At REI I bought a harness, belay device, chalk bag and caribiner for $100. Then I picked up a 10.2mm Dry-Rope (60 meters long) for about $140 That's roughly $120 more than I paid for the ghetto cheap rope from the hardware store, but I trust it a lot more. All in all the gear adds about ten pounds to my pack. I tested out the gear for the first time in Mill Creek Canyon. I've hiked this area twice now, and on my second hike I noticed that there were some anchor points placed at the top of a 70 foot cliff. It was scary to climb out there and balance myself precariously above a long fall to a painful death. I ran the rope through the anchor points and clipped into my harness. I really hoped that I had done everything right, and that the person who placed these anchors knew what he was doing.
As I stood there with one hand on the rock, and one hand on the rope, I knew that once I let go I would have to trust my life to this contraption around my waist. Every bit of my instinct was telling me not to do it, but I had to conquer my fear of heights sooner or later. I let go and gradually let the rope slip through my fingers. The friction created by the rope as it snaked through the belay device made it quite easy for me to control my descent; but I was wearing leather gloves just in case... rope burn is no joke. About halfway down I was suspended below an overhang and thus could not keep my feet planted on the wall. It was at this precise moment of dangling that the chains I was anchored to decided to shift ever so slightly. The anchors were still as solid as the rock the were drilled into, but my weight shifted the chain about an inch. That small movement, and the resulting pebbles that fell down caused me to have a small mid-air panic attack. I rappelled much more quickly at that point and was very grateful the moment I touched down safely. So far so good, now I had to do it again with a camera!
Life is no fun unless you can share it with others; and if there's no one with you, you at least have to take some pictures to preserve the memory. The second rappel wasn't as scary, but it is still nerve racking letting go to the one solid hold you have and trusting that all the man-made stuff will keep its end of the deal.
A couple weeks later I did end up getting a membership at the local bouldering gym The Front. It set me back about $80 for a month. It would have been cheaper if I was staying in the area for longer, but I figure I can climb out in the real world once it warms up a bit. I was told by the staff at the gym that I should check out IME (Intenational Mountain Expeditions) [I think that's what it stands for] for the non-corporate version of climbing gear. It's a small hole in the wall shop nestled in next to REI, and they had good advice for me, and a fair selection of shoes and other climbing equipment. I ended up purchasing a $35 harness there for anyone that would want to be my belay buddy, and I found a beat up 65 liter pack for $10 that I can use to haul my rope and gear up the mountain. I did end up going back to REI for my shoes. They were very helpful, and I was able to pick out a pair for $80. I tried on a few different ones, but in the end the cheapest ones felt the best on my foot. Usually you go down a size or more from your regular shoes to climbing shoes. This forces your toes to curl up, and transmits more of your body weight through your foot as one whole unit rather than a bunch of gangly fragile toes.
After assembling all of my gear I went with my girlfriend, Brooke, back up to Mill Creek Canyon to go climbing. She has a fear of heights as well, but for some reason trusted me that I knew what I was doing. All I can say is that I'm grateful for YouTube videos reminding me of the stuff I learned from the rock climbing gym in Arizona, and teaching me a few new things. Again I hiked up, set the rope and rappelled down. Then I showed Brooke how to get clipped into the belay device, and I tied myself to the rope. I did a few short runs just so she could practice stopping a fall, and letting me back down to the ground safely. Then I did a full run to the top. It was a bit scary tackling the overhangs. I was immensely grateful for the rope (although I didn't fall), and I was amazed at what a difference the shoes made in my climbing. I had only used climbing shoes in a gym, and I had only climbed outdoors with normal sneakers or boots. Using the climbing shoes outdoors turned me into a whole different climber.
Brooke took a turn heading up the wall. She got a little scared at parts, but handled it very well. I was impressed with her for being a first timer. I'm glad she trusted me, and we had a fun safe time out there. Now I just need to get some more climbing buddies so we can have people to take pictures, some to belay, some to climb. I'm also really looking forward to this summer when I can go canyoneering in Zion.
No comments:
Post a Comment