We stayed until 5:00. That allowed us to get plenty of
climbing in. Aniol has his own ropes, quick draws, and belay devices. We paired
off; Aniol and Andras, Aina and myself. I had used both belay devices before,
so with only a short tutorial I was able to belay with relative safety. Of
course, there’s always technique modifications that make it safer, so quick
tips from Aniol put me on the track to safety master. Gym employees came over a
couple times to point out safer methods too. We weren’t being dangerous, but
they had technique suggestions to improve safety.
The difficulty scale is different than in the U.S. Maybe I
was just thinking of bouldering vs. top-roping. Still, I started easy and
worked my way into the 5s. Aniol and Andras were working on 6s (6-, 6, 6+.) My
last wall killed me. It was outside which was really cool. We’d been inside all
day and we saw the sun poke its head out, so we decided to move outside. A
section of the exterior of the building had been also turned into a climbing
area with top ropes, sport routes, and routes to rig your own quick-draws. My
chosen route was in the 5 range, but the wall had a slightly negative angle.
With a wall past vertical, it immediately became apparent that this was going
to be hard. As I climbed higher, the holds began to shrink and my fingers,
forearms, and mental strength were put to the test. I was fatigued after having
climbed for a few hours already. I grunted, put up with a small dose of
discomfort, made some moves that made me proud, and climbed that beast like a
badass. (I wish. I’m no badass climbing in the 5 range.)
Aniol on belay.
Andràs self portrait from the top. Aina and Aniol down below.
I got you, Andràs!
Top Roping: the rope is already hanging from a pulley at the
top of the route. Quick-draws are clips that are set into the rock so you can
hook the rope in them as you climb. You’re tied to one end of the rope and your
partner feeds you rope as you climb. I had never climbed with quick-draws
before, and it was nerve-racking. If you fall, you fall the distance to your
last quick-draw, then you’re slowed by your partner. I climbed without focusing
on hold colors. I just climbed whatever was easy because I was focusing on
getting to the next quick-draw and clipping my rope in correctly. If you do it
wrong and the quick-draw is twisted, the rope can unclip itself as you fall.
Yes, scary thought as you’re 40 feet up.
We had an hour to kill before our train left for Darmstadt
so we walked through town a little. It’s awesome. I want to come back on a
Saturday when shops are open and people are out. At only 30 minutes away, I
have no excuse. Aniol tells me there are more cool towns a short train ride
from Darmstadt. This town it turns out, has the castle that inspired
Frankenstein. It’s on top of a hill and I saw it from the train a few minutes
before we arrived at the train station. I pointed it out to Andras because I
thought it was super cool. Aniol and Aina have been there and said it’s pretty
cool. I already knew I wanted to check it out without knowing anything about
it. Now I REALLY want to go.
Aniol on belay as Aina climbs.
Aniol, Aina, Andràs
Uh. WATCH YOUR CLIMBER!
I’m stoked at how this weekend turned out; free Frank Turner
concert with cool people, climbing through the trees like a little kid, then
the rock climbing gym. AND I did laundry.
No comments:
Post a Comment