Index

I climbed with Jesse at Index Town Wall today (an hour drive from my house in Sammamish). We arrived at about 3:30 pm and left at about 6:30. I learned a little more about trad climbing and I found out I am not a great rock climber (again). It was fun though.

Trad (shortened form of “traditional”) climbing is rock climbing where you have to place your own protection. This is contrasted with sport climbing, where there are bolts drilled into the rock that you simply have to clip onto as you climb. The most common way to place protection is with a camming device that is spring loaded. These things common in different sizes, are easy to place and remove, and are very strong for their weight.  

I learned a rock climbing technique called “jamming.” It is where you literally jam your hand and foot into a crack to get you up the rock. The first pitch we had yesterday was a featureless wall with a large crack. I have never done jamming before so it was quite exhilarating. There was another long crack on the third pitch we did. I was hesitant at first but slowly moved up the crack. It’s pretty amazing how strong your feet and hands can be when they are jammed in a crack. I am probably one of the least aesthetic climbers on earth, but I did a few pitches. When I got tired, it was time to rappel to the bottom and call it a day. Thanks Jesse for the great time!

I am tired so I am going to hit the sack!