Revelstoke, British Columbia
Mountain high
Epiphanies are found on a rock wall
Reaching upward and inward: Dave Scott provides instruction in rock climbing; climbers discovers the highs all on their own.—photo by Tanya Laing
I was invited recently to visit one of the most spectacular mountain communities in B.C.—Revelstoke. Dave Scott from Revelstoke Alpine Adventures asked me to spend a day doing something that, at first hearing, made my heart clutch a bit: rock climbing. However, Scott—a seasoned climber, hiking guide and alpine skiing guide—assured me that sport climbing, despite appearances, is one of the safest mountain pastimes there is, particularly for children and youths.
We went to a wall suitable for beginners. Scott gave me an informative overview of climbing lingo and instruction on how to tie in as well as how to communicate with him as he belayed me up the rock face.
There are many things one must learn when trying to scramble up a mostly vertical rock face. The first is to trust the rope and harness. These are incredibly secure, and if you are properly rigged and your belayer is on the job, you are perfectly safe. The second is, of course, to trust your belayer. This is why communication is so important. When I was trying to get up a tricky piece of rock, I could call out “tension,” and Scott would tighten the rope enough to give me just a bit of extra security as I reached just beyond my grasp; “slack” allowed me to move sideways or down a bit. Calling “take” would give me a chance to just take a bit of a rest and lean into the harness.
The next important lessons included learning to trust my feet, letting them find the notches in the rock that would give me a bit more stability. Pushing my centre of gravity away from the rock allowed me to have a better grip with both feet and hands—and every now and again I would have that moment of zen where I moved with something akin to grace. The biggest lesson, though, is learning to trust oneself. Letting go of fear and knowing you can go one step farther—where every hold is a win—is an incredible feeling. There’s a metaphor in there, but I suggest you climb your own mountain to find it.
Resources: www.revelstokealpine.ca
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