Words and Photos from Michael M. - Ridgelines & Coastlines Outdoor Sampler cohort
On the first expedition day for the outdoor sampler we all went rock climbing at UVIC. We took the city bus there and were greeted at the gym by our two instructors, Nick and Joe. Both Nick and Joe were certified instructors for indoor climbing. They taught us how to belay and how to check if all our gear was safe. After we learnt about belaying and the safety aspect of climbing, we were all ready to climb. We climbed for most of the morning then went to the Mystic Cafe for lunch. After we ate our lunches we went down to Mystic Vale to play a game of camouflage before heading back to the gym to do some more climbing. Once we were back at the gym Nick and Joe taught us about the certification someone would need to become an instructor, they got their instructing licenses through ACMG (Association of Canadian Mountain Guides). After we finished climbing we learnt about what we will do for our other experiential days and everyone seemed to be really excited and happy with their choice of outdoor sampler. Overall our first experiential day was a lot of fun and everyone learnt something new, we are all looking forward to our next day out.