Rock Climbing

[Son of a Beach]

I went rock climbing in the Gorge (L'ton) yesterday for the first time in about 10 years. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it, despite not being very good (and having bronchitis, and tendonitis in one arm). I did better than I expected, but half way up the first climb, I suddenly realised that I've developed a fear of heights over the years since I'd last climbed. That was a weird feeling, but I forced myself to ignore it, and focus on what I was trying to do, and managed to push on and got over it.

Then I realised just how feeble and pathetic my arm strength is after so many years of sitting and a desk doing nothing more with my arms than typing and pushing a mouse. I need to do something about the state of my fitness!

Then I got to thinking that the back wall of my house would make a fantastic climbing wall, and wished I'd thought of that when the house was being built (hadn't been climbing for years, so it didn't occur to me at the time). If I can get a bit of funds together, I might have to look into putting up some solid cement sheets and screwing on some climbing grip thingies, and something at the top to put a rope over. That would be a lot of fun. It would also provide an excellent access to the roof on my house for maintenance purposes, as I don't know anyone with a ladder anywhere near long enough for that.

Are there any other climbers here? I've never been into it seriously, and am mostly self-taught and top-roping only, but I do enjoy the challenge of scaling a cliff, and the satisfaction each time I get to the top.

[ollster]

I have internal brick walls... if I could get a few dozen holds together I reckon I could make a nice traverse from the lounge to the bathroom. Big stretch across the hallway though, might need to mount some jugs on the ceiling.

[Son of a Beach]

I have internal brick walls... if I could get a few dozen holds together I reckon I could make a nice traverse from the lounge to the bathroom. Big stretch across the hallway though, might need to mount some jugs on the ceiling.

When I need to get to the bathroom, I'm usually in a bit more of a hurry than that! It would be fun to have one's own climbing wall though. If I do start climbing more often again, I will have to seriously consider it.

[tasadam]

When I need to get to the bathroom, I'm usually in a bit more of a hurry than that!

What would you do halfway up a big cliff?
Actually, it's irrelevant - the wife approval factor of using those techniques while climbing on hooks across the ceiling in your house bears not thinking about.

[tas-man]

Nik, need to start your kids young! Here's my 3 year old granddaughter having fun after some encouragement Now she climbs everything

[Son of a Beach]

Where is that playground??? My 3 year old lives for playgrounds, and I've never seen a playground with a climbing wall. I reckon she'd be all over that. Anywhere near home by any chance?

PS. My wife tells me that's the tailrace playground, and that she loves the twirly whirly slide there (as she calls it) but hasn't figured out what the climbing wall is for. I might have to go in there this morning and show her.

[Son of a Beach]

I had another go at climbing on Wednesday after dinner down at Duck Reach. After being quite happy with how I'd gone on the previous try I was rather disappointed in myself being unable to get very far at all on either of the two routes we tried this time.

Then to top it all off, the excessively long time to retrieve the top rope meant that I had to barefoot boulder-hop across blackberry infested rocks in the dark to get back to the stairs leading up to the car park.

It was still fun overall, and I'll keep trying.

But my next attempt will be that tailrace playground after playschool.

[Taurë-rana]

There are some good free climbing walls under a bridge on the path that goes beside the Yarra. A bit far from here, but worth a visit when you are in Melbourne. It would be nice to think that a council would do that here.

[climberman]

I climb occasionally now, but used to pretty much exclusively. Tassie has some very fine climbing, from Ben Lomond to Coles Bay / Freycinet to Mt Brown etc. The +1 and I spent a few days at Bluewater Bay at Freycinet 'pre-kids' climbing some classics. It's very good for the scrambly rocky scaly boulder hoppy bits of walking, also.