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General Climbing Discussion

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What got you started? 9-Jul-2003 At 10:14:11 AM V

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I did a lot of bushwalking, from about age 11, so got to love the outdoors lifestyle. I remember abseiling with a swami belt and figure-8 descender on school camps. Went top-rope climbing once on a scout camp -- it was 35 degrees C and I was wearing dunlop volleys. Every time I went to grab for a hold, black dirt would shower down into my eyes. And I had to wear a pink helmet.

After an obligatory 1st year uni of drinking, I resolved to get back into all things wholesome and outdoorsy, so joined the uni club and went on an Easter trip to Arapiles (1996?) just for shits and giggles. First climb was Kestrel. I was standing at the base of Tiger Wall when a huge rock fell and missed me by a metre. Then I was climbing with an inexperienced leader, whose gear was popping out and sliding down the rope to me. I thought this was normal. Then he dropped my camera the full 50m of the pitch and it smashed on the ground right in front of me. I climbed up to meet him (anchored with one dodgy bit of gear), then offered to lead the second pitch (short, slabby thing) up to Flinders Lane. He agreed, so I free soloed it (trailing rope behind) without really thinking about the potential consequences. Got lost trying to find Ali's Cave, sat shivering under the stars in my T-shirt until 11pm.

But the next day I seconded Salamander (grade 13, 5 pitches) on Watchtower face, and something went "click" and suddenly I was in The Zone. Have since learned how to lead, and got into mountaineering as well. I've never been a great technical leader, especially on steep, fingery rock, as it seems to demand a serious training regime, but climbing (in the general sense, not just rock climbing) certainly remains my number one passion in this life, and I see all other outdoor sports I engage in as contributing to my climbing potential.

(I should add a disclaimer here to say that uni climbing is not nearly as dangerous as it sounds -- I was just in the wrong place, on the wrong day, with the wrong leader -- have not had a similar bad experience with uni club since then.)