Of Spiderman & Clumsy Gecko - Episode 3

I'm typing this entry with sore and aching triceps, hands that feel stiff and shoulders that are feeling tender... but I quite like this sore and tender feeling. Call me psycho, but this kinda pain is something I relish. It's the obvious sign of having done something beyond what I think I am capable of; the sort of pain that gives me the high that I can't get anywhere else. I had read somewhere that exercise releases some kinda chemicals which can be likened to what nicotine or drugs do. On Wednesday, Ah John/Jun had told us, ominously, that exciting things would come our way on Saturday 19 March. We found out what it was... Falling off the wall. The idea is accidents do occur, grips do slip and strength does fail, so we have to learn how to fall with style and still prevent injuries. Besides those terms such as "Climbing", "Tension" and "Lowdown", we learnt one more today - "Fall". We need to first learn to let go, hands, legs and most importantly, our innate need to exercise control over everything we do. After shouting "Fall", we need to back away from the wall, hands and all, drop a couple of metres and trust that the Belayer will halt the incoming deadweight. On hearing "Fall", the Belayer would also be thrown forward as the Climber falls and need to halt the fall by using the leg(s) to prop oneself up against the wall. Here's the list of stuff D & I did today: 1. Stretching & Warm-ups: Besides the usual isolated warm-ups, Ah John/Jun made us do some bouldering on the tougher wall. 2. Climbing, Belay & Fall - At The Tougher Wall: Before the climb, all smiles: Pre-climb checks by Climber (Me) & Belayer (Alison) - We are trusting one another by the hour 'cos we take turn to climb and belay one another: The Climb: Still Climbing... Finally At The Top: I had a huge problem at the middle portion of the climb (photos not included), as I just couldn't find the strength in my right leg to push myself up. My forearms, fingers and shoulders were burning up at that time and I so felt like giving up but Ah John/Jun didn't allow that. I had to call out "Tension" a couple of times to take a break. On retrospect, I had started the climb much too left and the ideal footholds and grips were more on the right. Also I held on much too long while deciding what would be my next step, and I couldn't find the strength to stretch, push or pull. BUT, I had done a better and smoother job the first time when I climbed that wall. In fact, I didn't have this much problem. The Lowdown After The Fall: The Lowdown is my favourite part of the climb 'cos I like to jump off the wall as I descend, something like abseiling... I imagine myself as one of the SWAT while doing that. D did the climb well, for someone in his mid 30s, I reckon his athleticism is still quite good. Very proud of him. D Near The Top: As The Belayer: Ah John/Jun (on D's left holding the rope) is tall and lean, the right physique for a climber. I suppose it will be tough for a beefed-up bodybuilder to push/pull all that weight up the wall... can't imagine Arnie doing that. Alison and I exchanged mobile numbers, and plan to climb regularly and practice. Afterall, we trust one another when it comes to belaying. I had taken some videos on my 7610 on the climb and fall today, and need to figure out how to convert the nokia video format to either the windows media format or quicktime... Final lesson next Wed and that will also be the assessment, which will be a climb, belay and the difficult Fall on that toughie wall. The one thing I learnt abt the Fall is that it is quite easy when you are falling but most difficult to let go of the handgrips before the Fall. I mean who likes to fall right, especially if you are like about 5 metres off the ground. Lots of thoughts will run in your head: "Will the rope hold?", "Will the Belayer hold the rope in time?", "What if I can't hold my bladder when I fall?"... It's our nature to be in control and want to control the fall by holding the handgrips or the rope, but all these are dangerous as I may hit the wall hard or cut badly. It can be such an irony that keeping control may be the one thing that hurt or even kill us.