Friday I went climbing with my dad. He had some crampons that he made straps for and they worked really well. Normally when I have gone climbing with my dad I would just wear my boots and climb up the rock face but it is much easier climbing up the icy snow with the crampons and ice axe. Before the crampons that he has required quite a bit of strapping on and the crampons falling off after 20 steps. So he did a great job making these new straps. The crampons didn't fall of once!!!
Me climbing straight up the mountain. The pictures really don't show how steep it really is but it is a great climb. My dad must be getting older because he actually didn't go straight up with out stopping. I like to take a certain amount of steps then stop, more steps the break. He is more the steady hiker. Anyways it was great getting out with him.
Me at the top of Baldy with the sun shining and clear skies. Supposedly it was about 5 degrees but it didn't feel cold at all with the sun shining.
My dad at the top sporting his hat that Grandma DeKay made. She made everyone hats and our kids love them. Cayden and Cassidy wear their hats to school everyday. Thanks Grandma!
And this is the scariest part about climbing. We slide down the mountain and use the Ice Ax as the break. My dad has no problem going down but I really have to talk my self in going. I do not like doing it, it scares me to death. I worry about going to fast and not being able to stop and mangling my body on branches and rocks and leaving my children with out a mother to care for them. But I am a worrier. My dad is patient with me a waits while I SlOWly make it down. It is nice having the crampons for more spikes to dig into the ice. Again I am a wimp when it comes to anything extreme. As you can see in the picture it is steep and you can see my dad dragging the ice ax in the snow as he is shooting down.
2 comments:
I would be worried about the same thing going down the ice on Baldy! Yikes!! I think it's quite steep and scary without any snow! I used to be quite brave and then I had kids and everything freaks me out!
Hey! first of all, awesome! second of all, I SO miss Baldy, although I am very out of shape and would probably not even make it up! Third, I am SO glad I found your blog again. For some reason it wasn't in my bookmarks and I haven't been to visit for the longest time. Thank goodness I am back and I bookmarked it for sure this time! Love you! You guys look like you've had a great winter.
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