ROCKCLIMBING!
So, I went rockclimbing today. Not the sissy stuff you see at some posh gyms (the Rock-Wall or whatever it's called) but on REAL rocks. REAL sandstone. REAL no-nonsense climbing. Though perhaps sandstone wasn't the best medium to climb on a slightly rainy day such as today. It all started off with an especially adventurous/rugged/sporty coworker who is into all kinds of extreme sports such as surfing, climbing, mountaineering, and who-know-what-else, and heck, I just volunteered myself to be a willing "victim" to go climbing with him the next time he went.
And that next time for him happened to be today.
So off I went to Sport Chalet to rent climbing shoes (very funky, almost booty-like shoes with crazy grippy rubber soles) and off A and I went to Stony Point in Chatsworth, by Simi Valley.
It was a surreal experience to say the least. We first started off with a relatively small boulder and just "bouldered around," but quickly grew tired of it, although it was a very friendly boulder. So then we started to traverse a bit, but that was just too damn hard...meaning, my arms felt like jello logs within two attempts. The fact that I even attempted "traversing" (going sideways instead of climbing up; requires a lot of upper body strength) was a feat in and of itself. Then we trekked/hiked/suffered through a beaten trail laced with poison oak and shattered glass and slippery rocks to the piece-de-resistance: a 30-feet wall of comprised of 100% formidability. Now, my typing out "30-feet wall" might sound somewhat puny and inconsequential, but in real life, when that wall is in front of your face and your next step might be your last (let's forget about the harnesses for a moment), it sure as hell is daunting.
The coworker set up the top rope to make sure we have good anchors, and a...bellinge? (something), and A went first (the sucker, she put her shoes on first!) and just watching her go up make my neck ache because I was basically looking straight up, nearly at a 180 degree angle! She almost made it to the top (mind you, this process took a LONG time) but couldn't make the last two or so moves.
And then it was my turn.
Man, was it exhilirating! All the adrenaline I had in my body was pumping through my veins and my hands were already numb from the cold and the pressure and the scrapage. I felt so helpless and so scared when I was about halfway up there, and felt like the next move (if I had enough strength to maneuver myself) was gonna be my last. So...at about 20-ft above ground, I sadly had to recede from the wall of formidability.
Had it not been for my coworker, the awesome magic shoes, and the harness, I would have died for sure. But then again, I wouldn't be stupid enough to go at it without those things, either (!).
Crazy day, and it was very fun, but now that I'm back in the safety of my own home it all seems like a dream. But looking at my hands, and all the scrapes and tenderness on them, I realize that my coworker is a damn crazy (awesome) person.
And that next time for him happened to be today.
So off I went to Sport Chalet to rent climbing shoes (very funky, almost booty-like shoes with crazy grippy rubber soles) and off A and I went to Stony Point in Chatsworth, by Simi Valley.
It was a surreal experience to say the least. We first started off with a relatively small boulder and just "bouldered around," but quickly grew tired of it, although it was a very friendly boulder. So then we started to traverse a bit, but that was just too damn hard...meaning, my arms felt like jello logs within two attempts. The fact that I even attempted "traversing" (going sideways instead of climbing up; requires a lot of upper body strength) was a feat in and of itself. Then we trekked/hiked/suffered through a beaten trail laced with poison oak and shattered glass and slippery rocks to the piece-de-resistance: a 30-feet wall of comprised of 100% formidability. Now, my typing out "30-feet wall" might sound somewhat puny and inconsequential, but in real life, when that wall is in front of your face and your next step might be your last (let's forget about the harnesses for a moment), it sure as hell is daunting.
The coworker set up the top rope to make sure we have good anchors, and a...bellinge? (something), and A went first (the sucker, she put her shoes on first!) and just watching her go up make my neck ache because I was basically looking straight up, nearly at a 180 degree angle! She almost made it to the top (mind you, this process took a LONG time) but couldn't make the last two or so moves.
And then it was my turn.
Man, was it exhilirating! All the adrenaline I had in my body was pumping through my veins and my hands were already numb from the cold and the pressure and the scrapage. I felt so helpless and so scared when I was about halfway up there, and felt like the next move (if I had enough strength to maneuver myself) was gonna be my last. So...at about 20-ft above ground, I sadly had to recede from the wall of formidability.
Had it not been for my coworker, the awesome magic shoes, and the harness, I would have died for sure. But then again, I wouldn't be stupid enough to go at it without those things, either (!).
Crazy day, and it was very fun, but now that I'm back in the safety of my own home it all seems like a dream. But looking at my hands, and all the scrapes and tenderness on them, I realize that my coworker is a damn crazy (awesome) person.