Things have been pretty busy lately, not much time to blog. I did however do something pretty cool on Monday. I went out to Mt. Nemo (part of the Niagara escarpment) with Daren, Peter and Lap to do some real outdoor rock climbing. We completed three sport routes: a 5.9, a 5.10a and a 5.10b. Daren did all the leading and the rest of us just top-roped them but it was still really cool. The views from the tops of the climbs were amazing and it was fun to be on real rock.
However, I definitely had some terror issues. I felt a lot more exposed and in danger when I was on the climbs than I feel when I climb in a gym. I was exhausted after the day just from all the fear-induced adrenalin that I experienced.
The last climb, the 5.10b, was probably the most interesting for me. It had lots of weird overhangs and even a little cave halfway up that you could stop and rest in. The climb itself was probably sixty feet and was just really cool the whole way. As I was the last person to attempt the climb I had to "clean" it as well. This meant removing all the gear from the wall as I descended after finishing the climb. Cleaning is always a bit scary at the top because at one point you actually untie yourself from the rope. Of course you're secured to the wall in several other ways at that point in time, but it's always a bit weird to untie dangling sixty feet over pointy pointy rocks.
I brought my camera, but most of the time I was either belaying or climbing so I didn't have much of a chance to take photos. I've included the few I did take below, but there are none of me climbing.
Also of note, my brother moved to Toronto on Sunday to start his Masters program at U of T next week. That's pretty cool and should allow me to see him a bit more often.
