My girlfriend and I meet after work and we waited to be picked up. Our friends swing by and we head out to a local park, a 15 minute drive away to a suburb.
Absolutely gorgeous. Clear blue skies, sparky water and real rock climbing - our first time.
Our friends tie in and three of us head for the scramble (I love learning new phraseology) while the fourth rappels down. For some reason, I'm chosen as the first to climb (maybe I volunteered, I don't recall). It's interesting climbing real rocks - they don't have anything labeled like at the gym! But this climb is pretty simple. They say it's a 5.6, but it's both shorter and way, way easier than any 5.6 I've climbed at the gym. All four of us climb it, and then we (well, they, our experienced climbing friends) move our ropes to the next climb.
Now this is a climb - a fairly sheer rock face and much longer. Again, I'm first up. Definitely work this time. I'm having difficulty finding hand and foot holds that I trust but I get to the top and I have to admit, it's more than a little exhilarating. Our friends each climb it and then as we're waiting for my girlfriend to work her way down (she has vertigo issues) I climb again. It's not so much that it's easier this time, but I have more confidence. It's also a very different climb because I can't remember what foot- and hand-holds I used last time.
Still my girlfriend won't come down to the rope, so they tell her that the best bet is to go up top, tie in and I'll lower her down and then she can climb up. And she bought it! Up top she goes, ties in and slowly, ever so slowly, I see her creeping backward over the edge. It's a slow descent but soon enough she's on the rock beside me and getting ready to climb up.
Her ascent begins. She's obviously quite nervous but damn if that girl isn't one of the bravest people I've ever met. With lots of helpful advice being shouted by the rest of us ("Look to your right... No, the other right") she makes it to the top like a champ!
By this time we're all hungry and tired so we have a little picnic up top and enjoy the evening. There are now a dozen or so other climbers and it's starting to get late, so we head back to town.
