Our First Taste of Insanity
During my 3rd year of college and Shane's 2nd we found our calling. The school was offering a class called "Out Door Pursuits" which taught among other things, how to rock climb. We are not talking about little sissy trails either. This was full on ropes and harnasses. Whoooohoooo!. Needless to say Shane and I were the first people in line for this class. Also, since it was the first time it was offered, word had not spread yet.
Our instructor was an Ausi by the name of Dave. As cool as he was, he still did not teach us all we wanted to learn. We went to Devil's Lake Wisconsin to do our first rock climb. Our class had about 15 people in it. We had all met weeks earlier as we did other things in the class besides climb. We had all become the greatest friends and had the closest inner circle of people I have ever met. By the time we all got to Devil's lake, we all new each other really well. Most of us went early so we could hang out and have a picinic before the actual classes started. We played with the hackie, threw some frisbees, and just had a generally great time. It was one of the best weekends I have ever had. It was an experience I could not explain.
Nowadays, the class is much larger and they don't get those kinds of inner circles forming. Too bad for them. Everyone from the first class kept in touch somewhat until they graduated. We were from all different groups but still got along great.
Now that Shane and I had the taste for climbing we started going to Devil's lake as much as we could. It is solid granite and the climbs range from 30 feet to over 100. We usually top roped something in the 60-80 foot range. Just enough for one rope.
We eventually got better and started practicing lead and aid climbing. Now we are both pretty proficient in all aspects of climbing.
Here is a picture of me at Devil's Lake just hanging out:
We decided it was time for a big trip to some BIG MOUNTAINS. Dave led a trip for 5-10 people to Australia ever year. You climb, raft, bungi, ski, scuba, and parachute from everything on this trip. Unfortunately (or maybe not) we both were unable to come up with enough money to go. Shane then heard about a trip to the XXXXXX Mountains in YYYYYYY (I am not going to tell because no one goes their and I want to keep in that way). The trip would be 2 groups of 5 people plus one guide per group. We would have to back pack in about 30 miles and then do two climbs (one on rock and one on snow).
We immediatly signed up and went to REI . We spent enough that our yearly dividend the next year was over $100. We also rented iceaxes and crampons from the guide. This is going to be great.
More information about climbing at Devil's Lake can be found from my friends at Vertical Stronghold and Dairyland Expeditions, LLC. If you don't know how to climb but want to learn, check them out. If you know how to climb and are looking for a good adventure, check them out.