on the ropes

It’s 25 minutes to the super bowl 43  and I am not watching. I prefer Arizona to win- because I like the cardinal (not those kid molesting perverts , but the red birds).

I saw 2 football games this year (on TV) – Cleveland defeating someone (I should remember- they lost to all the rest…) and Arizona vs charlotte-they played great and stole lots of balls – so now vs the Steelers… as a Clevelander – I can’t support Pittsburgh-  so go cardinals

There- I supported city spirit and now move on to more important business

 

I was watching rocky last week while doing homework- or doing homework while watching rocky – not sure- and noticed again- that this movie did deserve an Oscar- Oscar season approaches – and yesterday we saw a nominee the curious case of Benjamin button- a great story and a must see movie- Alls supports it for the Oscar- I am not sure yet- need to see the competition.

Another Oscar movie I saw this week- or the ‘Oscar mair worst meat slaughtering horror movie of the year award’- my bloody valentine- I have seen lots of horror movie- but this one was just worse (and a lot of them are especially bad)- no story line, no explanations, this guys just kills and kills (with a pick axe- very nice butchering scenes), but get this- they showed a scene- in which the guy was somewhere when a killing took place- so he is not the guy, at the end – a flash back ( why must they use flash backs)  they redid the scene- they didn’t offer another angle- just redid the scene- you can’t do that- I am already stupid for going to these films, so why must I be treated like an idiot- some basic movie integrity is all I ask- I want my money back.

 

So I went rock climbing this week- I did that a few time before but never right- not right is- climbing quickly making it to the top and saying “” I did it” the problem with that is that after 1-2 climbs you can’t move your arms or legs, you are stiff and you can’t do more challenging climbs.

Usually where I climbed there were guides to make sure you are tied and safe. In Cleveland rock gym it works slightly different – you come in , pay (too much) and get the gear- and strep in yourself. Before that you sign and initial in more than 20 places- so no wonder you are aching- just from the signatures alone!. I remark to the rock counter dude- that even if I have to initial every line- I still won’t read it- it’s true

I never read- since no matter what it says, I want to climb, nothing good comes of the legal profession. Mob mentality is a better solution.

So I step in and talk to mike- another meet up guy- also a new climber- mike asks me if I trust the belay system. Belay is the person holding the rope and securing you while you climb- their training is this- you demonstrate that you can tie a rope in a certain way, and you are certified- about as use less as ‘1^st aid provider course I had in the army’- the fact that I had some card that I am certified does not mean I know how to give 1^st aid- so please don’t fall next to me.

And the 1^st kick of the game is kicked.

So I told mike that I trust the Belay, the ropes, etc just not my own straps- since I tied them myself- and I don’t know how to tie a knot (I also have no certification)

So I pick an easy wall to warm up. Linda is the belay this time( also someone I know from the adventures meet up) and she ties the knots and checks (she has been certified for 2 weeks now. So I climb up- the bad way- straight up- easy wall so easy climb- I make it to the top and the straps on my right leg completely fall off. I am at the very top- not kidding, I look down at Linda who did not notice- and say the rope is gone- she looks but does not get it, I repeat the rope fact- I would have showed her- but I would have to let go of the wall- not a wise move when the rope is gone. A few more seconds and a shocked face on Linda says she got it. I stare at my left leg and see that it too is about to come loose- and cannot be trusted. My only safety is the part of the rope connected to my waist – which Linda tied – but the waist part itself was tied by me- so not much trust there either. I am very relaxed – perhaps because this is a fairly easy wall (walls are of the same height- the difficulty is decided by the number of grips , how easy they are to grip, how far apart and most important, the angle of the wall). So with no more options, I start to climb down(usually in indoor rock climbing you would fall- and be descended down, by your belay). So I climbed down and crisis over. Linda was still shocked an very apologetic (she would have had her license suspended over this- if it was known- since she is new belay, I know from now on she would triple check everything- - and since she worked so hard for this license (a 20 minutes boring lecture…)… I want say a thing.

So now my arms were hurting – since I was climbing the wrong way- so I sat to watch others how it suppose to be done.

It’s not difficult to do it right- you just have to change the way you body is aligned to the wall, use your legs more than your arms, and think!

So after stretching my arms for 15 minutes, and going to 3 other people to verify my straps are tied correctly, I tried a more challenging wall.

Straight up, then 90 degrees out, and again up- I never succeeded in this type of wall before. So I climbed slowly, stopping to rest on the wider ledges, and stopping just below the difficult part. Instead of trying to the 1^st grip like I usually would have done. I check my surrounding, send my hand to detect possible better grips. At some point I say .uck it- what can happen?, Linda is my belay again. So I grip something on the top, reposition my legs to , and somehow pull myself, over the difficult part, and climb again to the top with shaking hands from disbelief

I let myself be dropped down and feel great. I explain to mike which grips I used, and what I did, and he follows my directions and make it up also a first for him. I found it rather difficult to take a climbing photo of myself from below- so I got one of mike making it to the top.

I did the same thing- no cheating and going from the sides…straight up.

 

p.s this is considered a mediocre wall, but the 90 degree part, is scarier than other parts- so after that I climbed on a few other walls- harder- with reverse angles of walls. Still have a lot to improve, but I can say now that I can climb.