Rock Climbing at Sand Rock

Sand Rock, Alabama is one of the prettiest places to rock climb and one of the easiest to access. By the time I went to Sand Rock, I actually knew something about the sport. I had finally purchased my own harness, ATC (belay device), carabiners, and a new pair of shoes that I hadn't even worn yet. Suffice to say my level of cockiness about rock climbing was at an all-time high. Climbing at Sand Rock only played to my ego. Though there are many routes to choose from, Jeff set up top ropes on some 5.6s and 5.7s because a majority of the trip consisted of new climbers. Insert ego. I easily completed all the routes on one particular wall without falling or struggling whatsoever. I was on top of the world, pleased with my successes and confident that I could dominate anything thrown my way.

Then I decided to take on an especially difficult 5.9 with a large crack and an overhang. Commence ego deflation. I struggled my way up to a ledge, where I played with the crack for at least 30 minutes. I got further and further up but I was leaning on my rope and resting frequently. Though I made it over half way up, I still felt defeated and rushed off to climb some 5.8s to make myself feel better. I also tried seriously bouldering for the first time, which was less of a failure than crack climbing had been.












I also ate my lunch on top of a large boulder overlooking a large lake in Alabama. Coincidentally, while enjoying the view, I also met a classmate of mine in OAR, Matt. He noticed that I was reading a textbook for my international relations class (since I had an exam the following week) and he asked me about it. It turned out that we were in the same section of the class and ended up sitting next to each other in class and becoming great friends.  




That night, our group tried to camp in the alcoves of the rock wall but we discovered that this is not allowed. Still, our campsite was only a few feet away from the routes so we could wake up in the morning and immediately start climbing. Day two I decided to challenge myself, climbing a few more 5.9s. I also helped teach some of the new kids how to rappel, since Jeff had set up a rappel between two giant slabs of rock, a little gorge leading down to more climbing. I also climbed a tree to get back to the top of the rappel so I could do it multiple times. 

Events occurred: January 27-29, 2012