March 5, 2008 - Rock 101 w/ Fox Guides

I'll start this blog off with a quote.

"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

So...I am learning how to climb and now I want to learn about the gear, the knots, the anchors, everything, etc. right?

Now, I have been climbing more in the gym and have been lucky to have met folks who climb outdoors, etc. Meeting folks who climb safe is important to me. That is why I hired Fox for my first time, and that is why I hired them again for a skills course. I want to learn more and feel safe at the same time.

It is not lame to hire a guiding service. Especially not lame since I hired Fox Mountain Guides.

Fox Mountain Guides

Go there and you can see their website. They are awesome! The website says enough.

I'm curious lately. I want to second and clean now. That's what I feel like I'm ready for right now. I really like it. I like the challenge of doing several pitches too. I would also like to top rope on some 9s and 10s outside, since now I'm seconding and cleaning on 7s and 8s. Those are still difficult for me! If I knew someone I could go climb with every weekend, I would go. It's not that I can't go climb every weekend or even during the week, it's finding someone who knows their shit to go climb with! Everyone has a life and people are busy...

"If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it."

The course I took this weekend was called Rock 101.

Other folks canceled, so I got a one-on-one instructor for 2 days for the same price I would've normally paid. :)

My instructor:

(Karsten Delap)

It was great too. It was also very much worth the money!

There is a lot to learn with climbing. There is a lot to learn so that you are safe!

I'm just ready to learn a little bit more. So, I had a two day, one-on-one instructor this past weekend. I actually prefer that now, if I'm paying money. There is no group. There is no waiting around. It's just me and the instructor. I can ask all the questions I want and climb what I want, etc.

We climbed a lot. (for me, it was a lot!) He taught me so much this weekend. Not just showing me stuff or doing it all for me, but explaining things. Explaining the why's and the why not's! I seconded him and cleaned on each climb. So that is what I learned. I learned how a leader would set the anchor, and I learned about different anchors...the "anchor system" and how it works. I got my clove hitch knot down, finally, and how to anchor myself in at the belay station. All of this gear stuff and dealing with equipment takes me forever to learn. It's so overwhelming! We went over rappelling. I also learned more about my prusik cord. I got very comfortable with rappelling. I used to be very afraid of it. Some of this may seem so basic and simple to most of you guys who climb, but as a beginner, I'm trying to learn this as well as learning techniques with manuevers and footwork, etc. so it is a lot to learn.

I'm sure some of this I may forget, but it was worth it. I don't really plan to not use it and lose it. :)

I asked about setting top ropes, and it was verbally explained briefly, etc. However, we did not actually set up a top rope and I did not climb on any top ropes this weekend. I climbed all multi-pitch. I got to second and clean again. When I found out that I was the only one going on the cousre because of cancellations, that's what I asked for. I wanted to do all multi-pitch. I did not want to top-rope. That's the cool thing about hiring guides too. Even though it was a skills course, it is designed around what the client wants to learn as well.

I'm sure hanging a top-rope really isn't that difficult, but after yoga class Monday night, I felt really overwhelmed. I was trying to explain some of the things I had learned. I had anxiety as if I had studied really hard for a test and couldn't remember jack when I got to the classroom kind of anxiety.

So, I got sort of frustrated. Just because I paid for a two day course doesn't mean that I am going to be an expert with all the gear stuff. Whatever! I don't own any rope yet either...WTF?

Talking about it doesn't frustrate me. I like talking about climbing. I like asking questions. I like learning. I want to talk about it. And though I had an awesome instructor, it was a 101 course folks. I'm not going to know everything right now. I'm not going to come back from this trip knowing all this stuff like the back of my hand. I need practice. Once you get it, yeah it may seem so simple. But it's not at first. Not for me.

And I know once you get it, it's so simple, but then again one mistake can cost you your life, therefore, I need and want to know the why's and the why nots.
That's why I took the course...to learn some skill sets.

I refuse to get frustrated. I'm just going to keep working at it, and it will all connect and make sense soon enough.

I didn't set a top rope this weekend. Sorry to some of my other beginner friends out there. It was explained, but then again, I don't have rope either, so I can't hang a top-rope without rope for you guys to climb on it. Sorry. And with that said, it kind of went in one ear and out the other. I was trynig to learn seconding and cleaning. I'm trying and wanting to get that part down really good, so my partners don't have to set me up each time. You know? I want to know that stuff.

