the tram

There's something you might not know about me. I really do not like doing things that haven't been planned out well in advance. This isn't true in all cases. If you invite me to dinner and it starts in 15 minutes I'll probably be there regardless if I have already eaten. But ask me to climb tomorrow today, I'll say no. Even if it is one of my favorite things to do. I said I could not go all weekend and he said well what about just Sunday. I said I have to clean and he said, I'll wait. I said okay, but maybe we should go next weekend instead when we'll have more time. He said, great let's go! Oh, fuck. I couldn't weasel my way out of this one. I was being spontaneous, leaving for Palm Springs in 15 minutes and the only thing running through my head while running around getting ready was "is it still possible to get out of this?

He claimed it would be 65 degrees but I found that very difficult to believe. In Palm Springs? In July? That just couldn't be. I grabbed a short-sleeved hoodie at the very last minute - in case I needed relief from the sun after a while.

The location was rather beautiful. At 2000' we hopped on a tram that took us to 8500' in about 10 minutes. As soon as we stepped outside with our climbing shoes and crash pads in tow, Pouring. Down. Rain. There would be no bouldering for us that day. His climbing friends were on their way back up to have some beers in the bar.

It was a surreal adventure. I went from cleaning my apartment in the morning to mentally preparing myself for bouldering and finished up drinking in a bar in the mountains of palm springs in the afternoon. I never would have guessed that one. And by the way, getting drunk happens much more quickly at high elevations which makes the tram ride back down not nearly as fun.

"Why is Chuck Norris funny?"

"Because he's Chuck Norris."