CLIMB ON !
Climb On...Ah, yes the command every climber wants to hear from their Belayer signifying all is ok to start your ascent.
Why climb? Why Not? From the day you were born it has always been natural to climb things. It's a challenge that pits you against yourself and nature. This is verticle Chess where each move is thought of in advance and when all is done right the whole game is poetry in motion. Why do I climb? To get to the top...no just kidding...most times I'll never see the top but the ascent (and descent hopefully by rappel) are the thrill. You are fully in charge of your climb as you place each piece of 'protection' in the wall. When a bomb-proof cam or nut is placed in the wall you must trust that with your life in some cases, and in some cases so will your buddies.
When do you start climbing? Anytime you please, or when you feel up to a challenge. The interesting thing is that there really isn't a right or wrong way of doing it. Sure we are environmental, respect nature and so on and so forth but what I may see as a good 'hold' may not be so for my partner...and vice versa. Most people will start indoors (see my other activities) or they will go rappelling. This is Doug, who is on my Search and Rescue team, rappelling off some cliffs near home. As long as a few precautions are taken it can be very exciting and relatively safe. The idea is to walk around the cliff to the top where a good set of anchors are chosen. A huge knot is placed in the end of the rope (ruins your day when you 'rap' off the end of your rope before hitting the ground) and then a rappel device such as a figure 8 or an ATC is placed on the rope. Everything is double checked on the system, your harness, your prusik back-up, rope length and helmet before you go near the edge!
Here Doug is controlling his own descent. He can stop and lock himself off if he wants to clean the route.
Well, it won't take you long after a few good rappels to figure out what's next. Once you do your first climb I promise you that you'll never look at another cliff the same way. In fact you'll catch yourself staring, looking for a possible route, and then you'll say "I can probably climb that." The picture on the left is of me climbing at the Harrison Cliffs on a 3 pitch, 5.10 route called "Beautiful Life". On the bottom left you can see one of the pieces of 'Pro' that the rope is running through. This is not a crazy sport and is safe if done right. All the equipment is checked and double checked and the ropes are treated with due respect. Think I'm kidding...go step on a climber's rope...then get ready for a lecture or some dental bills. The climbing partners, or Belayers, are checked everytime you climb. You must be willing to trust this person with your life some times, and that can unfortunatly only be done through experience.
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