Here it is! The day I've been waiting for... my first time real rock climbing! The Group decided (after approximately 53 reply-all emails) that they would be heading out to The Exits on Friday. I quickly found out what they meant by "the Exits". At exit 32 and 38 off of I-90 there are some pretty good rocks to climb and they are only about 30-45 minutes away from downtown Seattle. Not a bad gig.
I headed out straight after work to meet up in the parking lot. We then hiked about 7 minutes up to the wall through gorgeous Northwestern forest. And there we were, at the base of the first rock wall I will ever climb! We dropped our packs and started gearing up - harnesses, ropes, carabiners, chalk bags, and ATC's!
*For a complete definition of climbing terms that may be use in this post and in future, please refer to Kristina's blog post on climbing.
The climbing started with Old Brad (I'm new Brad) leading a nice route with a 5.10 difficulty rating. He descended from the top and look at me and said "your turn".
I handed him my camera and approached the rocks nervously - arms still a bit sore from the climbing two day prior. I shook out my arms one more time, conducted on last setup safety check and thought "here goes nothing!""On Belay," I called checking to make sure my belay buddy was ready. "Belay On," I heard back. "Climbing!" I announced. "Climb on!" came back. I put my hands on appropriate starting holds and stepped up onto the rock with my feet. I then shifted my glance from my feet to my hand and started the ascent.
It was amazing! There were so many different holds and so many different ways to climb the same route! I couldn't believe how many different natural rock formations fit your hand so well or how a very small lip could easily support your weight without slipping! With a few blunders and peeling off once, if I recall correctly, I made it to the top. It wasn't pretty, but it was FUN! Next route, I'll try to clean up a bit!
The routes were between 35 and 60 feet high! Looking at rock walls, I still find it hard to believe that someone, let alone me, could climb up the side (with proper safety equipment of course).
One group member, Abbie, brought her dog along, who apparently got pretty bored with all of our vertical ascending!
The routes were between 35 and 60 feet high! Looking at rock walls, I still find it hard to believe that someone, let alone me, could climb up the side (with proper safety equipment of course).
One group member, Abbie, brought her dog along, who apparently got pretty bored with all of our vertical ascending!
This was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had and look forward to the next opportunity climb, which come to find out, is sooner than I think. I couldn't thank The Group enough for including me on this adventure and future ones! Hello Exit 32 come Sunday! Stay tuned!
