Thursday (the 12th) was the climbing and tramping club buy night at R&R Sports. Everyone from both clubs were invited to the store after they closed to buy gear that was anywhere from 20-50% off. They served beer and chips and of course, it was a mad house. I managed to get everything I wanted including a sleeping pad, a backpacking stove, a knife and some water-proofer.
On Friday I had a really sweet Field Studies class. We went up into the hills to do an orienteering exercise. I didn't really learn much (I already know how to use a compass and map thanks to Lewis & Clark), but I would happily go to a class that requires me to run around the woods for an hour.
So other than boring school stuff (blechhh, I am SO frustrated with school!), that was my week.
Some thoughts:
I'm starting to really like climbing. Which is good because that's all my friends seem to want to do. I've been going (on average) about twice a week. I still have those days when I really don't feel like going, though...it's not something I'm obsessed with. Some people are though. I guess there are worse things to be obsessed with, ha. And sometimes I'm even jealous. I wish I could be passionate about something. BUT. So far so good.
Last weekend I went to Castle Hill again. I went with Cliff, Paul, Dylan Katie, Peter and Mark (the last two are kiwi's we met in the climbing club). We drove there on Saturday morning and climbed all day. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures, but here are some of Cliff's.
A sweet pic of some classic Castle Hill limestone. I know I've put a lot of them up, but it's just SO COOL! I was telling my friends that even though I'm having a blast now, I wish that my eight-year-old self could have come here. I could have easily spent an entire day entertaining myself with all of the caverns and climbable rocks.
Trying to get out of the deadly sun.
Cliff attempting Sorcerer's Apprentice, rating v6 or 7 (that's really hard, the ratings go [from easiest to hardest] VE, VM, V0-v15 or something. I can barely do V1s). We spent at least two hours here as a group. It's in a little inlet in a big boulder. Even though I wasn't really climbing, it was fun hanging out with everyone. Mark brought a portable iPod player and we listened to Niel Young and the Eagles all day. I hung out at the top of the boulder and took pictures of everyone. Bouldering is much more social than climbing, and I almost like it better for that. You don't get as much climbing in as you would on ropes, but you just get to chill in the outdoors and climb some rocks and cheer people on, overall very positive and a good way to spend the day.
This is me climbing a VM. When I got sick of watching all the good climbers, I would take a pad and mess around on some easy ones. The hardest part about this particular problem was actually the beginning. You can't really tell in this picture, but my feet are about four-five feet up, and there was literally nothing to hold onto until that point. You just kind of pressed your hands against the wall and hoped they stuck.After a full day of climbing, we drove up the road about five kms and set up camp. I made pasta for everyone, and we looked at the stars and talked until we were ready for bed.
The next day we went to Flock Hill which is similar to Castle Hill but about eight times better. It's on private property, so you have to get permission to go, and it's about a 40 minute approach straight up a hill. Because of these two things, the place was empty. On top of that, it's a lot bigger than Castle Hill so there's more variety. Lastly, the rock is slightly rougher and deformed differently, so the climbing consists of actual holds rather than depending on friction.
Dylan, Peter and I on top of the first rock. We were the first ones up the hill and got to rest and enjoy the view (see below) while we waited for everyone.
Dylan, Peter and I (from left to right). **Remember, if you click on the picture you can enlarge it. Castle Hill is situated to the right of this picture, on the other side of the valley.
A sweet panorama by Cliff. The two boys and I are still in this picture. We're the little tiny dots way on the left.
A funny picture of me climbing. This was actually a really easy one, I just made a face to look more hard core for the camera. Peter is below me, spotting. That basically means that if I fall, he'll try and direct me toward the crash pad. He's the captain of the climbing club and is in a couple of my classes and is one of the funniest persons I have ever met.
Katie, Peter and Mark enjoying the sunshine. It was in the low 80's both days which was SO AWESOME!! It had been pretty rainy all week and we completely lucked out with the weather.
Packing up to go home. The light is so pretty in this picture!
And the sun sets on Flock Hill. This picture would be the perfect ending to this entry, but alas I have slacked off once again and have more to write!This week was again, pretty boring. I haven't had my Field Studies class yet, but it will probably be cool. We're learning how to triangulate on campus. Another class spent outside in the beautiful New Zealand weather!
I guess my other classes aren't that bad, bio and structural are actually really interesting. It's just (and I know I talk about this a lot, but it's always on my mind!) my stupid geophysics class! Ugh! I cannot for the life of me tell minerals apart under the microscope. Nor do I have any desire to learn...we all know my views on oil exploration. Luckily that assignment is pretty much done. I just have to hand it in. BUT! I get to do another huge one on mine feasibility. YAY! It's all based on research though, so it shouldn't be as hard or frustrating. I just dread that class. And I usually leave the lab early because it's my second lab in a row and by that point I'm so tired and unmotivated I can't sit there. The good thing about geo labs though, is that you can always finish them on your own time. So that's what I've been doing. It's probably a lot less efficient, but whatever.
Anyway, enough of that. Just had to get it off my chest. St. Paddy's day, as you all know, was this week. It's probably the one day I wished I could be in Boston. Although it was pretty fun here too. We got all dressed up in our finest green and a group of about 15 of us took the bus down town. The bus was full of kids having a good time and ready to celebrate St. Patrick's to the fullest. When we got to town, we hopped around all the Irish pubs...pretty fun, but not amazing. The only thing of note is that it was so warm here! It was weird celebrating in shorts and a tee shirt. I'm so used to bundling up!
Well, I'm off to power yoga and am sick of writing. I'm going to make a vow to write more often. At least twice a week. Then it shouldn't be so much of a process for me, and I'll actually feel like writing more than lists of what I've been doing. XOXOXOXO
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