Genesis of a Climber
With great anticipation, I headed down to the local MEC store and engaged in a conversation with a sales rep in the climbing department. Being a newbie climber I really didn’t know anything about which shoes to buy, but I was well aware that they are a vital piece of equipment for rock climbing. A half hour later I walked out of the store with my first pair of rubber-slipper like climbing shoes… “Bring On The Rock Faces,” I thought to myself as I walked back to my vehicle, proud as punch of my new gear.
To be honest, in the past I was never really drawn to rock climbing. I had trained in chair lift evacuation and high angle rescue but the ropes seemed over-complicated, the knots made me upset and the time I had set aside for outdoor pursuits was entirely spent burning up the trails on my mountain bike. One summer evening nearly 25 years ago when I was in my early 20’s (I’m dating myself here) a friend, her sister and another guy went out climbing near their family house in Okanagan Mountain park. I tagged along and sipped a couple of bottles of beer in a lawn chair while watching the three of them attempt something that looked very technical but not very high. They repeatedly attacked a difficult route with a big crack to cross but were unsuccessful in getting past it. I’m sure my critical eye and armchair climber comments helped them (maybe…lol). This was my first experience with climbing and/or bouldering. I definitely didn’t rush out and buy a set of climbing shoes but I do remember looking through some climbing magazines back at the family home and I vividly remember pictures of a free-climber doing some super high routes in Squamish. “Wow,” I thought, “Ballsy with a hint of Crazy!”
Fast forward nearly 25 years and there I stood, in a bouldering gym in my new rock climbing shoes, tearing the top off a plastic bag with a chalk sponge and dropping it into my new climbing chalk pouch. Fortunately, a member of an outdoors club I belong to was in the gym that night as it was too wet and rainy to climb outside. The young anaesthesiologist is an experienced climber and took me on as a student right away. Descriptions of route difficulty ratings were first explained, then shoes were discussed. Soon I was grabbing onto features and pulling myself up the walls! “WOW, I actually enjoy this,” I thought…. It helped that Mark is a likeable and inspiring character but I was surprised at how much I liked the challenge of finding the routes and positioning my body so I could reach each handhold and foot block.
What began as a means to reach higher peaks as a ski mountaineer may develop into a full-blown rock climbing habit, Who knows Exactly!?!… One thing I can say for sure is that going up those walls reminded me of skiing down a tree run- Find the Route and Enjoy the Ride!!
See you up there! :)