Comments | spyderella: Whole new ways to scare myself witless

spyderella

Whole new ways to scare myself witless

Nov 22, 2006 12:41

omigodomigodomigodomigod, we lead climbed!

At the gym, unsupervised, using our very own rope and gear, memeatron and I each took turns lead climbing a route ( Read more... )

climbing

Comments 7

piratelemur November 22 2006, 18:54:15 UTC

Hee! I have a memory of staring down the fear that I carry around with me that's got to be similar to what you're describing.

I was working stage crew at Eisenhower Auditorium, and had to pull the gels from the lighting rigs in the wall pockets. The lamps were aimed at a pretty obtuse angle from the rigging, and were juuuuuuuuuuust a bit too long to grab the gels out of the front comfortably. I was 3/4 of the way up the rig, reaching for the gel on the top light, when I looked down. And realized that there was nothing but 30-40 feet of open air between me and the seats if I let go of the rig and fell out of the wall pocket. I told myself I was safe, and that I had both feet and one hand on the ladder, and that there was no reason I couldn't pull that gel, took a deep breath, and did it.

Heights have been significantly easier for me since. :) (Even working on the grid, or the main catwalk, or loading counterweights didn't wig me out like that gel pull did.)

spyderella November 24 2006, 17:25:42 UTC

Oh, yeah! Memeatron and I both worked at Eisenhower (at different times, before we knew each other). We each remember the Penny Drop Demonstration.

I did not climb up on much while I was there.

royalbananafish November 22 2006, 20:08:26 UTC

If I had previously seen the word "gri-gris" out of context, I would think voodoun, not climbing :)

spyderella November 24 2006, 17:24:30 UTC

Ha ha, totally.

It's pronounced "gree-gree," and then you have two of them: "gree-grees." I think it is actually French. Most weird climbing terms are French.

royalbananafish November 28 2006, 01:11:22 UTC

gris-gris is pronounced gree-gree (as the French have some sort of weird disdain for pronouncing consonants that end words). Given that voudou has a French-creole vocab, makes sense...

queenofhalves November 24 2006, 20:05:33 UTC

i like physical activities that really engage the mind and will as well as the body. :> which may be all of them, if you work at gaining skill enough.

chachachana November 26 2006, 22:09:20 UTC

have you been skydiving?