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J. Tillman at the Mohawk - Giveaway
[This post by future Austinist contributor Ami]
Have you ever been hiking on the greenbelt and noticed all those crazy people climbing the rock faces along the way? Well, we have. Not only that, but we’ve also noticed all their cool gear and how much fun it looked like they were having. So we decided that we, too, wanted to learn to rock climb, dammit. To that end, we signed up for lessons at Austin Rock Gym and boy, did we learn a lot in just four weeks. Although climbing at an indoor gym is very different from climbing outdoors, the introductory class was an excellent way to learn the basics and get all kinds of essential information so that hopefully, down the road and with enough practice (and when the daytime high temperatures drop, say, another twenty degrees), we can transfer our newly-learned skills to the greenbelt or other outdoor climbing venue.
The class we took was called “Climbing 101”, and met once a week for four weeks. There are two Austin Rock Gym locations, but we opted for the south gym because we heard it focused more on the use of ropes, and that seemed really cool to us. The cost of the lessons was a bit steep, but included a one-month membership at the gym as well as use of their harnesses and shoes during lessons. And hey, we rationalized that, since we’ve been told for years by the media that we’re worth L’oreal makeup and we don’t wear makeup, we could spend the money that we would have otherwise been spending on overpriced cosmetics to take this climbing class. If you don’t wear make-up, feel free to use this rationalization for yourself.
Our instructor was an all-around great dude and a truly amazing climber. He could quickly and gracefully shimmy up or across any surface in the gym with the gravity-defying skill of Spiderman. It kind of sucked because he made it look so easy, but whenever we tried the moves he so effortlessly executed, we found ourselves huffing and puffing and sweating, with the veins in our arms, which we weren’t even really supposed to be using, bulged out like earthworms on a sidewalk after a spring rain. We hated that part, but we kept telling ourselves that he has been climbing for a long time and we just started and someday will be as good as he is. But we don’t really believe that.
Sigh.
The first thing we learned about rock climbing is that it utilizes the ancient Chinese custom of foot-binding. Seriously, we are used to running, for which we often buy shoes that are a full size larger than our regular shoe size. In climbing, however, apparently smaller is better. Much, much smaller. We were therefore encouraged to force what were formerly our normal adult-sized feet into shoes the size of our very first pair of Stride-Rites. We’re talking about the white leather ones we wore prior to our first birthday. Ouch. We hope nobody noticed that we were gently weeping as we lamented our now painful, squished up feet even as we tried to listen to our instructor and maintain our enthusiasm for climbing. Fortunately, once numbness set in, we were better able to concentrate on the valuable information, or “beta” that our able instructor was imparting.
Each class was two hours long and consisted of information, demonstration, and the opportunity to practice what we had learned. We were taught various climbing techniques for both bouldering (without ropes) and top-rope climbing (with ropes and harnesses). We also learned a lot of climbing jargon. For instance, the largest and easiest-to-use hand or foot holds are called “jugs”. It was always amusing to hear our instructor bark out, as we navigated a route on the wall, “there are two big jugs just above your head – grab onto them!” Our instructor also frequently used the word “burly”, which is apparently kind of like the modern-day equivalent of the now outdated “gnarly”. When someone would nail a tough move in class, our instructor would admiringly shout, “burly!” Apparently a really tough climb can be characterized as burly too. We love that word! Burly!
We really enjoyed our intro to climbing class and plan to sign up for the next level at some point once our feet have been restored to something resembling their former size and shape. But for now, we feel like we know enough to go practice on the greenbelt with our cooler and more experienced climbing friends without killing ourselves. And we even got “belay certified”, which is really not a big deal, but we think it sounds totally burly, so we like to brag about it. If you want more information about rock climbing in Central Texas, check out the Texas Climbers website.
In the meantime, belay on, Wayne! Climb on, Garth!
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If you liked that you should try caving. There are literally hundreds of caves in the Austin area, some stretching several miles underground. Every cave is unique with something for every skill level and interest. Some require no climbing skills, while some are basically rock climbing, but underground in the dark. The UT Grotto (Caving Club) sponsors *FREE* beginning caving trips. You do do *not* need to be a student and all ages are welcome and encouraged. For more information contact me (edward at austin.rr.com) and/or check out the UT Grotto here. The Grotto meets every 1st, 3rd and 5th(if there is one) Wednesday on campus. New comers and interested folks are always welcome. You can find info on upcoming beginner trips here:
Fall Trip Schedule
What to expect
burly post, ami.
Ok, no offense but caving is utterly nuts. more power to you man, if that's your thing, but nothing freks me out more than squeazing into narrow holles in the ground.
Ami, if you liked the rope climbing you should try bouldering. Less ropes, less equipment, less hassle. Also austin be somewhat elevation deficent, we have a lot of low cliffs around town that are perfect for said adventures. check out www.bloodyflapper.com for online guides and stuff.
Not all caves are "squeezing into narrow holes in the ground". There are caves for every interest and skill level. In fact, Austin cavers often take road trips to nearby Mexico which has some of the largest caves in the world, with rooms larger than a football field and over 100 feet tall. No squeezing required.
Here's a great Texas Monthly article written by an Austinite who thought he hated caving until he went to Mexico:
Going Underground
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