Rock Climbing
"No time to waste when there's a country of crags to climb."
The Wanaka Trip
Instructors: Paula Robertson, Bex Dryland, Phil and one more
Date: The 4th of March to the 28th of March, 2015
Duration: 6 Days
Weather Conditions: The Wanaka week had really nice conditions. We caught a 5 day sunny period. The rain came down on the last day and ended our 6 day climbing week only a few hours early.
Monday: Curiously sheepish (14)
Learning: Tuesday learning was learning about top rope climbing to give us a taste and assess our abilities.
Experience: Rock climbing crash course, loving this experience. Rock climbing started with an amazing trip to Wannaka. It involved a trip past some grade 5 section of water near Hast. We even had a broken rim on one of the vans which was quickly solved by a helpful local. The first day finished with a taste of climbing.
Crag, Riverside
Experience: Rock climbing crash course, loving this experience. Rock climbing started with an amazing trip to Wannaka. It involved a trip past some grade 5 section of water near Hast. We even had a broken rim on one of the vans which was quickly solved by a helpful local. The first day finished with a taste of climbing.
Crag, Riverside
Tuesday: Zoftig (12) Right assertion (14) Generation x (16)Learning: Wednesday we went through how to set up a top rope system. Then we went through lead climbing and set up our top rope systems on the bolts at the top of different climbs.
Experience: Second day and the start of lead. It started great I climbed from easier to harder becoming more comfortable with lead clipping techniques and setting top rope systems. Though I can feel the pumped fore arms coming.
Crag Kaiwhaka Pai memorial
Wednesday: Get off that cow (15) pulp fiction (15) strike (14) climb into unknown (17)
weaker sex (15)\
Learning: Thursday I learned what my ability is and how hard I can push myself. With good foot technique it is amazing what you can climb. This day was about getting climbs under your belt and consolidating the learnings of the days before.
Experience: Time to step it up I thought as I choose Josh to be my climbing partner. His lack of fear and an extra half meter in his reach. This pretty much insured that I was in for a hard day. What a day though, I lead my first 17, I took my first lead fall and I started to see what I was made of when it came to rock.
Crag Bake house
Thursday: Stealing candy from a baby (17) wheres the hells little sister (12)
Generic betrayal (17) Milk and cookies (12)
Learning: I worked out that there is a hundred different climbs with a hundred different moves. Working out what move needs to be done and then executing that move using good technique is what getting good is all about. We added a new layer today including change over to abseil systems.
Experience: On Thursday I pushed up some amazing climbs. I really tried to climb to my physical limit and believe me my forearms hurt so much. A climb I climbed earlier in the day which wasn't so hard became near impossible in the afternoon.
Main wall and Tomb stone
Friday and Saturday: Head bangers arete (17) The Big Corner (14) The Crack (17)
Learning: On the last two days I spent a lot of time trying to lead climb a seventeen for the second time. I took multiple lead falls attempting it. I also spent a lot of time just climbing easy climbs getting my change over and techniques dialed.
Experience: I was really happy with my first week of climbing and think I have had a good look into what the sport is about.
From One Crag to Another
Charleston.
Like they say, "from zero to hero."
Instructors: Paula Robertson, Bex Dryland, Sam
Duration: 3 Days
Weather Conditions: Sunny A nice warm high pressure system was hanging over Charleston over the week. The ocean offering big swells.
The 30th of March, 2015
Learning: Placing and rating trad placement.
Experience: Trad seems interesting. It's climbing with greater difficulty and an increased understanding of the rock you are working with. I had a small view of trad climbing today and am keen to see where it takes me .
The 31st of March, 2015
Learning: Better understanding of effective gear placement, 3 point anchor system.
Experience: What a day, Charleston is amazing such a beautiful location. I learned a lot today though I spent a lot of time boulder along the walls. Bouldering is a cool twist to the sport I think I like. I'll have to make up for some missed learning tomorrow.
The 1st of April, 2015
The 31st of March, 2015
Learning: Better understanding of effective gear placement, 3 point anchor system.
Experience: What a day, Charleston is amazing such a beautiful location. I learned a lot today though I spent a lot of time boulder along the walls. Bouldering is a cool twist to the sport I think I like. I'll have to make up for some missed learning tomorrow.
The 1st of April, 2015
Learning: Attaching slings to extend 3 point anchor systems, top rope rescues, bouldering safety.
Experience: It was hard to say good bye to Charleston, but honestly I can barely climb after the last two weeks. The first piece of rock I touched had me pumped. It was definitely a day to concentrate on learning some anchor techniques.
Experience: It was hard to say good bye to Charleston, but honestly I can barely climb after the last two weeks. The first piece of rock I touched had me pumped. It was definitely a day to concentrate on learning some anchor techniques.
The 2nd of April, 2015
Learning: The final day of our two week climbing course was a trip to the local rock climbing gym. It was here we practiced, top rope rescues, self rscues on jammed equipment and an overall cheek up of all the abilities learnt during the week
Experience: So the weeks over and I've been approved to go out and climb using the polytechnics equipment. I can't wait to use some of my newly learnt ability in some new locations.
Punakaiki SDL
Experience: The first thing I noticed when going to Punakaiki was difference in the rock. Wannaka offered technical crimping moves, where as Punakaiki moves were more dynamic and involved a lot more upper body strength. The rock offers far apart jugs spread over slabbing rock. It took me three trips to lead climb every climb on the wall. The 18 was a fun climb. It took me one day of failing it to work out exactly what I needed to do. I made the 18 my project. I managed to top rope it the second time I climbed at Punakaiki. My last trip to Punakaiki I manages to lead climb it and even climbed back up to clean it.
Learning: I learned how climbs are not so much about struggling and muscling it out rather than figuring out the right sequence of moves that make a climb feel three grades easier than it is. I also experienced climbing outside of the polytechnic confines and have gotten a feel for the style of it.
Runaga Boldering
Today was an evening Boldering at Runaga the local climbing site only ten miinutes down the road. I did little boldering but managed to take a few shots. It was 5 meter swells with an awesome sun set. New Zealand truly is an amazing place.
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