Ascent of City Of The Dead by Justin Case

First 5.12 of the year! Been focusing more on projecting harder things like Guerrera Cosmica at El Chonta, or Lucid Dreaming in Boulder Canyon. Pretty great climb. Techy but enjoyable, well-bolted slab into an absolute rest before a steep hand crack, followed by a powerful jug (or good hold) haul. Chrissy made the hands crack look easy, but when I tried it the first shot, thinking I would onsight this, it may as well have been V10- didn't even know where to begin, and everything felt impossible. I'm sure it would be easier if I had any crack climbing skills at all, but as it happens, I bouldered it out using the crimps inside the crack, which feels like V5ish. Pulled it off second try on this beautiful winter sunny day that just so happens was Chrissy's birthday!