last summer, whilst climbing at carderrock, we came upon a rather strange group. they'd yell lots of stuff then run face-first down the rock. we were awed. what are you doing? we asked. they told us. they're part of a mountaineering group that was certifying to go on longer rappel trips. we were intrigued. we signed up for their mailing list. then, this summer, several of us decided to join them.
larry and jon teach the class in 2 day-long sessions, going over knots, anchors, and ascending, descending and rescue techiques. because it's a free class and isn't associated with any organization, there's no official certification, but a list of skills we have to perform for them so they're comfortable with our competency level.
we anchored to trees to learn the ropes (pun totally intended) before getting vertical. next time we'll dangle from trees.
kim and teacher larry
all strung out.
ben 'splaining to teacher jon
ben doing...something
since it was cinco de mayo, nancy brought a surprise cookie monster pinata to celebrate after a long day of class.
the other ben kept cookie monster flying around so he was really difficult to hit.
ben took the reins when it was my turn, which might've had something to do with my direct hit.
what? that's what happens when you try to keep candy from me.
don't tell the kids.
