Bucket List: Deep Water Soloing in Mallorca

Yesterday, I sent my first 5.11-. It wasn't the cleanest climb I've ever done (I had to stop and rest a lot), but I made it to the top. As physically demanding as this route was for me, it was just as much of a mental problem as it was athletic. When I got to the crux of the route, I had to try a few different positions to get past it, almost reducing me to tears of frustration. However, when I finally got past the crux and pushed my way to the top, I felt such an incredible sense of elation and accomplishment like I've never felt before on the wall. Even though my forearms were pumped and my fingers were locked, I felt so proud that I didn't give up on the route.

But what was the most satisfying was knowing that I was improving. For a while, I felt like I had plateaued on 5.10's, but I wasn't really stepping outside my comfort zone to push myself onto harder routes. So it was really gratifying knowing that I could succeed even when I was reaching the limits of my ability.

To reward myself for this improvement, I allowed myself to dream about the day when I'm good enough to go Deep Water Soloing in Mallorca, Spain.

For those of you who don't know, Deep Water Soloing is a form of free-climbing where you're not attached to any ropes or safety equipment– it's just you and the rock. But when you fall, you'll just fall into whatever body of water is beneath you. How awesome is that?

One day I'd absolutely love to travel to Mallorca and do some climbing there. Obviously, I'd like to wait until I'm good enough to enjoy the routes, and not struggling through them like I often am now. But I know that waiting will only make it more worth it when I finally do go!