The Grunx, Land of Mystic Beasts and Hidden Magicks

The Grunx. A region shrouded in mystery, where turning dragons do battle with wicked gods ensconced within ancient temples. The Buddha watches, unconcerned; more amusing are the pilgrims attempting to master the Art of Nothing (for how could one master such an art?). Will they find enlightenment? *

Miss Lady and I arrived in The Grunx early in the morning, and immediately began to make our way down the long road to our destiny. After warming up briefly, Miss Lady decided to attempt the Gill Egg (V4). Previous attempts had not been all that successful, but Miss Lady has been working hard, and she made progress on this day. She is now within a few inches of sticking the dyno. An attempt on the Gill Pinch Roof (V4) was thwarted due to the fact that the sun was directly overhead and looking up at the jug ledge was an exercise in pain.

From there, we made our way down to The Dragon Turns (V9). It was my turn to try to climb a hard boulder problem, but I can't say I made progress here. I still can't do the first move. A few attempts at that and it was time for lunch. We were joined by a wee chipmunk who decided to say hello; it was his lunchtime as well, so we ate as we stared at him and he stared at us. He was feisty, and not all that afraid of humans.

After lunch, it was time to attempt the Enlightened Buddha (V9). The boulder which houses the Enlightened Buddha has two other Buddha problems: the Buddha (V6) and the Illustrious Buddha (V8). I have done both of those problems, but the Enlightened version escapes me. I am now closer to the end than I ever have been, but close to the end is not enough for candy. Miss Lady was able to do the first move on the Buddha, which is quite a feat considering that last time we were in The Grunx she was unable to even get on the problem.

On the same boulder as the Buddha problems resides the Andrew Boulder Problem (V4). This is another project of Miss Lady's and, following the theme of the day, saw her making significant progress. She is two or three moves from the finish, which is about two or three moves farther than she has ever gone. From there it was on to Baby Hole (V3). Another Miss Lady project, this one did not see significant progress. If she makes the move she's stuck on, though, she will send. It is guaranteed.

Wreathed in acrid smoke, the Temple of Jahboo is a den of stinking evil. It was there that I did battle with one of the most mind-boggling problems I've been on in some time: Jahboo (V9). To send, one must enter the Temple and climb out, over treacherous talus knife blades, through the roof and over the top of the Temple itself. The talus knife blades quickly claimed skin from my back, as I fell in a spot unprotected by crash pads. Undaunted, I continued to attempt to escape the dark lord Jahboo's clammy grip, but my power was insufficient for the task. After he mercilessly toyed with me, he allowed me to slink off, beaten like a mangy dog.

Exhausted, we fled The Grunx, stopping only to devour dinner as we looked out over shining towns in the distance. We will return, more powerful, hopefully strong enough to put these gods and creatures to rest.


* Of course, this entire post is about the Shawangunk Mountains in New York, also known as The Gunks. There is a lot of awesome bouldering here. Sorry for no pictures, but it was just the two of us and we each spent most of the day spotting the other.