Joshua Tree 2

Corey did a good job capturing the feel of the weekend, that's for sure! I was so thankful to out guide, Eric, who loaned me his fleece liner and high tech fabric shell. Without those, and the sweatpants Corey bought me Saturday night, I would have been UUUNNNNhappy! But I'm glad I wasn't :o) (left: Corey about to finish a 5.7 climb --not a lot of hand holds)

The group we were with was full of good people. Two guys climbed like little spider monkeys, and two girls were almost a mirror image of me and Corey, as far as skill level. There was also this other guy, Louis... boy was he funny! He is a cancer survivor whose kids have grown up and moved out. He was actually enrolled in a 4-day course to learn anchoring and ... I think the next class was rescue climbing. I never heard how those two days went for him, but I'm sure he did a great job. (left: me about to finish a 5.5)

Our guide, Eric, is a great instructor. He works for Vertical Adventures. I don't think he has any "failures" as students. Like Jeff Butterfield (from our Bar Harbour excursion), Eric is very specific and careful in his instructions. We learned our "staple" knots like the Figure 8, the 8 on a bight, the Clove Hitch, and the Barrel. He warned us about safety issues and taught us good climbing practices, such as double checking your equipment as well as your partner's. One thing I loved about his style was that 1) take your time 2) climbing is more about technique than it is about strength (until you start climbing at 5.12 levels) 3) you don't always have to reach the top, if it means that you're not getting any enjoyment out of it (Above: At the top of the climb, I declared to the group and the wind that "I'm a badass!" lol!)

I followed all of Eric's advice :o) I made it to the top of my climbs only once, but I learned LOTS. My goal for this trip was to learn how to "trust the shoes," and to make some more progress in conquering my fear of heights. This touched upon #2 --being a technical climber versus trying to muscle my way up the rocks. I also did a lot of #1, because I need to stop and take breaks to rest my arms and legs, and to mentally prepare myself to reach some degree of success. I was also happy to have practice in being Corey's bolle, since we will ideally reach the point in which we can climb on our own. Eric asked each student his or her goals for climbing, and he did well in helping each person reach their short term goals, as well as helped them prepare for the next part in their long term goals.



Corey's goals were about the same as mine, minus the fear of heights :o) I definitely feel that we successfully reached our goals in learning to trust our equipment, our new techniques, and each other! "Thank you" to Vertical Adventures and Eric! (left: Corey practicing on "trusting the shoes" as we waited for our next climb. below: me being bolle for Corey)