Now with a better understanding of things, when I actually get to physically set a top rope, I will most likely retain that information. And I also orderd 2 books yesterday. One is about top-ropes, the other is on rappelling techniques.

I like mulit-pitch. Right now, I like seconding and cleaning several pitches of a 7 or an 8. I like the one-on-one partnering that you have when you follow someone. I like the fact that I'm in the crux, and that my partner above who is encouraging me just moved through that crux. He/she knows where I am at that moment. And I have a goal to reach. I have to clean his gear and make it up there to him. I push myself more because I WANT to get up to him. You know? Also, I am learning. Everyone has a different learning curve. I also tend to not give up as fast when I am seconding and cleaning. If you're really struggling, your partner can sometimes pull you up just a tad to help get through one move, instead of you asking your belayer below you to lower you and giving up on the rest of the climb all together.

I learned a lot this weekend. I climbed a chimney this weekend. My first chimney. It was the 2nd pitch of Fruit Loops. I climbed a climb that was very pumpy and just plain weird (Fat Dog). It had crack climbing, lie backing, hand jamming, stemming and face climbing in this climb. It was crazy. It was hard as hell! It was scary and fun at the same time.

I told the instructor what I wanted, and I got it, and then some! These folks are super awesome folks! They are so nice, and they have so much hospitality that I can't even describe.

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundess. Kindness in giving creates love."

Love for the rock!!! lol I'm a dork!

So, Karsten took me to Rumbling Bald Saturday. We warmed up on Bee Tree, and i learned to rappel alone. Then we climbed all pitches of Fruit Loops. The 2nd pitch was a chimney! I learned to stem in there. I also learned how to maneuver and how to jam my hands.

This past weekend was my 3rd time up the 1st pitch and my first time up the chimney. I didn't fall on the 1st pitch. I felt way more relaxed this time. My breathing was actually better too. I've been trying to work on that.

So, here's me at the top of the first pitch. It was awesome! I'm inside of the chimney ready to go up!

Here are a few that Karsten took of me in the chimney:

On top of Fruit Loops with Lake Lure in the background:

I love climbing Fruit Loops! It is one of my favorite routes at Rumbling Bald.

We also went over and did Bear Hunt, etc.

I'm not really good at the real balancy face climbing yet. Here's a pic that Karsten took of a guy leading Bear Hunt:

View at the top of Bear Hunt:

(you can see Chimney Rock way off in the distance)

My lizard friend:

On Sunday, we went to Looking Glass to the south side. I wanted to get on Fat Dog and Gemini Crack. We did too. :) They were great.

We did Gemini first and then Fat Dog.

I took this pic of the first pitch of Gemini Crack before Karsten started leading. This was a 5.8.

This is a one pitch climb. You can break it into several pitches though if you want, but you have to build your own anchors. Karsten broke it out in 3 for me. I did really good on the first pitch. The second pitch was tough, and my ankles were getting really sore. Slab! Damn it! haha But I wanted to finish the climb though, so we did Gemini as 3 pitches. I rested as Karsten was soloing the last pitch. He was really fast. That made it really good for me, since my ankles are still so weak yet. But I made it up:

This is Fat Dog:

A really fun climb!

It took me a long time to get up Fat Dog. Poor Karsten! He had to pull me up a lot on this climb. He kept me tight, but I begged to be pulled up at some points. Half of my body was in a chimney/off-width and the other on the face at times. I mean, I was stemming it, lie backing it, just jamming everything to move myself up. It was crazy! I am so glad I did not do this climb back in November. I wasn't ready yet, and besides, I got to second and clean this baby! We only did one pitch.

Fat Dog and the Fruit Loops chimney are sick! (to me) It's the sickest thing I've done yet! Whoo-hoo! OMG! What a weekend!

I had an awesome weekend. I climbed harder and stronger than I ever have before.

I got to climb some new types of climbs.

Thank you Karsten! Thank you Fox Mountain Guides!

:)

One last quote for the day:

"Don't wait for time, make time!

Don't wait for love. Feel it.

Don't wait for money. Earn it.

Don't wait for the path. Find it.

Don't wait for opportunity. Create it.

Don't go for less. Get the best.

Don't compare. Be unique.

Don't fight for misfortune. Transform it.

Don't avoid failure. Use it.

Don't dwell on mistakes. Learn from them.

Don't back down. Go around.

Don't close your eyes. Open your mind.

Don't run from life. Embrace it."

- Bigvai Volcy