Of Spiderman & Clumsy Gecko - Episode 1

This is the 1st of 4 instalments of the "Spiderman & Clumsy Gecko", a slightly unanimated view into the ups and definitely downs of the Sports Climbing course D & I are attending for the next 2 weeks. No prizes for guessing who the Spiderman and Clumsy Gecko could be...

Here's how things went yesterday evening, 12th March 1845h - 2145h @ YMCA Tsim Sha Tsui.

We were first introduced to the instructor, whose name according to D is "Ah John" but I thought it sounded more like "Ah Jun". Anyway, he is definitely younger than the both of us, nice eyes and quite lean. Besides the both of us, another couple has also joined the class who were incidentally late.

Ah John/Jun (must remember to take photo of him the next time) briefly described to us what we were getting ourselves into. We are basically doing the elementary class, and on the 4th lesson, there will be an assessment. If we survive till then and clear the assessment, we will be able to climb and belay people at the indoor climbing facilities. And if we train/practice for a few months, we will be able to go for the Lead Climbing course.

During the 1st hr, we did bouldering from left to right using a series of different techniques. At first, I was a wee bit too kan cheong (Hokkien for "excited" and if my bro was around, he would have called me "Kan Cheong Spider" 'cos spiders will scurry around quite quickly) and moved too fast before making sure my footholds were stable enough.

Later, Ah John/Jun upped the Bouldering technical level by:

1. Using only 1 foothold per section of the wall (there are 4 parts on that wall) and one foot must kinda jumped off the foothold before the other foot stands on it. So at any one time, only 1 foothold can be used.

This I did very badly, 'cos I kept slipping off the darn footholds even though we were just inches above the ground. So embarassing. By the way, I must add that the course doesn't provide us with proper climbing shoes and I was in my Nikes which are too big.

D, on the other hand, is a natural with this sort of sports and he did well even in his New Balance.

D said that I couldn't coordinate my movements... but I believed it was due to the fact that my Nikes were slipping off the footholds and I couldn't feel the footholds through the thick sole.

2. Using only 1 hand grip per section of the wall so both hands would have to share the chosen hand grip while the legs are given free rein to move.

Again, I kept slipping and was so tempted to kick off my shoes. Even Ah John/Jun said my shoes are too big and suggested that I choose one of those discarded climbing shoes in the box. Well, I had no choice 'cos I hate to look like a fool when the other girl was able to boulder so nicely. Even D said that she is a natural... #%*& and he is right.

So I chose the least smelly climbing shoes (these, according to Ah John/Jun, are discarded by more experienced climbers who use the facility) and thought "Gee, I had better climb better now 'cos if I still slipped, it's not the shoes but the climber."

We went on to learn how to wear the harness and tie knots so that we will not fall off the wall and kill whoever is below. I can't say I am a fast learner, I tend to do better with practice, so knots weren't exactly fun in the beginning.

All of us took turns to climb the wall with Ah John/Jun as the belayer. We each took one section of the wall and it was later when D realised that his section was actually the toughest.

Just before the first climb, we had our first Vocabulary lesson and learnt the 4 important words:

1. "Check" - that the climber's and belayer's equipment are properly secured

2. "Climbing" - climber says this to the belayer just before the actual climb

3. "Tension" - climber shouts this from the top of the wall so that the belayer will secure the rope in preparation for the descent

4. "Low Down" - climber backs into an L-position and "walk" down the wall when belayer is ready for the descent

All of us did fine for the first climb which was still the flat portion of the wall. At least I now learnt to take my time and secured my footholds before taking the next step.

And of course, Ah John/Jun had to up the technical level and told us to climb all the way to the top, which is fine except there is this bit that juts out of the wall near the top.

I was fine until I reached the protruding section. To get over the edge, I had to reach for the handgrip further the top and push myself over the edge. But my darn right leg just couldn't bend and swing over the darn edge. On retrospect, it is most likely I hadn't gotten a stable grip yet and my legs were like so far apart. And although I wore my tough Columbia pants, there was this fear that the possible split in the nether zones could become a reality.

So I slipped but the harness held me up and I gave another try which was a success.

D's section was tougher because unlike ours, he had only 3 footholds on that protruding section whereas we had at least 4. Ah John/Jun shouted to him to reach for the foothold on my section which required D to really stretch for it. But as usual, D did it well and didn't slip. By the way, no one slipped except me, even the other girl didn't. Sigh.

Finally we swopped sections and to make my bruised ego feel better, I went ahead with D's section. I realised I can be so darn competitive and just want to prove to everyone that I can do the darn thing.

While waiting for the rest to complete, I planned my route mentally. When it was my turn, again, I started off fine but once I reached the protruding portion, I realised I can't reach the handgrip over the edge and I only had 3 footholds to manipulate. I couldn't do the same thing as D 'cos my legs are too short and I was spending too long hanging on the hand grips which caused major fatigue. I made the mistake of leaning back into my harness and it was too difficult to pull myself back against the wall.

Ah John/Jun kept shouting for me to stick close to the wall but I just couldn't hold on anymore, so I slipped (AGAIN!!!). I tried again just below the edge and used the smaller footholds on my right to push myself up so as to reach that hand grip. That's the hand grip which I needed to swing my legs over the edge. Once I got them over, I had to just slap the top out of frustration and relief before shouting "Tension" to Ah John/Jun.

That was one difficult section which I am glad I managed to do even though I had to redo the climb at the upper section.

After the lesson, D & I went to feed ourselves at the nearest Starbucks with pies, puffs and lattes. Anyway, my biceps are kinda aching now as I typed this... but I can't wait for the next session, although not so much the stinky climbing shoes I will be wearing till the end of the course. Miss my flexible Adidas that are sitting pretty in S'pore... must remember to bring them back at the end of the month.