1-20-2017
Adventure Assignment
Climb On!
People think of football, baseball, soccer, and hockey when they hear the word "sport". Who
wouldn't want to watch a bunch of guy's beating each other up over a ball? Most people probably
wouldn't consider climbing to be a sport but I dare you to tell a climber that. It is a sport that takes
considerable amount of skill and an insane amount of strength in muscles that I never knew existed. I
had the opportunity to not only go climbing over the weekend, but also to become belay certified.
I have gone climbing before and I've always loved walking into vertical endeavors before a
good day spent climbing. The check in counter is always full of bustling people trying to check in
quickly so they can get to the good walls. The noise can be overwhelming at first but you eventually
get used to the people complaining that they have to fill out their safety waver before they climb.The
smell of chopped, fresh rubber fills the air and it threw me back to my childhood when I used
to play at parks with the rubber mats that baked in the sun. This particular day was a special occasion
because it was the first time I was attempting my belay test.
Climbing is a team ordeal, at least it is when you move off the auto belays. Auto belay's are
the machines that control the rope so it slows down your fall when you let go of the wall. On the
regular walls, it's up to your climbing partner to control your descent. In order to be certified in
belaying, I had
to know how to tie both me and my partner into the rope, show how to do all the necessary safety
tests, and be able to control my partner's decent while never taking my hands off the rope.
The moment I walked through the doors I was flooded with nervous emotions. What if I
forget how to do something? What if I forget to do the safety checks right and my partner falls and
turns into a pancake? My head was filled with these thoughts as I checked in and asked to take the
test. When I was taken to a climbing wall in order to take the test, I tried frantically to clear my mind
and focus. I forced myself to take it one step at a time. Tie both of us it, check. All the straps and
harnesses are tight, check. Alright let's climb. I turned to my climbing partner and she nodded, "On Belay?"
I forced a steady voice as I replied, "Belay on". Dude you're almost done, just focus.
She smiled and turned her body slightly to face the wall, "Climbing?"
"Climb on". She started, make sure to focus and keep in the slack from the extra rope.
It was over with before I knew it and I heaved a sigh of relief as the instructor smiled and
proclaimed that I had passed. After heading back to the counter and filling out forms and other
various paperwork to make sure my certification was in the system, my climbing partner and I went
to explore some of the new walls we could climb now that I was certified. As I write this spectacular
A+ piece of literature, I can still feel the sore and cramped hands I earned after a full day of climbing.
