This is much scarier then it looks! Repeling!
Slab climbing, notice there are no real holds or cracks. Just tip toe up the mountain.
We made it to the top, 6 hours later!
Stunning early morning views.
Its been quite some time since I have been able to update this blog, so I thought I would start by writing about my Beginner Rock Climbing Course I just recently attended.
Korea is a suprisingly active country, especially Seoul being surrounded by mountain full of stunning hiking trails, rock climbing of all kinds and intensities, scenic bike routes, skiing, etc. As I am one who loves the outdoors, I thought I would give rock climbing a shot. Rock climbing has always peaked my interest, however, at home it was a hard sport to just take up without knowing the right group of people.
While in Korea I heard about a beginner rock climbing school offered through Sanirang Dot Net. It was a short course, 5 classes, 5 weeks straight, only on Sundays. For a price of 350,000 won we were taught the essentials of tying knots, about the gear, slab climbing, multipitch climbing, crack climbing, repeling, and more. We were able to rent gear each Sunday so didnt have to worry about purchasing our own, which made taking the course that much more convenient.
Each class was pretty intense, as we learned so much in such a short amount of time. The ultimate goal was to peak Insubong, a course in Bukhansan mountain. Our first class was pretty tame, as we met at a bouldering wall and learned how to use our gear, and use our bodies efficiently when climbing. The second class we were brought to a small rock face, and learned how to climb up an actual rock face. This was more of crack climbing, where there are obvious cracks and holes in the moutain to grab hold of and to boost yourself up. We also learned how to repel here. The next couple classes we learned how to slab climb and to multipitch climb. Slab climbing, to me, is terrifying. There are no holds, no cracks, you basically trust your feet to hold the rock surface and slowly walk up the moutain. See the picture for the imagery!
What really made the class, was not just learning how to climb, but the PEOPLE! The instructor was a Korean American who was just awesome. Super laid back, super chill. All of the people in the class were great folks, all foreigners who are here in Korea teaching English. After each class we went out for beer and food, and just chated about the days events.
The final climb. The day before the final climb we headed out to the moutain at about 8:00 p.m. to camp so we can get an early start. There we grilled porf and kimchi, drank soju, and had a great time. We woke up at about 6 to get started by 7. It took us about 6 hours to get to the top, about 6-7 pitches. There were about 16 of us, some were leaders and support while about 8 of us were actual students of the class. It was exhausting to say the least. But stunning views and being able to use the skills that we had learned over the past few weeks made it worth it.
It was an amazing time, with an amazing group of people. We celebrated afterwards and had a lamb feast, and WAYYY too much booze. I am so ready to buy my own gear and take this hobby up! You can't have TOO many hobbies, right!?
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