The past few weeks have seemed like a whirlwind adventure. During my last couple of weeks in Scotland, I mostly saw family and got a feeling of what farm work is like over there.

I did get to do some climbing. On one day-expedition to a nearby castle, I asked the person looking after the battlements if I could climb one of the turrets, and surprisingly, he was on board. It was only about a V2, but still I’m not sure if he actually thought I’d do it because he looked very skeptical and shouted, once I was about halfway up, “Young Man, that is high enough!” After Scotland, I came back to California. For many colleges, classes have started just recently, so many days have been filled with seeing friends before they leave. Because Stanford is on the quarter system, I still have a few weeks. So, I have had time to climb and rep Five Ten both at the gym and outside. Playing other sports as well has really renewed my appreciation for the climbing community. There is such a positive atmosphere among climbers that you don’t necessarily get in sports like soccer, volleyball, and tennis. I think unlike many competitive sports where the performance of the opponent is the only determining factor of victory/loss besides your own performance, cheering on opponent climbers is frequently beneficial since similar actions are usually reciprocated. Training with all of my climbing buddies has motivated me to become stronger and as a result I’ve been sending the hardest bouldering grades in most gyms. I went outside a few days ago, and I sent Mission Impossible (V9) at Mortar Rock in just a few go’s. I haven’t found any super hard projects to work on yet, but still, the sense of improvement is a great feeling.