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Topic Date User

ozzy last weekend of nov 8-Sep-2015 At 8:19:43 PM IdratherbeclimbingM9

Message

On 8/09/2015 phillipivan wrote:
>Also, like, what the heck do you do with most of your time if you are climbing one to two pitches a day? I'm kinda confused.

We went generally to just have fun camping in a vertical environment, and deliberately test ourselves mentally and physically by being in that environment for an extended period.

It had the benefits of me being able to make every protection placement a work of art and for my mate to learn aid-climbing while actually doing it. He came away with a thorough knowledge of jumaring, cleaning and hauling as well as a bit of leading aid; most of which he had never done before.

We enjoyed an ambience of the place that we didn't realise was there, finding much joy in the ever changing scenery ranging from close detail lichen formation, to far off clouds framed by fantastic rock architecture. It has many moods depending on weather conditions (both good and bad), the light at varying times of day/night etc.
We came away realising that we actually had to spend a long time there to fully appreciate it, and we consider it a well earned joy that the effort involved to achieve was worth doing.

Having time on our hands also helped in dealing with the inevitable clusterjams that wall climbing often entails, no matter if the ascent is slow or fast.
Heh, heh, heh.

The enduring thing that comes to my mind first after the intervening years, apart from the camaraderie, is the mental effort involved staying 'safe' in that environment for such a long duration...

Post edit;
>If you like climbing slow, swell. But It's so far from my experience of what aid climbing is like, and how long it takes that it seems really odd.

... Yes, I am probably odd, but then again I am replying to a 'number two nut', am I (k)not?
;-)