Saturday, November 19, 2011

Climbing Higher

My favorite moment in Civil Air Patrol is when my group went to Boulders Climbing Gym in Madison. I had different partners each time, few of them reached the top of a climbing wall. I reached the top of every climbing wall I was on, except for one that did not have ropes that I was able to get a grip on long enough for a potential photo. It was there that I learned how to climb a rope, putting one foot under the rope and one foot over it.

It was there that I learned phrases like, "On belay, belay on, climbing, climb on, tension, tension on, lower me, lowering," and other terms. most of the time I tried to get the cinematic, but not so hard fall, but I was too slender to get the right effect. I still got it to work. Most of my friends there were impressed at what I was able to do, but I did not get the opportunity to climb walls that had no pulleys or belays and had to be tethered by figure-8 knots. Most others seemed to be afraid of heights, but I felt like I did not get too may opportunities. It was still fun.