Rock climbing

Today we had our level one belaying course. We were tasked with learning how to belay our partners, learning the different aspects of climbing, the belay calls and the belaying technique.

I found the belaying technique the most difficult to grasp. As i reflect I'm a much better climber than belayer. But I want to change that as I move forward, because what our instructor Sig taught us was that even if we are good climbers it means nothing if your belaying technique is unsafe: because it would mean someone's life in your hands. 

I found learning how to set up the ropes and belaying device most difficult. I struggled a lot to grasp the techniques of of the ropes and the belaying device because I want being very patient wit the device. As I'm reflecting, I find that maybe I was trying to cut steps a bit because we learnt this before. When I was more patient, I found that the ropes were much easier to manage than I initially thought. 

When I'm thinking now, I think the safety aspect of the climbing really scares me. Because its very similar to having someone's life in your hands when you belay the person. One wrong move could render the person grievously injured and harmed permanently. I think this makes me a lot more cautious as a belayer when I have my friend's life in my hands. I think if I continue to keep this aspect of safety in mind it would probably make me a safer belayer and minimize any unnecessary risks when it comes to belaying.

Sig also taught us to treat the equipment that we are using with respect. We shouldn't step on the ropes, as it would introduce tiny particles into the rope that may cause it to break in the future. We should also not run with the climbing shoes as it will wear out the rubber and may damage the  climbing shoes early. Our instructor taught us to value our equipment when we are using it, because all these things are going to help us save our lives and that isn't something we should take lightly. 

I also learnt more techniques to climbing today. Which really helped me refine my climbing technique for that I am very grateful to my instructors Sig and Daryl. They taught us not to be afraid of the wall and that we should trust in our abilities and strengths while we were climbing. I think that the whole idea of trusting in my abilities can be applied to real life and when I'm confronting my academic struggles. I think that I should trust that if I have the abilities, if I put my mind to it, I will be able to succeed and eventually reach the top.