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Published: September 23rd 2008
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Fairy Feet
Andrew getting belayed down. Life changes after being away for a summer. But, in many instances, friends remain the same and you find yourself slipping cozily back into a routine like you had never left. In Fairbanks, among certain circles, rock climbing is considered to be a lifestyle choice, one that bleeds into mountaineering and ice climbing during the winter and spring months. Fairbanks itself has little in the way of climbing. The UAF gym has a decent inside wall for sport climbing and bouldering for students and the community (if the community doesn’t mind paying an $8 dollar entrance fee). Due to a lack of nearby mountains, the closest outside climbing is located about an hour North of Fairbanks on the Elliot Highway. The rocks, titled Grapefruit for what I assume to be their lumpy appearance, are located at the top of a small hill. There are several bolted routes for lead climbing and chains or bolts to top rope.
My first Sunday home was spent climbing at Grapefruit with a motley collection of individuals including my friend Ross who organized the outing, Peppie, Trevor (both friends from Frisbee) and two Swiss backpackers who Trevor was hosting at his home.
Ross and I
I Like Green Eggs and Ham
Sam boulders the chimney at the SRC. packed our harnesses, ropes, and hardware in daypacks. We convened at Ross’s at eight for blueberry pancakes. Wiping sleep from our eyes we divvied up vehicles and were loaded up by nine. Peppie, Ross and I took one vehicle, Trevor and the Swiss in the other.
The hour drive was full of laughter as we told stories and enjoyed the fall leaves collecting across the road. We added a new addition to our group when we picked up an Irish hitchhiker bound for the shores of Prudoe Bay. I plied him with questions about his past and future, and he replied with humorous stories richly accented in his native tongue.
The joke of the morning was when we dropped the Irishman off alongside the road, and he bent over to pull a jacket from his pack. Trevor and the Swiss were following behind us, but had been too far away to see us stop. As they came closer, they saw the Irishman bent over and thought he was a bear. There was much weaving as people dove for cameras, then laughter when they realized the black form was a human.
We left the vehicles at the base of
5.10
Ross begins a 5.10... the hill. There are two trails, one to the left, one to the right. From experience we knew that the trail to the right was not as steep, but after twenty minutes of hiking I still felt the affects of a heavy pack. The trail winds along the road, before turning right and going straight up towards the rocks. In twenty minutes we made it to the rock base and began to set up anchors and rope systems. Peppi had never climbed outside before and I completed my first lead on a new 5.7. Ross tried, with much anger, to complete a 5.10 route, but after falling several times he admitted defeat.
The morning was cold, but as the day passed the air warmed and the afternoon sun melted heat into the rocks. We climbed all day, changing ropes to new routes, eating lunch, chiding one another for ratty shoes and lamenting our own inefficiencies when it came to climbing. We left at six and finished the day at Trevor’s with dinner and more stories, and a promise to each other that this would not be our last trip.
A week later I found myself driving out to
Pissed Off
Ross's angry face at being unable to complete the move. Grapefruit rocks yet again with, awkwardly enough, my ex-boyfriend’s roommates and a few of their friends. I had run into them the evening before at a Sweating Honey concert at the Howling Dog in Fox, and they had invited me to climb with them the next morning. The group was large, and due to a late night before and a not-so-quick stop at a local gear shop to buy harnesses and shoes for some of the newbies, we didn’t leave Fairbanks until almost two in the afternoon.
The day was overcast and gray, and after we huffed and puffed out way to the base of Grapefruit, strange feelings of déjà came over me. Andrew and I, the only ones of the group with ropes and the knowledge to set them up, picked our routes and prepared the way for the day. I am always interested in group dynamics. My group the previous week had been relaxed and comfortable. Perhaps my awkwardness came from being with people who lived differently than myself (most of them were military), or it could have been the fact that I was with my ex-boyfriend’s friends—a fact I could not shake from my mind. It
Fairbanks
One of Peppie's sled dogs. is strange to be an outsider, to be tolerated but not understood. I dislike groups that one has to earn their way into, and stubbornly refuse to change myself to win the respect of others.
Other than Tom nearly killing himself by putting only one rope through his belay device before Andrew climbed to the top and rechecked his set-up, the short day ended well with a dinner of burgers and pie at Hilltop. Hilltop is considered by truckers and locals alike to have some of the best burgers around, and also the last ones to be found for another 150 miles.
As the weather grows colder with the onset of fall, climbing inside becomes more appealing by individuals itching to test their physical ability. The Student Activity Center, shortened to SRC, on campus has the only climbing wall in town. Ross, in desperate need of a belayer, enlisted my skills for an afternoon through bribery. He had planned on paying my five dollar non-student entrance fee, but ended up paying eight due to increased prices on the day passes. In semesters before, I had somewhat lied about my status as a student (I was not) and had
Peppi
She's doing her thing. paid the five dollars. Or if there was a particularly lax individual at the counter, I simply slid past the barrier without being seen. But this year, apparently, UAF was holding true to their reputation as a blood sucking University by draining the coffers of anyone who set foot on campus.
I decided not to grumble too much, being that every climber had to complete a climbing “orientation” before using the wall. I had completed my card the previous year, but had forgotten it at home, and was thankful that the desk attendant had been too busy licking his green tinged fingers to remember my safety. I followed Ross inside for an hour of warm-up bouldering before pulling on our harnesses. Ross was trying to build arm strength by completing what he called “wall laps.” This physical activity involved climbing an easy 5.8, then down climbing, then repeating until exhausted. I had never spent much time down climbing, since rock climbing is generally focused on going up, but for purposes of strength building and technique I was sold.
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Tot: 0.095s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 56; dbt: 0.066s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb