Enter the Winter (Part I)

  This morning, I woke up and looked outside.  BRRRRRR!!!

My frontyard.

What time is it?  It's winter-time!!!

Yeah.  Duh.  No shit!  And it's been this way for the past week or so.  Autumn's exit was so sudden.  She was lingering around for longer than usual, and i was starting to get used to the idea that maybe she was here to stay.  But no.  She dipped unexpectedly.  The weatherman told me she would, but I didn't believe him.  I was beginning to feel like she really cared.  Looking back on it, I had a feeling something was up the day before she split.  Things just felt a little...different.  Was she growing cold?  I couldn't really put my finger on it, so dismissively went to bed, reassured by her loving 60-degree temps.  Sure enough, the next morning, I woke up cold.  She was gone.  Shriveled and quivering I ran to the window and looked outside.  Maybe she was still there--maybe I could stop her.  

She was gone.  While I slept, she had packed up her things quietly and hit the road.  No goodbyes, no explanations, no "I love you baby but I gotta leave you...", no nuthin'!  Peacer McPeacertons--she was out.  In her place was a sloppy inch of rain-infused snow, and giant dollops of it fell from the bleak gray morning sky.  It was all so sudden.  Welcome to Splitsville, population YOU!  Alone and sullen and still in disbelief, I slogged out to the woodpile to face the facts.  So lugubrious was I.

But that was a week ago, and with the help of my friends, I'm beginning to move on.  Her departure was inevitable, really.  I mean, it was just too perfect.  How foolish was I to begin to expect that I was going to be able to climb every day at Endless Wall with her 60-plus degree warmth all up on my back?  Come to find out, she was doing my homies the same way!  In fact, some of them are even more torn up about it than me.  What a trick!

Back to my homies.  Like me, they were all beginning to feel like they were special.  Yeah, yeah, we've touched on that.  Now, like me, they're dealing.  Each of them has his or her own way of dealing.  These modus operandis range considerably.

Kirky, for instance, can't deal.  He took it for like a day and decided that he was gone.  He tells us he's off to Vegas.

Says he's got some prospective job ideas.  

Kirky is good at lots of things.  I'm sure he'll be fine.

In fact, we have actually have a New River denizen outpost in Vegas.  This contingent is located in Blue Diamond and grows quite a bit when the temps drop in the New.  Our boys can climb all winter there at Red Rocks and apparently make okay money picking up work however they can.

New River boys making that cheddar, Vegas-style.  From left to right:  Dave "The Chest" Gibbons, Will "Phenom" Dameron, and new kid Kirk "Baby B" Bjorling.

Yep.  My boy Mikey, who is taking it really hard, has decided to take himself a little vacation to a little place called...Arkansas.  This is the home of Horseshoe Canyon, as well as several other under-the-radar climbing destinations.  It is also the home of the illustrious Bill Clinton.  You know, the guy from TV back in the '90s. Perhaps you've heard of him.

My buddies Jeremy and Abby, who live in Chapel Hill but spend most weekends up here, well, they're just staying in Chapel Hill where it's warm.  They have access to a sweet climbing gym.  Bastards!

Talk to the hand.  The New is too cold.  We're staying in Chapel Hill.  Jeremy as an action figure expresses his opinion of the situation.

Last of all, my sweet GF, Carrie, has departed with Autumn.  She decided that she was not really into winter here and has decided that it is a good time of year to pursue her dream of travel nursing, accepting a job in California.  I don't understand it--Carrie is Canadian--she is supposed to LOVE winter!

California has lots of allure, including things like "...gunplay, models on the runway,...", good organic veggies, and a pretty progressive vibe.

Can't really blame her, though.

I could go on, and probably will in a future ariticle.  Those of us who have stayed around are dealing, and seem to be adapting to, if not yet embracing, our new mistress--winter.  I mean, it's not like she's going anywhere.  Probably won't see the sun around here until next spring.  

Autumn's gone, and those of us who have stuck around have had to change up our game for this new girl in town.  She requires a different dress code.  A different approach.  With some motivation, we can still rally at the cirque.  We just have to bundle up.

Eddie and I go out for a day of cragging at the Cirque.

Living at the New is all about tactics. My friend Mike can elaborate on the importance of tactics at www.mikesironcladbeta.blogspot.com

 One has to be dynamic with one's tactics here.  That's what winter here is all about--changing up your tactics.  

Let's say you have to go get your Kroger on, for example.  With the onset of any winter storm, the Kroger (Fayetteville's supermarket) becomes complete shitshow.  Every West Virginian in Fayette County is there for milk, bread and Mtn. Dew.  The battle is on!  Even parking can be a full winter-combat experience with vehicles sliding around like Disney on ice.  So what do you do to avoid getting trampled by some large provincial type at the Kroger?  Easy.  Just stay away from the milk and bread zone.  Better yet, go to the organic section and you'll not only have it to yourself, but lots of it will probably be on markdown and will be cheap as free-range dirt.  Why?  First of all, West Virginians are afraid of that they don't understand, including organic food.  That's that stuff that commies and liberals in California eat, right?  Of course it is.  Second of all, it's not milk and bread--and everybody with half a brain knows that the two provisional imperatives for a winter storm are:  

1.  Milk

2.  Bread

Duh!

The race for milk and bread is on.  Don't get trampled at the Kroger.

Well, that about wraps up this first blogpiece on winter.  Not because the article is finished so much as it is me being bored of writing.  Time for me to saddle up the tauntaun and go out on the Ice Planet Hoth and make something of myself.  Until next time.

Off to take care of business.  We have trust issues, he and I.