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General Climbing Discussion

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What got you started? 5-Jul-2003 At 10:51:11 AM Estey

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Like Mike my first experience involved bushwalking.

Back in the mid-eighties I went on a day walk around Centenial Glen in the Blue Mountains and came accross climbers for the first time. The stuff they were doing looked far to hard for me. Being a NSW bushwalker my equipment was limited to Dunlop Volleys and King Gee shorts. The climbers I saw that day were dressed in fluoro tights and looked like total wankers. This put me off for 10 years or so.

In the mid-nineties I was doing a walking trip in the Western Arthurs in Tasmania. I came across a solo walker from QLD. He was carrying 43kg of gear and couldn't navigate for shit ... no idea basically. He happened to be an experienced climber though and he was amazed when I didn't know how to tie my rucksack to a handline. I spent the rest of the trip practicing some knots he showed me and he convinced me the technical aspects of climbing could be learnt by anyone willing to put the effort in.

A few months later he came down to the Blue Mountains and dragged me up my first climb. I was very discouraged when I didn't make it up something he said was 16. He consoled me saying that it would be considered solid for the grade even at Frog. (At the time I didn't understand what frog's had to do with climbing). Sensing my disillusionment he then took me up a few grade 14's which I enjoyed much more.

Last year I went back to repeat that first grade 16 only to find my mate had misread the guidebook and it was actually a 22. That route is still on my ghost list. I now own a massive rack but have not yet acquired a pair of those fluoro tights.