Has anyone noticed how popular climbing is getting? I feel like so many people are drawn to rock climbing because nothing gives a feeling of accomplishment like finishing a route you’ve been working on or overcoming a fear.
I was introduced to top-rope climbing at a pretty young age, so I never really associated it with fear. It wasn’t until high school that I had my first terrifying top-roping experience.
During my freshman year of high school I had the opportunity to climb Monkey Face at Smith Rock State Park. Overall, the route that we took wasn’t too difficult, but it took us all day because we ended up being behind an incredibly slow group. I remember chilling on a small ledge for what seemed like hours waiting for both of our large groups to bypass the bolt ladder pitch that led to the monkey’s mouth.
After my brother Austin led the bolt ladder, the other five of us in the group each ascended a rope to get up to him. It was surprisingly cold once I finally made it into the monkey’s mouth.
For the next pitch my friend Emily volunteered to lead. Emily seemed totally unphased as she lowered herself off the ledge and transitioned to the face of the rock. She easily made it to the first bolt and cruised on up from there. Because she had no problems leading this pitch, I assumed that following her on top rope it would be a breeze.
I was all tied up and ready to go, but when I peered over the edge, I realized that the ground was much farther down than I had imagined. As I slowly I stepped out onto the wall my heart rate began to increase rapidly. I had never felt so exposed in my life. Looking down caused my body to start to start tensing up. As panic rose in my stomach, I clumsily moved around looking for my next hand holds. Before I knew it, I was falling for what seemed like forever before the rope finally caught me. (Rope stretch am I right?)
I was pretty shaken up after the fall, but eventually I made it up to where Emily was belaying me.
It was interesting to see how even though the climbing moves were easy, I had let the environment get into my head. It was totally irrational for me to be scared because the rope was right there ready to catch me.
What I appreciate about climbing is that it is much more of a mental sport than people initially think.
Anyone can be a climber, even if they don’t climb the hardest grades, or have the strongest muscles. I think that a climber is someone who is resilient and keeps on pushing forward even when they are scared or discouraged.
The end of that day turned out to be pretty crazy because we were so far behind schedule that we got to repel in the dark. I remember looking up at the stars while I was suspended in space, just feeling grateful for such an amazing day.
-Amber Smith