Rock Climbing Blog by Derek Rippe
Archive for June, 2009
Planning for the big trip: Atlanta 2009 – "The Beta"
Jun 14th
Three months from now will mark the beginning of a 7-10 day climbing trip based out of Atlanta, Georgia. While I believe we’ll be traveling up to 6 hours for good climbing, Atlanta will be the home base where we’ll be staying in between trips (I think a couple of days trips are being planned, as well as one 2-3 day trip with camping).
Phase One of getting ready for “The Beta” is almost complete. I’ll finish lead climbing class tomorrow evening and be certified to lead climb and belay at the gym, which means I can start practicing without the supervision of an instructor and start working my way to lead climbing 5.10s consistently. Jonathan starts lead class on Monday and will be finished in three weeks.
Phase Two of “The Beta” involves equipment. My brother and I are both going to pick up a set of six quickdraws, which will give us twelve to use while in Atlanta (so we aren’t bumming gear off my cousin and his wife). I’ve been checking out the major websites (REI, EMS, HTO), and there are a number of options available in the quickdraw department. Having ZERO experience in purchasing quickdraws, I’d love to hear what you have and have not been happy with, in terms of cost, performance, reliability and durability. Wire gate or not? Tell me what you do and do not like.
The other integral part of the plan would be to purchase my own rope. This is yet another field I have little to no knowledge in. Is there a standard length rope that covers you for most casual outdoor climbing? Are some brands better than others? More reliable? More impervious to dirt and moisture, and ultimately longer lasting? Again, I would love to hear your thoughts on equipment you have used, and any recommendations you might have.
The other major piece of equipment I may pick up in the next few months would be another pair of shoes. You may remember, I picked up a set of the La Sportiva Nago’s back around Christmas, and I have absolutely fallen in love with them. However, I already feel like I want something a little more aggressive, something I can really get down and dirty with the toe. Being so happy with my current pair of La Sportiva’s, I have had my eye on the La Sportiva Solution, a velcro shoe in the upper tier of what La Sportiva has to offer. The downside, as I am discovering, is that not many stores in the area carry this shoe, and I refuse to purchase a shoe without trying it on first. I’m sure somebody has it, but it’s just a matter of tracking it down…
Falling Is Fun!
Jun 8th
… albeit, a bit intimidating, haha.
Today was the second of three sessions for Lead Climbing I class at Sportrock. Everyone in the class knew we would be experiencing falls today, which I must admit I was both excited and nervous about. I knew it couldn’t be that hard, but having never actually taken a “free-fall” or belayed someone falling on lead, I didn’t know exactly what to expect.
We split up into groups of three, and since there were two no-shows today, the group I was part of consisted of Rick, Frank (the instructor), and myself. Frank was obviously on the top-rope safety line. Rick climbed first, which put me on belay. After doing a quick warmup on a 5.8, we moved on to falling. We were told to fall three times, the first with the clip at approximately waist height. Now, Rick has about 30-40 lbs. on me, so I knew I would be going up the wall when he fell. Sure enough, he came almost down to the first clip (he fell from the third clip), and I was about 6 feet up the wall.
The second fall would be about a foot higher, but Rick went a bit further and had the clip at about his knees. Fortunately, he moved up to clip four before taking this fall, because I was up into the first clip about 9 feet off the floor. Surprising, even though I knew it was coming. The third fall was even more fun. Pulled me right up into the first clip, and I could have reached up and grabbed his leg, haha. There were smiles all around. Even Jeremy, one of the gym staff who is probably one of the best climbers at the gym (he sets a lot of the routes), smiled and said, “nice work dude.”
Then it was my turn. Falling with the clip was at my waste was no big deal – very similar to falling on top-rope. Falling with the clip at my knees was a little more hair raising, but still felt controlled and comfortable (of course, Rick is planted on the floor and not having any problems). Then I climbed up even further and had the clip at my feet, as if I would be getting ready to clip into the next quickdraw. I looked down and thought, “this is going to be one heck of a fall… here we go!”
And I let go.
Free-falling 10 feet is an interesting experience.
Then you smash feet-first into the wall.
I probably only fell a total of 15 feet when all was said and done (a lot less than Rick fell since I don’t have the mass to pull him off the floor), but for my third fall lead climbing, it was pretty exciting. I had to stop for a minute or so and shake out the adrenaline, as my arms and legs had a little bit of shake to them.
We finished up the next 45 minutes lead climbing some 5.8′s in the cave, which I’d been wanting to do for a LONG time. Next Monday I should have my lead climbing certification, so I can lead climb without the supervision of an instructor, and start getting more practice under my belt before Atlanta in September!
Lead (Sport) Climbing 101
Jun 3rd
Monday evening marked the first of three sessions for Lead Class I at Sportrock in Sterling. This was the class I had signed up for and been excited about back in February, but had to delay due to my finger injury. As (un)luck would have it, my brother suffered a slight injury the day before (non-climbing related; more of the “wet floors and gashes in elbows” type of injury) and had to cancel at the last minute. Since Sportrock wasn’t offering another Lead Class until August, he said I should go ahead and take this one, and he would jump in one of the mid-June classes out at Alexandria. Fortunately, and old acquaintance and avid climber, Rick, had signed up for the class as a skills refresher, so I had him to climb with.
The instructor, Frank, has been climbing for about 16 years and is very knowledgeable on everything climbing related. He talked for the first 45 minutes of class or so, which was a little painful for me. Most of what he went over I was already familiar with, but I guess hearing things a couple times helps to keep the basics fresh. After showing us the basics of clipping quick draws, we got to practice ourselves doing 50 clips with each hand, each direction (200 clips total!). That helped instill the motion of clipping to make it feel more natural – the last thing you want to be sweating about is the best way to clip into your quick draw!
We broke into two groups and got on the wall, which I was really excited about. We did, of course, have top-rope safety lines since sport leading was new to everyone but Rick. Rick and I climbed a 5.8 and 5.9 leading without taking any falls (I did back clip one quick draw, but shhhhh, I fixed it!). It was a really interesting experience, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Fortunately, stopping on holds to clip into quick draws was not difficult for me because I have been focusing heavily on taking breaks in the middle of climbs to shake out arms, so I only had to change my routine slightly:
- find hold
- shake out arm
- clip
- shake out other arm
- climb on
Belaying for someone who is lead climbing is still a little worry of mine, primarily in the falling category. Since we were on top-rope safety lines Monday (and nobody fell), we didn’t get a chance to practice falls from either the belayer or climber position. I know it’s going to be a different experience. But there are two more classes left in the session, and guess what we do next week? FALLS. And I know they make you take some good falls to get the feeling. I’m excited, and a little on the nervous side as well.
If all goes well with falling, Rick and I will probably take our Lead Climbing Certification Test at the end of the evening next Monday (we graduate from pink tags to yellow tags!). Rick will pass the test no problem, and I don’t think I’ll have any issues either. I know the basics, and it’s just a matter of practicing.
Sportrock recently launched a Ning Network for internet-savvy individuals to chat, share, and generally “commune” in one convenient location. So tomorrow I’m meeting up with a new climbing partner for a few hours! Should be a lot of fun. I know a lot of people at Sportrock, but because Jonathan and I always climb together I rarely coordinate a climbing schedule with any of them. Jonathan and I are both looking to increase our trusted climbing partner database (another reason he is taking the Lead Class in Alexandria), and while I know it’s kind of lame, it’s easier for me to meet and hook up with climbers on a network like Ning than it is for me to do in person.
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