Sat 5 Mar 2011.....GS introduced to Rock Climbing

introducing GS to the gear

It’s now been 5months since we started, and the time to introduce GS to Trad climbing is upon us, as fitness levels are quite acceptable and regular endurance training regimes have progressed well.

abseiling down the stairs

We spent most of February acquiring the required gear for GS's rack, which mainly consists of used but well maintained equipment from experienced active climbers.

on route to GS's 1st session outdoors

The initial introduction to rope and gear handling was carried out in the house, until GS was confident with the basics.

one of our training faces

We consider ourselves lucky to have a large wooded mountain to the rear of our house, which has some excellent faces of mixed levels, which are ideal for introducing a newcomer to the sport.

GS ready for his first outdoor climb

This will be the training ground for at least 4 to 6months, to thoroughly develop GS's confidence and skill levels.

I am the pack mule (as always).......

GS has demonstrated excellent aptitude on his first few sessions on the face. He is confident, keen to learn all aspects of the sport, quick in grasping basic geological conditions respective to rock formations, climbing techniques, and safe handling of equipment.

GS negotiating a traverse under an overhang

 GS definitely possesses the correct attributes to progress to be a strong climber in the making. I remain an extremely proud father!!

basic intro to GS of how to negotiate a basic overhang

We have now introduced two rock climbing sessions into our weekly training regime.

negotiating a basic overhang......contd

preparing to rig a rope

GS abseiling down a face

GS abseiling 2

GS climbing a vertical face

a proud father with a super son

another training face