Looking for a toehold

By HEATHER RAMSAY

They say that facing your fears is an excellent way to overcome them, but when your psyche is a seething mass of major fears and minor insecurities, where do you begin?

Try rock climbing. In the space of a few hours I stared down the barrel of some serious fears - fear of heights, fear of physical injury and fear of failure. More frivolous insecurities also manifested themselves and were banished - looking silly in front of strangers, breaking a nail and being caught without a nail file, or looking terrible in a photo, to name just a few.

The only major fear that didn't surface was that of being eaten by a shark, but my first rock-climbing experience took place far inland at CastleRock Adventure, near Te Awamutu, so there was no danger of that.

I'd always thought of rock climbing as an extreme sport practised by daredevil fanatics, and consequently I assumed that we would start at some extreme time, like dawn. It was a pleasant surprise to find that our half-day introduction to rock climbing started at a civilised 10am.

After making introductions and outlining the programme, effervescent instructor Lee Dawson got our small group decked out for the day ahead.

This is where you overcome the fear of looking silly, because apart from the shiny carabiner clips and a dinky little puff bag of chalk for those sweaty palms, rock-climbing paraphernalia is rather unflattering.

There's a harness that makes even the smallest buttocks look large, a helmet that flattens the best hairstyles, and shoes that are designed for practicality, not style.

However, it's a great leveller because everyone looks the same, and after a few laughs at our appearance we were ready to conquer some of the million-year-old rock formations that dominate the lush green farmland in this part of the country.

The first exercise was a confidence-builder that taught us how to find hand and toeholds in the ignimbrite rock faces. It's called bouldering and it involves negotiating horizontally along the cliff face no more than a metre above the ground.

Nobody was roped for this exercise, but each climber had a partner behind them to catch them if they fell, as well as to tell them where to move their hands and feet to find the best holds.

Communication and trust between partners is important in rock climbing, and after the next stage I could see why it is becoming popular for company team building.

We were using the top-roping technique, where a rope is threaded through an anchor at the top of the climb. One end of the rope is attached to the climber, and the other end is held by the climber's partner who feeds it in or out as required - belaying is the correct term.

CastleRock's permanent anchors are checked and tested by engineers, and Dawson had been out to the climbing site earlier and set up the ropes. All we had to do was learn how to tie ourselves on safely, how to belay our partners, and then climb the rock.

Things are never as straightforward as they sound, and after exhibiting a total lack of co-ordination of arms and fingers, I ended up with a knot that looked more like a bird's nest than a figure of eight. After a few attempts Dawson assured me that my knot was extremely "sexy", and while I couldn't see the attraction, I was glad that it was also pronounced safe.

We practised belaying, especially a technique called "locking off", which locks the rope into place and prevents it from slipping through fingers, clips and anchors and dropping the unfortunate climber on the other end to the ground.

Then we were deemed ready to climb the Crooked Crack, an easy grade, 8m route up Wharepapa Crag. The rock faces at Wharepapa are full of holes, and from the ground there seemed to be dozens of secure places to put your hands and feet.

After watching the others climb successfully, I mapped out the best holds in my mind, but it was impossible to put the plan into practice.

Once I was clinging tightly to the rock face, I couldn't actually see the holes above or below me, with footholds proving the most elusive. This is where communication and trust come in. As well as holding you tightly with the rope, your partner can verbally guide you to the best holds.

Fortunately I don't have a fear of spiders, wetas, lizards and other crawling things so I had no problem groping around in nooks and crannies. When your legs are shaking like jelly and your arms are aching from being stuck in one position for too long, even plunging your fingers into a crevice full of creatures seems a good option.

Rock climbing looks like it involves a lot of upper body strength, but that's not necessarily the case. The big leg muscles are the best tools for pushing up, and Lee reckons that women are often better beginners than men because they don't rely on the upper body to pull themselves up.

I don't know which muscles I used, but my scrambling technique managed to get me up the rock face to touch the anchor before abseiling down.

We went on to tackle three other climbs including Gary's Arete, one of the area's most popular climbs. An arete is a ridge or outward corner, and usually provides climbs that give excellent "exposure", a term that describes getting up high and feeling surrounded by air.

It's a great feeling, and surprisingly, even when you're stuck up on a cliff face wondering whether you'll ever get up or down, you're aware that you're seeing the beautiful surroundings from a unique perspective. That's when the fear disappears and is replaced by satisfaction, along with an understanding of why rock climbing is such a rapidly growing sport.


Case Notes

Where to find it

CastleRock Adventure, 1250 Owairaka Valley Rd, RD7, Te Awamutu. Phone 0800 225 462. Fax 07 872 2519. Web CastleRock

What it costs

Half-day rock-climbing introduction: two or more people $79 each. One-on-one $129.

Full-day rock-climbing introduction: two or more people $149 each. One-on-one $199.

Introduction to lead climbing: Two or more people $149 each. One-on-one $199

Abseiling half day: two or more people $79 each. One-on-one $129

(includes equipment and refreshments). Also available Mountain bike and walking trails, tennis, pool and spa, accommodation.



Other options



There are a number of commercial operators providing outdoor rock-climbing instruction. Ask at local information centres, and check the listings on Pure NZ

Cliffhanger Training & Adventures Ltd,

PO Box 15 343, New Lynn Auckland

Ph 09-827 0720

Fax 09-827 3044

email: Cliffhanger

On the web: Cliffhanger

Top Guides, Taranaki

Ph 0800 448 433

Fax 06 753 7937

Mob 021 838 513

PO Box 56, New Plymouth.

Topguides

Wanaka Rock Climbing

7 Apollo Place Wanaka

Ph 03 443 6411

Fax 03 443 6811

Mob 021 617 893

On the web: WanakaRock

Summits Etc

PO Box 753, Queenstown

Ph 03-442-9551

Fax 03-442-9557

Email: Summits

Website: Summits

Other useful sites:

Climb

NZSF

Indoor climbing

Indoor climbing is available at many climbing walls around the country.

Look in the Yellow Pages, or ask at the local information centre.

Qualifications and experience

Ask about qualifications and experience, and whether the operator is a member of NZOIA (New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association).

Check whether equipment hire is included in the price.