I am not a climber. In fact this past weekend was the first time that I climbed. Thanks to my friends I was able to come back alive.
Climbing is pretty strange. You know that you’re safe, but you’re never sure. It definitely is one of those sports that makes you feel a bit more alive. Thankfully the weather was on our side this weekend; unlike most weekends in Seattle.
Smith Rock State Park is located in Oregon’s high desert near Terrebonne, OR. The air is crisp and dry; keeping hydrated is crucial. These large pieces of rocks really do make you feel small. They are remnants of multiple volcanic activities; the tuff from 14mil. years ago and the basalt from half a mil. years ago. The volcanic tuff and the basalt create an ideal spot for climbing. The last time I was here was for its Geological significance, but really its just as significant for climbing. Smith Rock is where sport climbing became popular in the US of A. Sport climbing is where bolts are pre-placed into the rock so as to make climbing more accessible/safe for beginners/non-exterme people.
There are places within the park for the more extereme minded as well:
This type of deal is definitely not for the faint of heart, including myself. What you don’t get in the picture to the left is how damn steep the wall is. It is more than vertical at some points I am sure!
The above picture is of the face that they were climbing (to the bottom right of this pic). As to how far they got, I’m not sure.
Above is our very own Dr. Robinson going up some extereme route I am sure I won’t be doing for the forseeable future. One of the things you quickly learn, should I say feel, is that you must be quick witted and willing to do this. Climbing is a different puzzle for everyone. People of different sizes have to come up with a different solution to overcome each step. I enjoyed the puzzles that were presented to me. An experienced climber could do something one way, but since you don’t have the skills they have, you can’t copy their moves! You always have to come up with a way that makes sense for yourself. Same route, different answers.
I’ll end this post with an IR photo that I took. I messed up the exposure a bit so it isn’t the best, but it was fun watching other people as they tried to figure out what the hell I was doing with a black filter.
All in all, a really awesome weekend!