Rock Climbing for the first time on October 3, 1998 at Crow Hill, MA.
 Look! It's spiderman climbing up the side of the mountain. Oh wait, it's just me rock climbing for the very first time. This is pretty good for someone who is acrophobic (fear of height). I was unsure if I was able to climb up this 110 foot rock stood almost vertically. Unfortunately, I didn't make it all the way to the top. I was stopped short half way because I didnt' have the proper climbing shoes. I wore my sneakers at first and couldn't get a good grip on the crevices. My friend Rich loaned me his climbing shoes but it was a size to big. My toes had to be up against the tip of the shoes to work effectively.
Before climbing up this huge rock we need to setup the safety ropes from the top as shown in the picture on the right. Here Tanya and Jeremy are tying these special ribbon together similar to the way rubber bands are tied together. These ribbons are strong enough to suspend an elephant. We then look for a large nearby tree to wrap the ribbon around. The ribbons are long enough to reach over the edge and a metal ring is attached to the end. The metal ring acts like a pulley but with more friction. A long harness threads into the ring with both ends of the rope touching the bottom of the cliff. One end of the rope is attached to the swami belt of the climber and the other end to the swami belt with a locking mechanism of the belayer. The belayer is the person that watches climber and controls the tension of the harness. In case the climber falls he/she will lock the harness and break the fall with his/her own weight. The fall is no more than a foot if the belayer is watchful.
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The picture above shows Jeremy beginning to climb with Rich (Belayer) preparing for the ascent.
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The picture above shows Tanya already climbing and Rich NOT watching her. |
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Look! It's spiderman climbing up the side of the mountain. Oh wait, it's just me rock climbing for the very first time. This is pretty good for someone who is acrophobic (fear of height). I was unsure if I was able to climb up this 110 foot rock stood almost vertically. Unfortunately, I didn't make it all the way to the top. I was stopped short half way because I didnt' have the proper climbing shoes. I wore my sneakers at first and couldn't get a good grip on the crevices. My friend Rich loaned me his climbing shoes but it was a size to big. My toes had to be up against the tip of the shoes to work effectively. 
Before climbing up this huge rock we need to setup the safety ropes from the top as shown in the picture on the right. Here Tanya and Jeremy are tying these special ribbon together similar to the way rubber bands are tied together. These ribbons are strong enough to suspend an elephant. We then look for a large nearby tree to wrap the ribbon around. The ribbons are long enough to reach over the edge and a metal ring is attached to the end. The metal ring acts like a pulley but with more friction. A long harness threads into the ring with both ends of the rope touching the bottom of the cliff. One end of the rope is attached to the swami belt of the climber and the other end to the swami belt with a locking mechanism of the belayer. The belayer is the person that watches climber and controls the tension of the harness. In case the climber falls he/she will lock the harness and break the fall with his/her own weight. The fall is no more than a foot if the belayer is watchful.
