Rock Climbing

So I've been wanting to get into some rock climbing for a while now. No indoor climbing, but solid real rock climbing. I had an opportunity to go with some really experienced people who took a few of us novices out to Crowders Mountain. Now let me preface by saying, it was the first day of daylight savings time and we met at the mountain at 8am, so really 7am, meaning leaving my house at 6am to get there on time. Coupled with the fact that yesterday I may have over did it with the St. Patty's beer in the day and the wine drinking at the dinner party last night, I may, just may, be a wee bit hung over today :( And I knew I was climbing this morning, I just didn't think I would stay so late or have so many glasses of wine at the dinner party.... oops. So yeah, I'm feeling it. I get to the mountain and it's a chilly 36 degrees. It's windy, freakin cold, and the cheerios I ate for breakfast an hour ago, are long gone. I sit in my warm car til everyone arrives then I brave the weather and join the group. After passing out gear, (helmet and harness) we begin our adventure. My stomach is doing flips, not sure if it was b/c of the nights before indulgences or if I was really nervous. I mean, if you think about it. Rock climbing IS a dangerous thing. What was I thinking?!? I decide to just think of it in increments. Let me just get past this hike to the climbing walls, then I'll think about the climbing. The hike is considered strenuous and for first thing in the morning it was. Straight up for one mile, (one steep mile) then climb 300 stairs, then ascend down again to the practice walls. After reaching the top of the stairs, I was ready to take a break! My legs were feeling it already. While our guide tied 3 top ropes, we all took a break, sipped water and us newbies tried to calm our nerves. After about 15 minutes, we walked down to the practice wall and man did it look HUGE from this stand point. Over the next hour, our guide goes over safety, vocab, safety, knot tieing, safety, and the use of our equipment. Oh, and did I say safety? It's all so overwhelming, but he does a great job at making sure we all get it. I keep practicing my double figure eight knots as he demonstrates some moves while bouldering the rock. But this point I am so amped to start climbing I can't contain my self and my leg starts bouncy away to try to rid it of excess energy. I am READY! BRING IT ON ROCK!

After our tutorial, we split up between the three ropes. With such an urgency to start, I volunteer to go first. In hindsight I wish I would of gone last b/c I could of seen where everyone was placing their feet and hands and learn from their mistakes. But as luck would have it, I volunteered first, so I got to be the guinea pig. Truth be told, I was so disappointed in my first climb. I barely made it off the ground. I didn't realize how much you rely on your hands to, not so much to hold you, but to balance your body, and that really fatigued my fingers out. Also, lots of core strength is needed to just hold your body in place and shift your weight from foot to foot. But, in my defense, when I slipped, my belayer dropped me cold on the ground. I landed on my back and I think because I was so nervous and shaking, I didn't feel the pain, just the nerves. Everyone gasped and asked if I was alright. I said I was and wanted to try it again, so with shaky fatigued arms and hands, I tried again, and could not get past a protruding rock. Dismayed I untied my figure 8 knots and let the next person try. Only one of us was able to go further than I did, and she only went up a foot further. So I didn't feel too bad, but I did second guess if I could be a good climber.

By noon, our time was up, but we were invited to stay and practice more. All the newbies left but me. So there I was, with REAL rock climbers. I watched for a good 45 minutes, then was egged on by Sara and Laura to try the other two walls. So, I braved on my helmet and did just that. Mark was an awesome belayer and he said he saw my fall and would of never let that happen to anyone. I knew I was in good hands. With all his experience, I trusted him and listened to where he directed me to place my feet and hands. I could hear Laura and Sara telling me good job when I would find the right grip or groove to put my hands and feet on. Well guess what..... I climbed up a 1/3 of that wall before my hands fatigued me. And when I looked down to see how far I went up I was stunned! I calmly yelled "MARK!" and he calmly replied, "I got ya. Just let go of the wall and stick your legs straight out." I did and gently rappelled down to the ground. Sara, Laura, Jamie, and Mark all cheered for me and made me feel like such a pro that after a break, I attempted to climb the third top rope!

I learned so much from my experience today. First off, rock climbing is alot harder than I thought and I may just hit the climbing indoor gyms before I attempt to come back out. Secondly, rock climbers are some of the funnest, encouraging, awesomest people I've met. Finally, in order to rock climb, you better be a good hiker, cause you have to hike alot to get to some of these walls! Seriously, I would love to continue training to get waaaaay better at rock climbing. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!