Climbing at Heart Creek

Today I went climbing outside with my friends. Helen was my belay partner and put up with a lot of my crybaby demands. :)

Usually I am behind the lens but this time I can pose 20m above the ground.

Climbing on the rock is very different from the gyms but it is a lot of fun and great to be outside. The biggest difference for me is confidence in holding onto the rocks. In the gym there are usually nice big holds but the cliffs have nothing but tiny crimpers. I also do not like to fall on lead which is a mental challenge that I will have to overcome.

At the end of the day I helped my friend Aaron collect some of his equipment by lowering him 30m off a cliff. Here we are discussing the plan of action, and then crossing the freezing creek with extra rope. We had no communication once he was over the edge so I had to rely only on the tension of the rope to decide when to lower and when to pull. It was a little bit of an adventure to set everything up safely but it was nice that we practiced these skills during the winter at the gym.

Here is a short video I made of the climb shown in this photo.