, feet tiptoeing against the main wall, back pressed into the opposing wall that created a massive arching feature the size of a ten-story building.  Focused on his feet and keeping proper tension between his toes and upper body, Chase converted his focus to the other major component of rock climbing (besides not falling); placing gear into the rock to ensure that in case a fall occurs he’d be safe.  Placing gear involves finding a crack in the rock then matching the width of the crack with a piece of aluminum, camming gear that’s hanging from your harness.  Removing one hand from the rock, he balances himself on the wall long enough to find the correct size cam, remove it from his harness, place it securely into the crack, determine if it needs an extension, then pull rope from the belayer and clip it into the carabiner that’s attached to the cam.  Just a few steps.

After what feels like at least 30 minutes it’s my turn.  With the pack of essentials on my back, I can’t seem to get into the chimney feature which pushes me back out into the empty, vast space.  When I was only five months old, Larry Day was ascending this exact route in November of 79, pioneering this epic adventure without knowledge of what lay ahead until he arrived.  If Chase can make it to the belay ledge, then I can.  Just keep moving, Matt.  You’re good.  I press on to find Chase crammed into a small cavern created by a shelf of rock that made for a great seat to take a breather.  Four o’clock, one hour spent, leaving one hour to finish the second hundred feet of the climb, top out, then find a place to descend… twice, because our rope could only get us down 115 feet at a time.  Now it’s my turn to lead.

Years ago, I wrote a blog about this climb.  I never actually set foot on it, I only read the route description in my guidebook from the safety of the horizontal ground at its base, while looking in trepid fear upon its magnitude, shaking from excitement at the thought of someday climbing it.  It made my palms sweat back then, and it made them sweat now as I positioned myself over a three-foot gap in the rock, under a roof with a hand-sized crack in it.  As I stared straight down at the pointy top of a tall pine, I let out a nervous laugh with a “What the heck, dude?”

“You got this, I’m with you” Chase replied.  No going back at this point.  I have to leave the security of my tiny cave and hang from my fingers and pull up long enough to reposition my feet so I can let go with one hand.  There is nothing below me for a hundred feet, well nothing but that big pine tree that fit cleanly into the space like a well-placed feature on a model railroad.  “Ahhhhh!”  I dug deep for some adrenaline to reach down to my harness and grab a red #1 cam and shove it into the only small space available just above head level.  “Clipping!” I called out even though Chase is only six feet away and under the roof I’m departing from. I reach below my harness to pull enough rope up to clip it into the carabiner.  ‘Click’ the wire gate snapped shut on the aluminum, locking the bright, green rope into position.  I felt my nerves subside just a tad knowing a fall here would be much less intense, then willed myself to make another four moves.  As I placed another piece of gear I took a self-assessment.  I am exhausted.  My forearms are completely pumped.  I am running out of gear to protect myself.  Mouth is quite dry.  Sun is setting.  Definitely going to be late to dinner.  I pressed on for another twenty feet then built an anchor and brought up Chase to take over… He led the top and expertly got us back down to the ground.  We pushed ourselves back to the car and had to bump dinner back an hour… what a day, what an adventure!

I mentioned that I’ve written about Jungle Beat before, many years before.  I shared about how we are sometimes called to do things that make our palms and armpits sweat.  If we only do what is comfortable we will die comfortably but with one aching question… "Have we really lived?”  If Jesus came to this earth and preached that we need to live sacrificially but went home every night to a cushy bed with servants preparing Him 3 squares and 2 snacks a day; it’d be a tough sell.  The reason His message is so powerful is because it cost Him something… everything.  Maybe you don’t share my Christian world view or faith that Jesus Christ is indeed the only son of YHVH; or that He actually died and rose again to rescue those who put their faith in Him and experience a radically transformed life… if you do not, what do you live for?  What message do you get extremely out of your comfort zone to speak?  What do your actions say?  Let’s face it, actions don’t include ‘posts’.  This blog is not ‘actions’.  Now, speaking to myself and Christians who are reading—what actions are we taking to be ambassadors of Christ?  He allowed Himself to be murdered for the message, what are we doing?  Do we do anything that makes our palms and armpits sweat?  It’s a jungle out there so let’s chalk up, knowing we are not alone in this climb and be alright knowing it’s going to be hard climbing, very difficult to get back down, and we will likely be late for dinner.

-Matt