Tree Climbing
On Saturday I exchanged rock for wood and went to help my friend Marc with cleaning dead branches off the trees on his yard. Alex was my trustworthy belayer, albeit harnessless – he made a make-shift chest harness using the bowline knot. I climbed 4 trees with the difficulty ranging between 5.3 and 5.6, mostly steep, pumpy climbing on good holds (branches), occasional slopers (bumps on trees) and miserable friction. Most climbs were G rated with plenty of possibilities for placing solid pro on branches. Two times, a bare trunk needed to be slung for pro with questionable effectiveness (PG-R rated). The constant threat of being bruised added to the wonders of this sport. I experienced nice exposure on one semi-branchless tree and suffered numerous scratches. Handsaw hanging from my harness, and by a sad twist of fortune caught by a branch above my head, added even more excitement to the undertaking when in one bitter moment it fell on my nob thus bloodifying (= making it look bloody) it nicely.
I think I am quite ready to get back on rocks.
More pictures…
