Emily P 5La

Rock Climbing           

Rock climbing is like a puzzle. You have to use strategy skills to get to the top. You have to think about where to place your hands and feet so you don’t stretch out your arm or curl up your knee too far. But like any other sport, you just have to keep on moving in rock climbing!

            First, you need to know the positions of rock climbing. One of them is the belay. The belay is the person who holds the rope while you climb. You have to take a course to be a belay, just like a babysitter. Belaying is just like babysitting because you have to watch the climber all the time. If they climb higher, you have to extend the rope so that the climber is not just standing there with a short rope. You have to listen to the climber. There are a few things the climber has to say. If they want to start climbing, they say “Climb.” It’s the belay’s job to say “No,” if you’re not ready, or “Climb on!” if you are ready. If the climber wants to get down, they say “Take,” and you have to drop the rope. The belay has to make sure to not drop it too fast, or else the climber will gain speed and they will hit the wall. You have to do it a little bit at a time, and drop the rope inch by inch, as the climber’s feet are hitting the wall. The second position is the climber. The climber is the one doing the action. The climber has to make the right choices of which step to put your hands or feet on so you don’t do a high knee or stretch your arm out too far.  

            When you climb, you have to wear comfortable clothes. Jeans are bad for climbing because they aren’t that stretchy and your pants might rip. You should wear sweatpants, yoga pants, or leggings since those are stretchy. The harness basically controls everything. If you are wearing a sweatshirt with your harness on, then you can’t take off your sweatshirt unless you take off your harness. If you have to go to the bathroom, you have to take your harness off too, so it’s good to go before you climb. Sometimes, you have to wear a helmet. If you are a current age and height, then you don’t have to wear one. It is good to wear a helmet though because if you might not see a step above you and you might hit your head. It’s also good so that when you’re coming down and you lose track of your legs, your head won’t hit the wall. Finally, you have to wear special shoes. The shoes feel tight because they are curled in the front so that your feet have a good grip on the steps. To keep your hands in good shape, you can use chalk to make them dry.

            But, there’s not just climbing, there’s bouldering too! In bouldering, you don’t need a harness, but you do need the shoes and the helmet is good to wear since some of the bouldering walls curl up. When you boulder, there is usually a mat underneath you, so that you don’t hit the hard ground if you are ready to let go or if you fall. In bouldering the walls aren’t as tall as climbing walls. Bouldering is really challenging because sometimes the walls will curve up and you will need a better grip on the steps, or there might not be enough steps to raise yourself up.

            Rock climbing is a sport that almost anyone can do. Like most other sports, you can be on a rock climbing team. Rock climbing also makes the best birthday party activity, and you can do rock climbing and bouldering inside and out. So, go out and go rock climbing!