This year the winter season was rather productive in Çakıt.. With the ease of having finished my projects for the 2012 winter season I got to spare more time for setting new routes. Especially ‘Dream is Over’ at the Zeytinlik-Karain Sector, a lifetime project to me, is probably the hardest route we have established in Çakıt.. Can’t say anything exact about the grade, but believe me it’s tough! An unbelievably beautiful line rising 40 meters into the sky.. I would love to red point the whole line someday.. Would that day be sometime this winter? Why not?

I finished preparing the route and started trying intensely right away. Like a professor failing his experiments, I kept having explosions at the lab.. But the burnt smell in mine came off my muscles.. Lower me.. Need to practice that part a lot more.. Don’t even ask about the upper part.. Have no clue how I’ll manage..

Tried for a while only to understand that I need to try more.. Giving it full time isn’t enough.. Need to work afterhours at night.. I was hooked, just like always.. The route was all my eyes saw.. My mind got working again when the burnt smell coming off my muscles after tries got to my brain.. This was no piece of cake.. Leave and come back later.. Need to set targets in other directions.. The new route is at the Manastır(Monastery) Sector..

We headed to this sector which we hadn’t visited for a long while with new presents in our hands. 50 shiny expansion bolts and hangers like holiday treats.. A half day’s visit to one of the most beautiful sectors in Çakıt, the still wild and incredibly peaceful Monastery, took more than 50 drills for the 3+1 new routes we established. Lots to do.. Can’t stop myself.. My eyes wander towards the heights all the time.. It beckons.. Come.. I am a lone man working at heights, can’t resist..

Being high above or standing sturdy on the ground.. Never been that different for me. Actually it feels better at the heights but I suppose bolting a long route for breakfast on Sunday morning wasn’t a smart idea.. Since there were lots of people in the valley especially the loose rock we dropped could make one of Sülo’s theories of misfortune come true.

Sülo:

Don’t be so stubborn, let’s just go climb at the Zeytinlik Sector..

Me:

Ok then, when do we do the work? We always say tomorrow.. There are other things to do tomorrow.. Sometimes I am real stubborn...

I started walking up with determined and slow steps. After a long walk carrying a heavy pack I got to the summit. The view is gorgeous as always.. Having eye and sound contact with Adana Team climbing at the Zeytinlik Sector gave me confidence.. I got ready and rappelled right away, only to see the same stuff on a different setting. Huge loose blocks waiting to fall down.. Brr.. This time I shouldn’t do anything except rappel and drill an anchor or the rocks I’d drop would most likely take someone down, and I would most likely spend the rest of my life in  prison doing pull ups in my cell..

Watch out Mümin, you don’t have proper IRATA certification for rope access anyway, don’t do wrong with your street smart certification.. Carefully I rappelled about 130 meters, three pitches. The route which is an awesome natural line-crack looks great. I got to the big ledge I aimed at and started bolting as I ascended. After drilling about 50 bolts and despite four drained batteries I still wanted to work, and the sun didn’t want to set. I suppose I needed four more batteries. With route cleaning prohibited, I turned to Adana Team climbing at the Zeytinlik Sector. Have coffee? Take.. If you don’t count the moment I slipped and fell on the ground after I descended and started walking, It was a day when I worked little but covered a lot of work, finished about half of a task at height safely.

It was time to finish the winter season.. Still a lot to do..