Rock Climbing the 'Melting Mud Wall' - climb on!!
- Girls Gone Adventuring
- Aug 29, 2018
- 5 min read
Can I get an OH YAH for this ah-maze-ing Rock Climbing adventure! Rock climbing is one of the first Adventures we did that sparked our need/desire/passion to continue making this a part of our lives. There's something so thrilling and fulfilling that comes from man-handling your way up a sheer cliff with nothing but your own 2 hands (oh and a safety harness, that's pretty critical :)... We had a GREAT group come with us on this rock-climbing extravaganza and had an awesome evening all around!
First and fore-most we have to hands-down give our guide Reed Page a humongous shout out! He's seriously a climbing expert and was so willing to share his awesome-ness in making this happen. He did all our lead-climbing, set up all the ropes, scoped out the perfect climbing spot, cleaned all the lines afterwards, and pulled some pretty cool climbing stunts in the process. We were all sufficiently impressed :) He's seriously like a lizard up there!
We met at the Little Cottonwood Canyon Park & Ride and headed up to the climbing location together. The cliff we climbed today was called the "Melting Mudwall" and was ideal for the multiple routes all close together with a similar climbing category. It was about 15 minutes up the canyon from the Park & Ride, directly across from the Peruvian restaurant. There's a short (but steep! I was huffing and puffing to get to the top) approach, literally about a 5 minute hike is all, to get to the climbing wall. There wasn't much space for chairs or sitting at the base of the cliff but there was some shade a little further down. We rented a few pairs of rock climbing shoes from the UVU Outdoor Center ($4 for the day guys!), which were SOO incredibly helpful and made a huge difference in your climbing ability. I've climbed in tennis shoes and in rock climbing shoes and it's hands-down no comparison. These things are worth the drive to go rent some if you don't have them. For reals.
We had 3 routes to choose from and most of us in the group did all three at some point. There were two 5.9's and a 5.8 (which basically means they were in the beginner range, but hard enough to give us a challenge). Each route was different in what made it difficult, it was really fun to try them all!
This was our first Adventure in a new era of Girls Gone Adventuring - the "Come Join Us" era. We've discovered such a sense of being and a sense of fullness and a sense of self-discovery through Adventuring, and have talked a lot about how we can provide that opportunity for other people like us to discover this in their lives as well. This was the first of many Adventures where we invite any and all to Come Join Us and discover for yourselves what we have found. We have licensed therapists, counselors, and other professionals that come along on each Adventure to discuss and share presentations on issues that face us as women today. Our professional on this Adventure was Erin Grover, who shared some great insights about finding balance in our lives and letting go of guilt, shame, and fear. It was a timely message that resonated with us as we strive to discover dichotomy in our lives instead of living in absolutes of black and white, one or the other, perfectionism and guilt.
We climbed for an hour or so, then when our wobbly arms and sore muscles yelled at us, we took a break to grab some snacks, sit for a few, and partake of Erin's inspiring message. We talked and shared, encouraged each other, and took a moment to feel the peace of our setting and just BEING there, in the mountains, together as women, for this short moment in our life's overall timeline.
Then back to climbing until our arms and fingers had gripped their last rock. We had a great group and couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for climbing.
One of the routes had an overhang we had to get over (it's called a "roof"), which had been quite an obstacle before the break. Reed gave us some pointers on how to traverse over the roof and we had 5 ladies make it past on this next go-round! It was so motivating to have everyone on the ground cheering you on, calling up suggestions on places to step or grip, and tell you "You can do this - keep going - you're almost there!"
What a difference it would make if we were there for each other in all aspects of our lives like this - cheering each other on, offering suggestions, encouraging and sending positive thoughts to each other. "You can do this! Only 1 more load of laundry today!".... "You got this, throw-up in the bed in the middle of the night is nothin for a kick-butt mom like you!".... "Get in there and paint that canvas, you've got skills and we can't wait to see them shine!"....
As we say adios till the next Adventure (Sept 21st - kayaking!!) we're here cheering you on - you've got this! Life's good, you are enough, take the time this month to discover YOU, be YOU, and love YOU.
HOW TO DO THIS YOURSELF:
1) Melting Mudwall is located about 15 minutes further up the canyon from the Little Cottonwood Canyon Park & Ride. There's no fee to enter this section of the canyon. There are a slew of routes on this wall (19 total!), which makes it ideal for a bigger group that wants to stay together to climb. (For Directions and info click here)
2) You'll need to have someone comfortable with lead climbing to set up your routes for this climb. Climbing shoes are 100% worth it - you can rent them from any University's outdoor center (UVU, BYU, UofU, etc.) or also at REI near the mouth of the canyon. They're around $5 for the day and well worth it! Hopefully your lead climber has the rest of the climbing gear necessary like ropes, helmets, harnesses, gloves, and all the other technical equipment to keep you safe as you climb!
3) Timing: We started climbing around 4:00 in the afternoon and left at about 8:30 pm. We all (11 of us) had time to climb at least 3 times, or until our arms turned to jelly, whichever came first :)
** Is there an Adventure you think we should discover? Comment below
Comments