Climbing in Yosemite

Yosemite National Park / June 20, 2011

One very bright morning, Matt and I went rock climbing. Many climbers call Yosemite the "rock climbing capital of the world," and I feel pretty lucky to have gotten the chance to do some climbing there.

Rock climbing is crazy- for lack of a better word. When you look at a rock face you might think "there is no way I can climb this," but you can. It's amazing how much you can do with just the very tips of your fingers and edges of your feet.. the trick is that you have to believe you can do it. The hardest part for me is trusting my feet since one of my biggest fears is hiking/climbing smooth flat rock.

We climbed all morning and afternoon. We talked to our guide, Mark, about his adventures climbing all over the world and climbing El Cap (in Yosemite) in 12.5 hours (when it takes people an average of 3-5 days to complete.) Matt and I belayed each other which is why I don't really have many photos to share. We had each others' lives in our hands really- that's why I was ok without the camera. Talk about your trust falls.

I prefer climbing outdoors, but I think we're going to try an indoor gym soon since we don't have the luxury of natural granite faces out here on long island. Darn it. I am looking forward to getting Alexi and Dave to take us climbing in CT.. they're my original instructors <3

also.. Happy Friday!

100 Things: no. 61

61. Go Rock Climbing: Alexi and Dave took me rock climbing in Connecticut two Aprils ago. It was terrifying, but amazing. (side note- now that I think of it, a great portion of my 100 Things have been/will be completed with Alexi)

Rock climbing is scary if you're afraid of heights. I don't think I'm afraid of heights though. I'm afraid of falling from heights. Is that the same thing?

Other then being very high up (if you're able to climb very high up) it's not scary, but definitely a challenge. For me the hardest part was understanding the wall and knowing where to wedge my fingers and balance my toes. I had to rely on Alexi and Dave to shout up orders.. "there's a tiny crack about a foot from your right and up a little.. put your right hand in it and go." What? I found that if I didn't think about it and just listened to them I was fine. They know what they're talking about.

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