I slipped my left pointer finger into a pocket on the rock. Then, moving my right hand upward along the granite, I found a crimp hold. Yes, that’s what I had been missing. After several failed attempts, I finally found how I would get through the most difficult part of the climb. 

I hoisted myself up and grasped the jug hold above my head. Relief. 

That was on the hardest of the three climbs I did at 90 Foot Wall in Emerald Bay on Sunday. My group and I spent the day scaling routes, belaying each other and basking in the afternoon sun. With beautiful weather and only a few others at the usually-packed crag, it truly felt like local’s summer.

It was my first time climbing at 90 Foot Wall, and my second time climbing outdoors since I moved to Tahoe about a month ago. Since then, I have found community at Blue Granite Climbing Gym — leading me to the people I was with at 90 Foot Wall — and become utterly obsessed with knocking off enough “Rocktober” challenges to enter a raffle for a climbing rope.

To give you a sense: Rocktober has driven me to hike up and down two flights of stairs 30 times with a 30-pound kettlebell in my backpack in 30 minutes (eliciting some puzzled looks), climb 30 routes in an hour, climb three routes blindfolded, boulder with one hand only, top rope with one foot only, do 100 burpees in an hour and read a Dr. Seuss book aloud while holding a horse pose, among other things. 

I’ve completed 30 challenges as of this story’s writing, but I’m sure by the time it’s published, it’ll be more. Climbing outdoors at 90 Foot Wall was on that list, too.

I consider myself a mediocre climber who gets stronger every day. In January, I purchased my first climbing membership and, over the next few months, developed the first inkling of arm strength I’ve had in my life. Taking the summer off, I lost all my momentum. Now, I’ve returned with a vengeance.

Rocktober has pushed me to push myself, attempting many physical challenges I would never have done of my own volition. I’m gaining strength. I used a hangboard for the first time. I boulder unafraid of taking falls. I want to learn lead climbing, something that always scared me off before. 

As the sun set behind the mountains in Emerald Bay, we hiked the half mile from 90 Foot Wall to our cars, drove down to Kiva Beach and dunked in the lake. I stood shivering on the beach, lips blue from the cold, but I couldn’t shake the smile from my face.

There may be nothing better than spending a day out at a rock, with good company, in a place as beautiful as Tahoe.