Girl Climb!

May 8, 2009

Today, I get up extra early on my day off, catch a bus to Boulder, and meet a girl who knows how to lead climbs. In other words, she knows where there are some really cool rocks that we can climb, and she has the gear, skill, and knowledge to get us safely up and down the climbs.

As soon as I get in her car, she starts speaking lingo that I am unfamiliar with. Climbers, like any subculture, have their own language.

She asks what my goals are with climbing. I tell her, for now, I want to get stronger in general. I also want to learn to use my legs more.

I ask her how long she's been climbing. Five years, she says. She started out deathly afraid of heights-scared even to stand on a second story balcony. She wanted to get over that, so every day for three weeks, she went to the climbing gym near her house and tried the same route over and over again until she got to the top of it.

She tried a couple of outdoor climbs that summer, and then eventually got to a point where she was ready to try harder and harder stuff. She also got to a point where she was ready to be a lead climber. She thought she would never do lead climbs outside, but she did. She thought she would only do sport lead climbs but we are doing trad climbing today, so she obviously got over that as well.

By the way, sport climbing means there are bolts already in the rock and you climb to them, attach your rope to them, and continue climbing from bolt to bolt until you reach the top. Trad, short for traditional, climbing means you have to have special gear to stick in the rock-wherever you want (as long as it's safe). This gives a person a lot more options, but with freedom comes responsibility.

This gal is nothing if not responsible. She is my age and already the mother of four children. She shows me how she puts the gear in and why. She lets me "clean her gear" which means I climb after she's set the route and take back all her hardware that was stuck in the rock. This is a good new challenge for me because I have to be sure I'm steady enough to have a hand free for pulling things out and clipping them to my harness.

She shows me the basics to setting an anchor-to have more than one point, all less than 90 degree angles, all attached to different things, all coming together in one knot so they take pressure off one another, all going in the right direction. This is good for me to know so that whenever I go out with someone, I can feel safer and know if they are being safe.

Rock climbing can be a little scary, but it is so much fun once you see that you can do things to prevent falls. I love climbing, especially outside, where you are connected to the rock. You have to listen to the ancient stones and be strong and patient like they are. You always have a new challenge, both mentally and physically.

The part that got me hooked in the first place was the very first time I lay back and was lowered down off the rock. Wow! There are so many times in life when I know I am clinging to the edge of something shaking in fear. Sometimes, I remember that I am connected to the source (in this case, a strong anchor, in other cases, something more cosmic) and I am safe. Then, I can lay back, watch where I am going, but let go and bounce through the air. It's totally awesome.

Today, my girl climbing partner teaches me how to repel my own self down. That's a little scary because now the safe source that I am relying on is mySELF! As she put it, "you are going to put my life in my own hands? What were you thinking?!?" I do it and I make it, but I am scared. This is the next step in my journey-learning to trust myself a little more.

Climbing is awesome, but climbing with a fellow woman who can teach me stuff is the most wonderful thing ever. She knows how to get around the barriers that we have, being shorter and not as strong as most of the guys who climb. She tells me some tricks, but most importantly, she understands. It is really lovely.

I thank the rock and the girl climber for lessons learned today.