So last weekend was filled with adrenaline and fright as Dee and I were dragged around the Skaha Bluff’s by Tess, Loïc, Brenda and Casey. It was my first time climbing this season, and Dee had only been out once or twice. Regardless, it is a sport that we have shied away from in the past few years, for no other reason than there are so many other activities to do in the Okanagan.
Despite a lack of conditioning and training for the specific task of climbing, Dee and I managed to hold our own on the rock for the most part of the day. It wasn’t until the end of the day when fatigue and the classic term “pumped out” really kicked in. Neither of us were particularly sore, but we were certainly tired. Generally we climbed 5.9’s in Fern Gully, and 5.10’s on Maternal Wall and Red Tail. It was great to have Loïc and Casey there to rope gun for us, as it allowed us to try harder routes with the comfort of the top rope. Chris Charlton joined the group for the weekend. It was his first time climbing on ourdoor rock, and he managed to surprise us all with is natural ability, almost red pointing a 5.10(a) route. I think he's hooked, as in subsequent conversations he talked about getting shoes and a harness of his own. This is great, it means one more climber to join the group!
On Saturday we were joined by one of Casey’s friends John from Calgary, who is such an avid climber that he bought a place in Penticton so that he could climb in the summer and have somewhere to crash. John is a well renowned climber, who seems to have put up most of the routes in the Rockies, and who incidentally was one of my University professors. He taught me Geology of the Rocky Mountains. His words before he climbed with me on belay were “well if I fall, I guess we’ll find out if you enjoyed the course or not”. Frankly, I think that this is how all teacher evaluations should be. Forget the classic fill out this evaluation form, instead put them on a rope and see if the student catches them or not.
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Despite a lack of conditioning and training for the specific task of climbing, Dee and I managed to hold our own on the rock for the most part of the day. It wasn’t until the end of the day when fatigue and the classic term “pumped out” really kicked in. Neither of us were particularly sore, but we were certainly tired. Generally we climbed 5.9’s in Fern Gully, and 5.10’s on Maternal Wall and Red Tail. It was great to have Loïc and Casey there to rope gun for us, as it allowed us to try harder routes with the comfort of the top rope. Chris Charlton joined the group for the weekend. It was his first time climbing on ourdoor rock, and he managed to surprise us all with is natural ability, almost red pointing a 5.10(a) route. I think he's hooked, as in subsequent conversations he talked about getting shoes and a harness of his own. This is great, it means one more climber to join the group!
On Saturday we were joined by one of Casey’s friends John from Calgary, who is such an avid climber that he bought a place in Penticton so that he could climb in the summer and have somewhere to crash. John is a well renowned climber, who seems to have put up most of the routes in the Rockies, and who incidentally was one of my University professors. He taught me Geology of the Rocky Mountains. His words before he climbed with me on belay were “well if I fall, I guess we’ll find out if you enjoyed the course or not”. Frankly, I think that this is how all teacher evaluations should be. Forget the classic fill out this evaluation form, instead put them on a rope and see if the student catches them or not.
View Climbing Photos
