Rock Climbing Blog by Derek Rippe
Courses
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.
Fast Forward 1 – Part 3
Dec 17th
Well, tonight was the third and final session of the Fast Forward 1 class at Sportrock. The techniques and skills we had learned in the first two sessions were to prepare us for the this session, where we would be sequencing routes on the 40 ft. wall. As I mentioned last week, I was a little nervous about top-roping because I had no idea what my level of endurance was and how that would play out when climbing a 40 ft. route instead of 12 ft. bouldering problem.
Fast Forward 1 – Part 2
Dec 10th
Tonight was the second session of the Fast Forward 1 course at Sportrock. We started off reviewing the techniques we learned last week, including shifting our weight to keep our center of gravity in the right place, and using sticky hands and silent feet (the latter of which was my biggest focus area for the week). I did a MUCH better job planting my feet and leaving them, no longer bouncing and testing the hold before putting my weight on that foot. Happy feet, get ANGRY! (or sad – just not happy!)
After our short review session we moved on to sequencing moves in bouldering problems (something I had been looking forward to). The other two individuals taking the class with me have a lot more experience in top roping and trad climbing, so we started off easy on the bouldering problems so that technique could be a primary focus (E4 through E6, and a V0). While they were easy problems, I did find myself thinking in new ways while attempting to keep my center of gravity spread amongst all my limbs and making moves using the least amount of energy necessary. This was reassuring, as it means I am beginning to use the knowledge I have recently learned.
Fast Forward 1
Dec 3rd
Tonight was the first of three sessions of the Fast Forward 1 course at Sportrock, focusing on wall contact and sequencing. I was a little hesitant at first, concerned that the class might be geared more toward beginner than intermediate climbers, but the staff member at the front desk guaranteed me that was not the case and I would most certainly learn something (and to see him if I didn’t). There are three of us taking this course, and I quickly realized that we were all on somewhat similar levels – everyone had some previous climbing experience and was looking to move forward with their strength, power, endurance and techniques.
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