On 11th
May a group of us took a break from our study and headed out to Long
Beach. As the name suggests, this is a beach of some dimension,
visible on the map below:
We made our way
to a steep basalt outcrop, the perfect place for outdoor rock
climbing. Through that morning the weather was surprisingly good and
the autumn sun kept us cosy. All of us split up into pairs, each pair
consisting of the person climbing and the person belaying. If you
haven't heard of belaying before, have a read about it here.
Each person in
the pair took turns to climb and to belay on various routes up the
outcrop. For beginners like your's truly, it was a real learning
experience. It was my first time doing this activity and I quickly
picked up a few things including:
- Coming down is scarier than going up.
- Having chalk on your hands gives you super powers.
- Belaying isn't as complicated as it looks.
Now I leave you
with these photos, courtesy of Jess Hinojosa, because they say a
picture speaks a thousand words. In this case the first word must be
FUN!
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