Sharing the Love of Climbing With Friends in the New River Gorge

Enjoy this post from Guest Blogger Erin from Hard Rock Climbing

I loved climbing the first very time it was introduced to me over 14 years

Learning to Climb in the Gorge

ago.  After my first week I bought all of my own gear.  Through out the years the time I have been able to dedicate to it changes constantly, but one thing remains, I love teaching people how to climb.  It’s what I do for a living.

My friend Holly had moved to Fayetteville over the winter and had been trying to find someone to “show her the ropes” as it were. Time schedules and weather finally lined up last week, so off to the Rico Suave Buttress we went.

It ended up being a girls’ trip which was perfect.  On the way to the crag, Holly was bombarded with climbers’ lingo and terminology.  We had already found her a pair of very uncomfortable climbing shoes. Climbing shoes are a form of modern day torture devices.  Think along the lines of ballerina slippers and/or Chinese foot binding.  The shoes are made to compress your toes so that all of your toes act as one powerful toe.  They are made with very sticky rubber so that your feet adhere to the rock.

She was suited up with a harness and two very willing instructors! She did beautifully! Her first climb was a 50 ft tall, left leaning crack.  Her foot work was great and anytime she had any questions, we were there to provide beta, or information, to coach her through the next move.  She got to the top in no time flat!
After completing two more climbs, our bellies were telling us it was time to head home.  So we packed up our gear and prepared for the hike up the hill.

It was a great day!  We shared our experience over a big plate of pasta, salad and a cold one.  It doesn’t get much better than that!