First Ascents, Returns, and Expectations. Namibia 7
Friday, June 5, 2009 at 02:22PM 
Southern Crossing, 5.11+, V, Brandberg, Namibia. Photo by Peter Doucette.“Was Namibia everything you expected it to be?” my friend Kyle asked me this morning.
I’d been home for eighteen hours and had almost driven the wrong way on the road, twice. I hadn’t yet seen the poodle. A scab on my shoulder had started to bleed again.
“More,” I replied. “Better.”
On June 1, Peter Doucette, Kate Rutherford, and I topped out a new 1300-foot 5.11+, Grade 5 rock climbing first ascent on the Brandberg, Namibia’s highest peak. It was the kind of climb you do in Yosemite. It capped the kind of trip you never get a chance to repeat in your lifetime.
We’re back. We did something tangible. We did other things I don’t yet understand. Right now, I have to drive to the airport and pick up my Polish Cousins. I have to put salve on my scab (a whipper on the almost- onsight offwidth). I have to get some sleep.
Stay tuned.
Reader Comments (3)
Hooray! to first ascents and getting home safely. Hooray for poodle love and only small wounds. Hooray for going after it. It's why I love you so. xo
Glad I'm not the only one that falls, and that you have salve for your scab :-)
Congrats on the exploration, climbs and safe return. I can't wait to hear/read about it.