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| Heading into Dean's |
I arrived back in town a few days ago after a long summer away. I spent two weeks wandering through Virginia and West Virginia, a week training for the Great Falls kayak race, and then went north to the St. Lawrence river with Kerry. We spent a few weeks getting ready for the wedding, got married, and then flew south to one of the Bahamian out islands for our honeymoon. There are many stories to be told, so I will have to chip away slowly at the task of recording it all.
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| Kerry, Cape SantaMaria |
The trip to Long Island in the Bahamas was incredible. Kerry's best friend Lindsay was kind enough to offer us her family's house on the beach. We rented a car and explored the island. The island is eighty miles long and only four miles wide. The Bahamas are home to one of the world's largest concentrations of blue holes, essentially large underwater cavern systems and sinkholes. Dean's is the deepest in the world, close to seven hundred feet deep. We traveled down to Dean's twice. The first day we arrived we threw on our snorkeling gear and swam toward the edge of the abyss. Blue holes are super eerie places. Large concentrations of fish hang around the outer edges of the holes. The ocean floor goes from knee deep to several hundred feet within several yards. Dean's is about thirty yards across. When the sun shines directly on the hole you can see clearly to the other side. Kerry and I swam the perimeter first before I ventured into the middle. I was honestly kind of nervous as I flippered my way from one side to the other. There is an incredible sense of quiet and calm, but mostly an overwhelming sense of an unknown world that feels like it might swallow you whole.
On the far side of the hole, a limestone cliff rose about forty feet out of the water. The limestone was incredibly sharp. A rope ladder hung from the top, and after climbing it a few times to take the plunge from the top, I could not resist the temptation to try and climb the rock. A spire hung from the ceiling, about four feet in diameter and reached down about fifteen feet above the water. I climbed the pitch next to the spire until I was even with it, and then leapt toward the spire and tried to hold on. I missed on the first few attempts, and decided to abandon my efforts for the day.
Kerry and I headed into a small little village called Clarencetown to grab some dinner. We met a potcake
dog named Happy, and ate fresh conch salad from the Rowdy Boys of Long Island. We thought about spending the night, but decided to drive back north. In the morning we woke up and headed south again. I wanted one more shot at climbing Dean's. We ate lunch at a place called Max's Conch on the way down. As you might imagine, we ate more conch there.
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| Potcake Dog, Happy |
Most people go to Dean's to snorkel and free dive. I imagine it is quite possible no one has ever climbed the route I was attempting there. It would seem a strange idea for any climbers to venture to Dean's because it the only climbing around. The idea of being the first or one of only a few to climb at this world class place was incredible.
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| Sunset at Rowdy Boys |
I put on my snorkel gear and headed to the cliff on the far side. I made my way up to the dyno, but fell on the first two attempts. It was pretty difficult climbing and I knew the dyno was going to take everything I had. On the third attempt I finally nailed it. I was super psyched and began climbing up the rest of the spire. I reached the top and was able to rest under a large roof. There were a few dicey looking holds that would have been bomber if I knew they would not crack, but I was not sure. I decided to make a huge throw for the top. I took a few deep breaths and leapt out to reach above the roof...
and fell.
Kerry and I decided to call it an early day and headed back to the house on the north end of the island.
It was an epic ascent, and one of our first adventures as a married couple.
I will never forget it.
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