Rock Climbing?

Yes, we are rock climbers. What an odd little sport (if one could call it a sport). If you have not yet tried it, be forwarned that rock climbing has been officually classified by the U.S. government as being more adictive than crack and heroin combined! Here is a little FAQ for people getting started.

How hard is it?

Rock climbing has a rating scale to assist people in choosing a climb they can sucessfully complete. The scale goes from 5.0 (climbing a ladder) to 5.15 (making huge lunjes off single finger pockets on a severely overhanging wall). The vast majority of climbers you see generally climb between 5.8 and 5.13. It is importaint to note that the scale is not linear. The difference between a 5.0 and 5.1 is next to nothing. The difference between a 5.10 and a 5.11 can be pretty substantial. Why the 5? That is because the rating sytem applies to all hiking and not only rock climbing (5 represents the technical climbing section of the rating system). Class one is walking on a sidewalk, Class two is a steep trail/bushwhacking, Class three is scrambling, Class four is steep scrambling. Class six, in a category by itself, is artificial aid climbing.

What types of climbing are there?

1. Gym climbing.

The CACC has a gym! Its in El Pomar as you walk in from the football feild entrance of the left (for more info see "the gym" section). This involes pulling on peices of plastic that routestters have bolted to walls in such a way as to create "routes".

2. Bouldering

This involves staying close enough to the ground that you dont really mind falling. Boulder problems are rated on a v scale. This originates from John Shermin a.k.a. "the vermin". As a joke John Sherman decided to use his name to rate problems at Hueco Tanks (pictured below). Currently the scale goes from v0 to v16. Most first time beginners will have some trouble with a v0 as it is equivilent to a 5.9 on the roped climbing scale.

3. Top Roping

This is for weenies. If you want to get higher than a few feet of the ground but dont want to fall, then toproping is for you. Top roping consists of climbing a rock with easy acess to the top and affixing the rope to an anchor there. Besides weenies, its also a great way for beginners to get a feel for exposure and make moves in confidence.

4. Sport Climbing

Climbing in areas where bolts have been pre placed in the rock for your protection. Usually falls are limited to 10-15 feet or so. This is for climbers who want to push their physical abilities without worring about getting killed.

5. Trad Climbing

Also known as traditional climbing. This involves climbing in areas with little or no fixed protection. Climbers insert devices into cracks in the rock to safegaurd a fall. Climbing trad involves accepting the risks of very long falls, ground falls, routefinding, and pulled protection. It can however, be practiced with a good deal of saftey by those who are trained in it. Trad requires a good deal more equipment and experience.

Placing a camming device on the Garden of the Gods classic "New Era, 5.7"

6. Aid

This involves using artificial means to get up the rock (as opposed to hands and feet). Aid climbers stand on webbing ladders known as aiders and move upwards by placing vairous devices into or onto small irregularities in the rock. Aid climbing is rated from a0 to a6. This scale is more of a danger scale than a skill scale. a0 means every peice of gear is solid and will hold a fall. a6 means that every peice of gear is extremely tenuous and may pop at every movement- it implies that if a peice pulls, both the climber and belayer will die.

7. Alpine/Mountaineering

Climbing in the big mountains. While there does exist a good selection of rock routes, much of this type involves climbing snow and ice as well. Apline climbing requires a new level of seriousness.

8. Big Wall

Climbs that take multiple days and are thousands of feet high. Usually, but not always, these are primarly aid routes.

9. Skiing.

Skiing is not that cool