2007-04-15

Climbing at Häggsta with Matt & Lisa


_MAL8250, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

Today was fun! Matt and Lisa joined me for some climbing at Häggsta, the same place I went with Åsa R. a while back, Häggsta. We took the commuter train to Huddinge and then biked the 5 or so km to the cliffs. Then we spent a few hours climbing. The temperature was well over 20 °C early in the afternoon, dropping into the teens only around six o'clock. Take a look at the 51 photos from today!

We made several approaches up the cliff. First, Matt led a route that didn't have many bolts, so he put in his own protection as he climbed. For those of you know familiar with climbing, this means he stuck little devices into cracks in the rock and then secured himself to these by hooking his rope through the devices. Once at the top, Matt belayed Lisa as she climbed up. Once she was at the top, I followed. We rappelled down and did the same thing a few meters to the left of where we climbed first.

Today marked a couple of firsts for me: my first time to be belayed from above, and my first time to rappel using a Grigri belaying device. I think outdoor climbing has gotten a grip on me. Tuesday I'll work downtown, not too far from a couple of outdoor equipment shops. I plan to swing by over my lunch break and pick up a few goodies, including a climbing helmet, a basic 'bucket' style belaying device, and perhaps a crash pad for bouldering.

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