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Logan Canyon offers some of the nation's top rock climbs By
Curtis McInelly Lund has climbed 30 feet up the yellow and grey streaked granite wall called Monkey Wrench Buttress. Much like a spider he is hanging on by his fingertips and his shoes are barely gripping the sheer face of the cliff. He grits his teeth and reaches out to a nice "bucket hold" which has room for his whole hand. He pulls himself up and allows his hands to rest before continuing to the top. Once at the top he looks out over Logan Canyon and listens to the wind rustle through the yellow and orange leaves. Logan Canyon is full of granite cliffs to accommodate adventurous people like Paul. There are over 200 climbing routes within the first 15 miles of Logan Canyon on U.S. Highway 89. Many of the climbs are less than a 10 minute walk from the road. A list of these climbs can be found in a guide book called Logan Canyon Climbs, written by Tim Monsell. The proximity of the canyon, and short distances make it possible for local people to go climbing as often as they want. Many people are also willing to drive two or three hours to climb in Logan Canyon. Vance Curtis is originally from Richfield, and started rock climbing while he was attending Utah State in 2000. He now lives in Salt Lake City, but often drives to Logan to go climbing. "I can drive up after work and still have time to climb before the sun goes down, and even though I get home late, it is well worth it." said Curtis. Curtis got started climbing by going to the USU climbing gym, located in the Outdoor Recreation Center. His first day there he met Lund, who offered to take him climbing up the canyon. Lund is a USU student studying History. He is always looking for someone to go climbing with him. He took Curtis out and explained some of the basics. Some of the basic hand holds that climbers refer to are: Jug is a hole bigger than 12 inches that both hands can grip. Bucket hold is a hole big enough for one whole hand, allowing you to dangle from one hand. Under cling is slipping a hand behind a slab or in a crack with the palm facing out. Side pull is a vertical lip that can be used by grabbing the lip and using your body weight to pull your fingers into the lip, and moving up to a higher hold with the other hand. Sloper is a rounded lip that does not allow any grip, also known as negative. The hardest point in any climb is called the crux which requires a difficult move. The climbs also have a rating for difficulty. The most common rating system is the Yosemite Decimal System. The system rates a pitch according to the most difficult move on it. A route may be divided into several pitches of varying degrees, such as: a,b,c and +. Class five routes encompass technical rock climbing, this class has 14 pitches that breakdown as: 5.0-5.4: A person of reasonable fitness can climb at this level with no rock climbing skills. 5.4-5.7: Requires rock climbing skills or strength. 5.7-5.9: Good rock climbing skills and strength are generally needed to climb at this level. 5.10-5.14: Excellent rock climbing skills are required to climb at this level. There are also three main types of rock climbing: top rope, sport and traditional. In all types the climber wears a harness around his/her waist that has a rope attached to it. In top rope climbing the rope attached to the harness goes to a hook at the top of the cliff, and back down to a person who belays, or keeps the rope tight and puts on the brakes so the climber can't fall at all. The climber cab use hand holds and foot grips without risk of falling. "But eliminating the risk of falling doesn't eliminate the fear of being 60 feet up with nothing to stand on," said Curtis. The rope is meant to be a safety net and there is a greater sense of accomplishment if it is never used. In sport climbing a person climbs up a route that is laid out by bolts set in the rock at different increments, such as 6 to 10 feet above each other. As the climber reaches a bolt he clips a quick draw into it. A quick draw is two carabineers connected by webbing. One clips into the bolt, and the rope goes through the other one and down to the person belaying. The person belaying gives the climber slack in the rope when he is climbing up and holds the rope tight when he needs a rest or falls. If a climber is above a bolt and falls, that bolt will keep him from falling any further. The biggest worry is not to let your face hit the rock. Another type of climbing is traditional, also known as pro climbing. In this type there is no set route and climbers must place their own protection, but instead of setting bolts and anchors they use cams and wedges in a crack, and clip quick draws to them. "Climbers are a unique breed," Curtis said. "They are very considerate and friendly, and are always willing to teach others." He explained that this could be because there is no pride built up from competition against other climbers. Climbers compete only with themselves. They must also rely on others to belay for them. Curtis loves climbing because like most sports, you can see yourself progress, but mostly because it is cheap. He said, "After the initial cost of buying the gear, you can climb as much as you want and it doesn't cost a dime." He also likes the rush he gets from being sprawled out on a rock, trying to defeat nature by using his hands and feet to climb a sheer cliff with only a rope and a carabineer as a safety net. Curtis was familiar with the use of ropes and carabineers because he has done repelling for many years. Repellers starts at the top and slowly lowers thenselves down on a rope. It does not require the skills or strength that rock climbing does. Rock climbing is a popular sport, and anyone can do it, said Blake Tingey. Tingey says that guys who lift weights and are muscular, don't always do as well as someone with a regular weight to muscle ratio, because it uses different muscles. The sport uses short muscles that control the fingers, and the only workout that will build them is to do pull-ups on a door frame. Tingey said that climbing is not about working out, or worrying about being out of shape. "The only way to get better at climbing is to climb," said Tingey. "You don't even have to have lessons, just get the basic equipment and find someone to take you out and teach you. People are always willing to teach you to climb." Tingey, who has been climbing for three years, works at Adventure Sports Rock Gym at 51 S. Main in Logan. He gives climbing lessons and teaches people techniques such as top roping, lead climbing, setting natural anchors, knots and belaying Tingey explained that climbers use specially designed shoes which arch down making the toes dig in. They also have a rand around the heel, and hard soles with sticky rubber for grip. This allows climbers to stand on a small lip, or even grip a sheer cliff with their soles and support their weight. Tingey said that Logan Canyon has one of the top climbing areas in the nation, the China Wall. He said that Second Practice Wall, located 1.9 miles up the canyon, is most popular for top roping. The most popular sport climbing area is Fucoidal Quartzite located at mile marker 383. According to the Logan Canyon Climbs guide book, "This area contains over 35 climbs, ranging from the 5.5 naturally protected crack climbs of yesteryear to the 5.12 sport climbs of today." The toughest climb Curtis has ever done is a 5.11c, which was a top rope climb. The toughest sport climb he has ever done was a 10c in Maple canyon near Moroni. His favorite climb is Terminological Inexactitude at Fucoidal Quartzite in Logan Canyon, because it is the first climb that he led without a top rope. Curtis has slipped many times and fallen down five feet to the last bolt. He hit the ground, or "bottomed out" once. He was leading a 5.10a+ in Maple Canyon. The first bolt was 10 feet up, and he had continued up another 10 feet toward the second bolt, but missed it and fell. The rope was hooked to the first bolt, but it stretched, letting him hit the ground. "Falling doesn't hurt, but it is a scary feeling, and it makes you question your climbing ability more after you have fallen," said Curtis. "There is really no danger of getting hurt as long as you concentrate and use your head to stay in control, and know what your equipment is capable of."
This story was written for Mike Sweeney's Beyond the Inverted Pyramid class.
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