Rock climbing
MonthMilesKilometresJanuary604 mi972 kmFebruary742 mi1194 kmMarch906 mi1458 kmApril228 mi367 km
Last night I went rock climbing for the first time in a long time. To say it was different to rock climbing in Australia is a pretty big understatement.
Ends up rock climbing can be broken down into several categories. There's top rope, which is what most people associate with rock climbing - a rope at the top hangs down, and two people (one climbing, one safety) work together to get to the top. If the climber falls, the person at the bottom stops them from falling farther by pulling down on the rope. There's belaying, which is where someone scales the wall, and pushes belaying pins in as they go so that they have anchors along the rocks. Then there's bouldering, which is climbing without ropes, which is what I did last night.
I had a lot of fun, and I think I'll be making this my weekly "get out there and do something" activity aside from riding. The equipment is usually an issue for me when it comes to extra activities, but rock climbing is just chalk + rock climbing shoes (which are small and pack easily into any confined space). The place I go to is Stone Garden in Ballard, which is right next to the Ballard Locks - $24 gets you shoe rental and in the door, and you can stay there until closing at 10pm.
The only thing that freaks me out about bouldering is hanging on the underside of a rock without any safety ropes 8-10 ft (2.5-3m) off the ground.
Last night I went rock climbing for the first time in a long time. To say it was different to rock climbing in Australia is a pretty big understatement.
Ends up rock climbing can be broken down into several categories. There's top rope, which is what most people associate with rock climbing - a rope at the top hangs down, and two people (one climbing, one safety) work together to get to the top. If the climber falls, the person at the bottom stops them from falling farther by pulling down on the rope. There's belaying, which is where someone scales the wall, and pushes belaying pins in as they go so that they have anchors along the rocks. Then there's bouldering, which is climbing without ropes, which is what I did last night.
I had a lot of fun, and I think I'll be making this my weekly "get out there and do something" activity aside from riding. The equipment is usually an issue for me when it comes to extra activities, but rock climbing is just chalk + rock climbing shoes (which are small and pack easily into any confined space). The place I go to is Stone Garden in Ballard, which is right next to the Ballard Locks - $24 gets you shoe rental and in the door, and you can stay there until closing at 10pm.
The only thing that freaks me out about bouldering is hanging on the underside of a rock without any safety ropes 8-10 ft (2.5-3m) off the ground.