Lower Guadalupe Rock
Photo by Pranay Pareek.
Climb Review:
My thoughts haven’t changed since the last time I was here.
The only difference is that it was a beautiful spring day, and it was just a gorgeous place to hang out.
Tsunami Queaky (5.6; Lower Guadalupe Rock)—I put the anchor up, then climbed down and got a belay from Demir. I don’t remember getting stuck anywhere, but I didn’t also rush up either. It was just a really chill climb to warm up for the day. I climbed this with my approach shoes and while the first 10 feet felt difficult because of my wet shoes, by the middle, I knew I could trust my feet.
Bolted For Beginners (5.4; Lower Guadalupe Rock)—I was really excited about leading a climb and I was able to do it without any issues. Much like the Youtube videos I studied, I just went at a slow and steady pace and didn’t have any issues. As I was being lowered, I cleaned the quickdraws without any drama.
Thanks to Pranay, Vivian, and Gene for the below pictures. Pranay’s pictures are the first row, followed by Vivian’s row, then by Gene’s row.
What I Learned:
I ended up inviting a bunch of new people to climb and our group doubled in size. It was a lot of work trying to ensure people were having a good climb while also watching the kids. I think a group size of 10 is about the max for what I would like to manage.
I had visited Lower Guadalupe Rock twice before, but I had never seen this place so serene and beautiful as I saw it on this day.
I was feeling confident about leading Bolted For Beginners and I was right to feel confident. I crushed it and gained more experience for future climbs. Maybe next time I’ll try leading Tsunami!
I got the 70m rope wet while setting up Tsunami Queaky, but because of the DRY treatment of the rope, it dried up pretty fast. By the time I cleaned up, the rope felt dry.
I remember being so scared to go down to the bolts to set up anchors for Tsunami Queaky the first time, but I didn’t have much issues this time around. I went back and forth to that anchor three times. My fear of heights is slowly being numbed! Huzzah!
I coached two new climbers (Scarlett and Pranay) through their first climbing experience and while they did amazing going up (they both flashed the route), I forgot how terrifying being lowered could be. I tried my best to help them over come their fears and reflecting on it, I have a few different strategies I’d like to try out. First, I should have asked both to study the previous climbers as they were being lowered. This would have allowed them to visualize themselves being up there and they would have had the opportunity to imagine being scared while being lowered (instead of it happening for the first time 40ft off the ground). Second, for Scarlett, I should have convinced her to just climb to the top of the rock to me instead of going down. I think allowing her to choose the lowering option was a mistake as it could have just scarred her to climbing, since she did have fun climbing up.
The girls had a great time playing next to the creek. I didn’t even think about that feature of this climbing spot, but it was awesome to see how much fun the kids had.
Friends Made:
Demir, Millie, Jo, Scarlett, and Pranay were all new comers to our rock climbing group. Everyone seemed to have a pretty good time (though Scarlett got pretty darn scared when she was being lowered down) and as a group, everyone seemed to fit in pretty well. They’re all invited to future climbs!
What Happened?
I invited Gene, Vivian, Angie, Pranay, Demir, Millie, Jo, and Scarlett to go rock climbing together at Lower Guadalupe Rock. Gene and I carpooled and we were the first ones there, with Vivian arriving soon after we did. The kids stayed near the creek, while we headed up to setup the anchor. I think this is around when Angie arrived. We had some trouble with the rope because I didn’t want to get it wet, though after a few attempts, we figured it out (and kept the majority of the rope dry).
We started climbing Tsunami Queaky and Angie went first. Unfortunately, a few feet into the start of the route (the crux of the route), she ended up slipping and fell into the creek! Being the boss that she is, she thought about getting right back on the rock, but realized that wet shoes would lead to more slippage. We found a towel and while she dried off, others on the team took their turn on the route. I can’t remember the exact order, but Vivian, Demir, and Millie all flashed the route. I think I climbed the route next, and much like everyone that day, had a bit of trouble with the start of the route. I think Angie then put on her dried climbing shoes (though it was still wet inside), and climbed up the route. What I remember vividly was that she chalked her hand in someone else’s bag (Vivian’s?) because her bag was out of commission for the day.
I then went to setup the second anchor at Bolted For Beginners. I thought this would allow this large party to climb in parallel, and give more options for different routes (both of the anchors had three possible route variations). Demir belayed me while I led Bolted For Beginners and as I dreamt in my wildest fantasies, I climbed the route without issue.
Once it was anchored, Demir stayed on belay while Scarlett, Jo’s daughter, had a go at the route. It was her first time rock climbing, and although she confessed that she was scared, she flashed the route! The trouble, though, came when she needed to be lowered down. She didn’t (and really, couldn’t) trust the rope, which meant that she couldn’t lean back, which meant that the rope would be slackened and she’d be in danger; so Demir held the rope while I went to the top of the rock to talk to her. After trying and slipping a few times, we decided that it’d be best for her to down climb. It took her a while, but she made it down without too many scratches (I think). I really hope that Scarlett isn’t scarred for life! Unrelated to the climb, Jo and Scarlett had to go to attend Jo’s US citizenship ceremony. Kaylee climbed up Bolted for Beginners next, and I was just happy that she enjoyed the climb. I think this is the tallest thing she’s ever climbed, actually. After seeing Kaylee do so well with the belay, I realized that I should have made her climb before Scarlett! Oh well, I’ll be a better leader next time.
I then went back to the other side to belay Demir. Or at least that was the plan, but I think the girls got hungry and we ate our lunch first. The kimbap that I packed ended up being the perfect lunch for the girls, and it also fed Gene, who was tempted out of his fast by the deliciousness of my cooking. After the lunch, Demir roped up and I jumped on to belay. Demir was a beast! He climbed up Tsunami Queaky, Between Showers, and Underwater Papa in a single go! My favorite part about watching and belaying him was that he focused on the climb and wasn’t afraid to try out different strategies in attacking the route. I hope to pick up that trait of being unafraid of failure from Demir as we climb more together.
After that, I think I grabbed my camera and went back to the left side of the rock to check out Pranay’s first climbing attempt. He flashed the route (super impressive for a first time climber starting with outdoors) and then had to over come his fear of trusting the rope and being lowered down. He seemed a little hard on himself, but I thought he did really well. After I bit, I checked in with Demir and Millie and found out that Millie repeated what Demir had done! What a power climbing couple! I was seriously impressed with their stamina (insert stamina joke here)!
I then watched Vivian, Gene, and Angie climb Bolted for Beginners or Far Left Face (I had mistaken this route for Left Crack). All of them flashed their routes (of course), and I had a great time watching them while sitting in the shade next to the creek. Lastly, Angie was amazing as usual; this time, she helped to clean the anchor so that I didn’t have to put my harness back on. I feel like a lot of people that I know would have gone home after her splash to start the day, but she
We then walked back to the “beach” area, where we cleaned up, hiked up hill, said our good byes, and headed off to a Jamba Juice for some post-climbing sugar.
