I had a great birthday! The day started early and right away I got presents! My friend Tiffany handed me a bag as soon as I came downstairs. Inside were a Climb Like A Girl T-shirt that is soooo cute and a Prana tank, exactly what I wanted to buy myself to climb in. Needless to say, I ran back upstairs to change into my new tops before heading out! 
We drove to Redpoint, met our guide, Will, and headed to Smith Rock. This is a picture of Tiffany and I right before the hike down into the park. The temperatures were cooler than on Friday, but as soon as we reached the first route called Purple Headed Warrior (I kid you not!) the sweatshirts came off. We were right in the sun and it got hot fast! By the way, most of these pictures were taken by Tiffany (unless she's in them!) She's a professional photographer who's opening up her own studio!
After Will set the route for us, it was my turn to climb. I was so excited as I tied into my harness. Will and I checked each other to make sure everything was correctly buckled and tied in. I got the okay to climb on. I put my right foot on the wall and realized I was still wearing my tennis shoes! In my excitement I forgot to put on climbing shoes. We all had a good laugh while I changed shoes. The hardest part of the climb was the beginning. Once I got past that part, it was easy and fun climbing. When I got down, Will gave me a lesson on some knots I'll need as I take my climbing further.
We climbed over Asterisk Pass (scariest climb of the day for both of us even though we were roped up and scrambling) to reach the other side. There we found shade and cooler temps. We did a really fun climb. It has a 5.7 rating, but I can't remember the name. Tiffany wanted to take photos of us from the top so Will secured her to the top and stayed up there while I climbed. This climb only had one "spicy" part.
This is a shot of all three of us at the top of the route. You can see Tiffany's leg. We were laughing pretty hard as I climbed through Will's legs. It was confusing with all the ropes. I hooked into the anchor and untied. It was a little disconcerting at first hanging off my personal safety anchor so high up, but I got used to it while Will did some rope management. He also showed me how he belayed off the anchor. I'd never seen that before. My feet got tired after awhile so I had no choice but to hang there for a few minutes. That really upped my confidence in the security of the gear.
On our hike around the park, we stopped at another climbing route. A 5.7 rated climb, but I forgot the name. It was a crack climb. This one had a hard start. At least I thought so, but Tiffany, as usual, had no problem. She just headed up. The rest of the climb was fine, but the rock was a little different than what we'd climbed on before.
Here's a close-up shot of my feet. This is on the same crack climb Tiffany was on. There were tiny nubs (not sure what the correct term would be but that's what they looked like to me) that provided great footholds. I still need to work on my footing, but I'm making a little progress there. You really have to trust your feet and not worry about your hands so much.
Speaking of hands, these were my hands at the end of the day. I'd gotten a blister on Friday. Unfortunately on my first climb, the tape came off and the blister got a lot worse. Will taped my finger and it was fine for the rest of the day. It's pretty nasty looking now though. A few days I'm sure it'll be fine and if I climb this week I'll just tape it again.
The three of us stopped for a drink of water and a picture before making the final push to the parking lot. It was a great day spent with amazing company! After a refreshing shower, my family and Tiffany's had dinner at the Pine Tavern in downtown Bend. Yummy scone biscuits! We headed home and had birthday cake. I got cards from the kids and a pair of Tevas from Tom. I needed new Tevas after losing one of them during my climb at Exit 38 outside Seattle. I fell asleep really early. A totally wonderful birthday!
