Stem Gem v4

My highest V-point send from this trip 🥹 This came after an afternoon of falling off of JBMFP and my eyes drying out to the point in which my vision was blurry (desert winds are no joke y’all). Honestly I was a little unsure about posting this and was having a hard time feeling proud about the send, mostly because of what happened after this video cut. I wasn’t expecting to send and by the time I got to the good ledge, I realized just how high up I was. I hadn’t scoped out the top out, let alone the down climb. My options were down climbing where I came up from, dropping down the back onto an adjacent boulder ~20ft in the air and doing the offwidth down climb, or climbing down a chimney and dropping down from a ~10ft ledge, none of which I was mentally prepared for. I got afraid, I cried, and I was very much embarrassed for how I was reacting. I’m lucky for friends who spotted me and guided me along every part of the way. They tossed me chalk and a headlamp when I needed it, and took them back when I didn’t. They scoped out all my options, because I couldn’t see the landing from the bulge of the boulder. They triple stacked pads, because they knew I was nervous about high drops and was concerned about my string of old knee injuries. They quite literally caught me on the descent. They hugged me and consoled me even when I was crying afterwards from the residual adrenaline and fear. They affirmed that I should be proud of my send, tears and all. I am lucky to be in such good company and have only gratitude for them. This was a big lesson learned to always check and run through the down climb before getting on a boulder, regardless of if you expect to send. And once again, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to be supported by my community 🎥: @NoThisIsAlex (thank you for recording, even on the “just for fun” burns)