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Belaying Bea
Oct. 15th, 2013 08:58 pmMy sister happened to be about yesterday while I was preparing to go bouldering and, from nowhere, announced that she would mind trying climbing. Keen to convert someone else to the cause, I agreed to check out the rules & regs on my first visit with a view to bringing her along for a climb the next day.
We went early — I correctly anticipated that the place would be empty of students of midday! — and warmed up in the bouldering room where I showed off a few techniques and she got a feel for things before we switched to the wall, where I belayed her on a few of the easier routes. Although she rainbow climbed everything rather than sticking to specific routes — partly because they didn't have anything below a 4 and partly because everything looked quite reachy — she looked impressively good for a first-timer: her weight was in the right place, her footwork looked pretty solid, and she was good at standing up on things. In fact the only downside to the whole thing were the strange squeals of delight she made as I let her down! It's a good thing the place was empty, otherwise I'd've been too embarrassed to show my face there again; but perhaps if it'd been busier, the general hubbub might have drowned her out better...
In the end it was an extremely successful sibling bonding session and I encouraged her — and told my parents to make sure they encouraged her — to grab a friend, do a course, and get signed off. She definitely enjoyed it and I think she could really do with something that gets her away from the kids for a while and gives her a chance to de-stress a bit...
We went early — I correctly anticipated that the place would be empty of students of midday! — and warmed up in the bouldering room where I showed off a few techniques and she got a feel for things before we switched to the wall, where I belayed her on a few of the easier routes. Although she rainbow climbed everything rather than sticking to specific routes — partly because they didn't have anything below a 4 and partly because everything looked quite reachy — she looked impressively good for a first-timer: her weight was in the right place, her footwork looked pretty solid, and she was good at standing up on things. In fact the only downside to the whole thing were the strange squeals of delight she made as I let her down! It's a good thing the place was empty, otherwise I'd've been too embarrassed to show my face there again; but perhaps if it'd been busier, the general hubbub might have drowned her out better...
In the end it was an extremely successful sibling bonding session and I encouraged her — and told my parents to make sure they encouraged her — to grab a friend, do a course, and get signed off. She definitely enjoyed it and I think she could really do with something that gets her away from the kids for a while and gives her a chance to de-stress a bit...
