We arrived at Hangar 18, a nicely equipped indoor facility in the Southbay, ready to test our skills. The tiny Indie chick behind the counter fitted us with harnesses and climbing shoes, after we signed the all the appropriate releases and agreed to who-knows-what if we were to injure ourselves.
We started the obligatory training session, with a lesson in knot tying – first up, the figure eight knot which we tied a few times into some practice lengths of rope. This can be tricky, as we realized, we learn by doing not by watching, so it took a few attempts to get the hang of - but, we were proud figure-eighters in no time. I felt pretty fancy.
Next, it was time to anchor the rope to our harnesses and have our belay partner hook-up the carabiner, which fastens the rope to their harness allowing for a controlled climb up and steady decent down. Your belay partner’s job is to pull the slack from your rope as you climb so if you fall, you don’t plunge to the ground and so that you don’t get tangled. Your partner also controls the speed in which you descend, this can be a bit nerve racking, as the harder they release the carabiner, the quicker you fall to the floor. I experienced this first hand, which resulted in tremendous amounts of nervous laughter.
Out Indie chick explained the grading system used to rate the degree of difficulty of various rock walls. The ratings take into account multiple factors affecting a route, such as the slope of the ascent, the quantity and quality of available handholds, the distance between holds, and whether advanced technical maneuvers are required.
Now, it was time for some serious climbing; we spent a good 3 – 4 hours taking turns testing ourselves on various walls, some much steeper and challenging than others. The biggest challenge to overcome is the cramping sensation in ones finger tips after hours of gripping the handholds. I’m not particularly use to bearing the entire weight of my body on a few fingers, so plenty of chalk was needed to keep my from slipping right off the top holds due to my trembling sweaty fingers.
We were quite proud of how well we had faired on the walls and decided we would switch to free climbing, which pretty much is what it sounds like. The walls are considerably lower for free climbing, but you aren’t harnessed to anyone, and you have no ropes for support. The relatively minimal height makes falling less of an issue, but we threw down some pads to cushion any falls. We took turns attempting to free climb, which basically came down to us clinging to the wall for photo-ops as after 4 hours of climbing, our upper bodies were shot and we couldn’t even climb let alone just hang from the wall. We left Hanger 18 with achey fingers, covered in chalk dust, and the accomplishment of making it to the top (over and over again)……we were badass, and we paid for it the next day!
The Day’s Damage = Rock Climbing Gear & Day Pass $30 x 2 = $60
Item 4: Check
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