Words & Photos from Alienor N. & Brianne M.
Rock Climbing is not a sport for the weak, or the weak minded. This phrase never couldn’t be more true as I sit down and type out the memorable moments from this trip, my calloused fingers aching with every word. As sore as I may , our group now has to wait quite a few weeks before reuniting and returning to climb our ways up these challenging walls, tearing our hands apart for the second time. We started our first day at UVIC’s beautiful CARSA rock wall, nerves and morning grogginess apparent in the jittering of the group. Methodically for the first half hour of the session the instructors taught many of the basics to climbing, including how to properly wear a harness, tie figure 8 knots, secure a belaying device, and strategically choosing which hand and footholds to use. We absorbed this information quickly, for we saw the walls loom above us and couldn’t wait to test our new skills. Once suited up, we did a test climb and practiced falling before being granted the right to scale the summit. After that we spent the rest of the matinee lead climbing routes with varying levels of difficulty. Each route had its own characteristics and when one was faced with a particularly challenging moment, they knew that they could count on the rest of the group on the ground to cheer them on. Some holds got the better of us, but with fiery determination and refusal for failure, you would often see someone reattempt a route that they hadn’t got quite right.
In the afternoon after a well deserved lunch, the already sore St. Micheals students dragged themselves back to the gym eagerly to test themselves at bouldering, lead by the impressive instructor Seb who, quite frankly, scaled the most challenging routes with such grace and control that it put us in complete awe. We discussed how to approach holds with the correct angle that maximizes muscle control and, using tape, we marked out new paths across the rock and spent a good period of time each trying to master the new bouldering problems. At this point in the afternoon, we were able to pick and choose what we liked best, and could switch between lead climbing and belaying, boulder climbing or even attempting to conquer the peg board and free-hanging rope.
Learning how to rock climb is an incredible experience, for it is both incredibly gratifying and incredibly humbling. A lot of the time that next hold is just half a smidge away, or your muscles too tired to possibly swing yourself farther, or your skin rips from the rough surface and you just just need a break, yet when you realize that achieving that thing is possible and you work on it until you finally do the move successfully, you're filled with a feeling of power and strength that matches no other. Being in the climbing element is being at a level of concentration, control and mind that is truly admirable, and it is something that I know my group and I can’t wait to better understand, because after today, I know that I’m hooked.
Alienor
After an incredible first day of rock climbing we all arrived back at SMUS, some sore to the point their arms could barely lift past their heads due to the sheer strength they had to exert and some with blistered hands that could barely grab a door handle. However we all came back to test our limits and conquer the wall!!
Before we could turn back we were already on the bus to our first location, PISE!! When we got there we were greeted by Chris, a strength and conditioning coach who took us down to the Camosun Chargers gym to run through mobility and plyometric work. Our group to say the least wasn’t the most flexible so there were lots of moans and groans during each stretching exercise. After that somewhat painful but clearly needed stretching, we got out some resistance bands and did monster walks. Boy did the glutes hurt when we were done! Chris then had us do some jumping to work on while keeping the knees in the proper place when landing.
We were then taken to the amazing sports gym and were given the opportunity to do some weights and strengthening workouts for the three hours we had left. Although he did have a workout sheet for us to follow, some decided to do their own. They had everything in this gym including an olympic lifting bar and an awesome view to the track and soccer field down below. After a very uplifting and the feeling of accomplishment we went outside to have our lunch as many of us were hungry. Before long we were back on the bus and on our way to Boulder house. When we arrived we were greeted kindly by staff members and ready to test our already tired and sore muscles. Not only did we test our muscles but our mind as well. Here strategy had to be used in order to complete the routes some easier than others. Sheer strength and finger grips were the key as many routes had tiny finger holds and awkward angles you need to jump in order to get the next hold. Watching many others around us try the hardest routes jumping and catching themselves on no more than 3 fingers was incredibly satisfying but also very intimidating. At the end of the day, our arms hurt and fingers were dead but we all felt extremely accomplished and could feel our arm muscles growing! Rock climbing was an awesome experience and a great way to test our limits and our strength.
Brianne