Day 12....12....12

-Day 12 of 31-


Yup. 12-12-12.  No matter how you write it...day month year, year month day, or month day year (which I've never understood) it's the same.  Intriguing.

And here we are in another December.  That very odd transitional month.  Most years it's not quite cold enough or hasn't been cold long enough yet for good snow to be down (even the man-made kind).  Ski resorts are constantly watching forecasts, trying to pinpoint when they might be able to open.  Meanwhile skiers like me must be patient and wait, staring longingly at our skis and boots stacked neatly in a corner.  Perhaps we do the smart thing and pull them out to check the edges (sharp, but properly de-tuned), the base (waxed), and the bindings (all screws tight; everything in working order).  Telemark skiers like me also need to check our climbing skins to make sure the glue side is clean...I have a little work to do on one.


The weather refuses to stay cold, at times pushing into the 50s for daytime highs with low humidity and seemingly thumbing its nose at the climber in me.  The daylight is just too short (and getting shorter) to commit time to places further afield like Seneca Rocks or the Gunks.  Which is an interesting contrast seeing as how we accept this shorter day as perfectly fine when there's good skiing to be had.  Ending the day around 4pm is the norm on the mountain unless you're at a mountain that offers night skiing.  In the summer, ending a climbing day at 4pm is nearly a tragedy.

So for the time being, I am content with climbing at the gym for an evening or two each week.  Workouts don't need to be quite so structured.  I still warm up with good stretching and some yoga.  If I'm not climbing with anyone, it's off to the bouldering wall.  I'll work easier boulder problems to get moving...4 times up and down...linking movements smoothly, silently, methodically and with delicate precision.  But now, I'm more likely to move from that to something new that's just outside my comfort zone.  Something to push me to grow a bit more.  I'm ready for the difficulties; I'm prepared.

Pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zone...life is like that everywhere.  What we were once hesitant about becomes comfortable and a 'new normal'. When we stop and confront those things that were holding us back, we see them clearly and realize we are ready to work through and step forward into a new place.  We push out of the old and into the new.  December is a good month for that...the end of one thing and the beginning of something new.  I look forward to opening that new door.