Hit the Rocks

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Hit the Rocks

by L. Wang

Spiritual Adventure: Need purpose in your life?

For those who love the height and thrill, rock climbing is the sport for you. It’s definitely not something you can do overnight, but dedication and a passion to learn can get you places (such as bigger, wider rocks and mountains) with the sport. As someone who has wall climbed before, I decided to ask rock climbing expert Tim Sesink how I can start scaling the rocks myself.

It can be dangerous

Rock and sport climbing is exciting, fun and also dangerous. In rock climbing, as opposed to in indoor wall climbing, there is no room for mistakes. One small slip and you could be falling from ten feet. There are many extensive knots you need to know how to tie and a large amount of equipment you must know how to use: carabiners, quickdraws, stoppers, harnesses, belay and rappel devices and cords to name a few. Get educated and know what you are doing before you start.

Prepare yourself

Rock climbing is a sport that requires mental and physical strength, flexibility, agility and endurance. It is important to prepare yourself for it before you go out. Here are a few suggestions:

Take indoor climbing classes. Although indoor wall climbing is very different from outdoor rock or sport climbing, the knots you need to know how to tie and the equipment you use are the same. Wall climbing will help you get an idea of what rock climbing is like.
Read and research. There are many books published about rock climbing. Tim suggests reading Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills by The Mountaineers Group. It’s about 600 pages—if you read all of it and know how to do everything mentioned in it, then you’re set to go climbing!
Go with a guide or expert. For the first few times, always go with a guide or a friend who knows exactly what he or she is doing. Some people go without an experienced rock climber, and end up regretting it.
Be ready to spend from $200 to $800. If you don’t already have the dough, start saving up, because that’s about how much you need if you want to enjoy this sport.
Make time for it. Rock or sport climbing isn’t something you can do once and get the hang of right away. Be prepared to go many times.

If you loved climbing trees as a kid and are looking for another challenge, take on rock climbing. It takes time and preparation before you start, but once you do, you’re sure to fall—in love with it.

~L. Wang recently graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.A. in English and is an aspiring journalist who hopes to go overseas to report international news one day. As a big fan of hockey, sleep and rare steak, this writer thinks there’s no such thing as too much of the three.