I did it, I can't believe I did it!

For my trip to Oz, I've been doing a bit of reading up, experimenting, research, and watching a few videos on YouTube as to how to decend ropes (absail) and also climbing up the them. Well, last night, I did it!

I went over to Karlberg where there's a cliff face about 11 meters high where I was testing this stuff out. Was this stupid? Oh yes it was! I originally wanted to try some of the things out at an indoor climbing hall, but that didn't work out all too great since I need a green card (climbing license) to setup an anchor up top. I asked if they could set it up for me, but no go, which was really lame. So I decided to teach myself instead - as usual. Taught myself to ride a bike, ski, fix paintball guns, etc. Might as well add climbing up ropes and absailing using different techniques to the list as well.

Anyway, my friend Ruffio came by to be my spotter during my shenanegans, which was quite a relief. I was mainly worried about the ropes up at the top, like someone would think it's a great idea to cut them off while I'm half way, which would suck a lot. I told Ruffio this too, and he felt I had lost a bit of faith in humanity. Well, I lost it a long time ago, even more so apon reading the news of a 17 year old boy killing a 16 year old girl because she said something he didn't like. Oh, and a there was a couple where the defakto (man) thought it would be a great idea to tie his "better half" down and put objects into her private orifices. Did I mention both of these happened here in Sweden? No? They did, within two weeks. So yeah, a fruit cake walking by cutting my ropes wouldn't surprise me at all.

Back to the story. Before I left my flat, I emptied my camera of photos, so Ruffio could record the whole thing. Since I was to hyped and nervous, I forgot my camera at home. Bummer. He used my phone instead, and the results are crap. Whatever.

I setup a 3 point redundent anchor system (ie, the rope was connected at three different locations for maximum safety), and I also had a safety line tied on in case while I was climbing over the rails I slipped, I wouldn't plummet to my death. My first decent I used a climbing harness my uncle gave me which he had won a long time ago and a figure 8 unit as a brake; basically I was using all the "correct" equipment on the first go to see that I still had the technique down. Well, I did!

Okay, so I have repelled before, this wasn't my first time. Maybe my, I don't know, 5th or 6th time doing it. So I know how to go down it, I just wasn't too sure how to setup the anchor and what not.

I get to the bottom, and then it was time to get back up! I used two prussik knots: one as a "step", the other as a dynamic anchor. This is where I learned it: Climbing Tools: Self Rescue: Two Prussiks. And who said YouTube was bad? No one as far as I've heard actually.

Climbing back up went pretty smoothly, but it wore my arm down a bit. But then I got a technique where I don't have to wrap around the rope like I was doing at first. Man, it was pretty awesome! Now that is something I have never done before, but I did it successfully!

I then tried it all again, this time with an imporvised harness and a knot instead of the figure 8 brake piece. And it went just as well.

All in all: it was awesome and pretty happy I took the "risks" I took.

Now I just have to practice rope retrievel.