RATtreks

Rappelling Trip – 10-12-2017

After trying out our new rappelling gear at Hidden Valley last week, we could not wait to use it again. We just needed somewhere closer to home to go. After doing a little research on the matter, I found out that there are some little known climbing walls at a nearby park about 30 minutes from us. They do not make this known publicly and even the online climbers maps are extremely vague so, I am not going to mention any names or directions here as it is clear that they wish to keep it a secret which I am happy to honor. We got a fairly early start and with our vague map we parked and headed up the trail. Of course it was ‘Deja Voo’ for us as just like last week we again took the wrong trail and ended up climbing another steep hill for nearly a mile, looking for something that was not there ! It was not a waste of time though, as we not only needed the exercise but, we did find some pretty cool stuff along the way including some nice rock formations, huge drop offs, and one of those neat ‘bendy trees’.

Awesome climbing / rappelling cliffs.

One of those cool bendy trees !

Close up of the cool bendy tree !

Top part of a nice cliff system we found below the high ridge

Wider view of the top part of the cliff system we found off trail below the high ridge trail

Part of the cliffs we found off trail

Cool sheltered ledge on the cliff system. It is quite a drop below it.

Top part of the cliff. This thing was pretty well hidden with no trails leading to it. I was happy we climbed down to check it out.

Tyler checks out the ledge

Big tree growing out of the cliff with some really nice layers of rock behind it.

After realizing we were not where we needed to be we went back down the big hill and looked around in the other direction and low and behold we found the vertical rock cliffs hiding almost in plain sight ! Feeling like fools we proceeded to check them out. There are at least 3 main cliffs of different heights. The first of which was very cool but, the anchor point was way off the edge (which had lots of air under it as it was an overhanging ledge !)  and not being a good anchor tree nearby we chose the tallest cliff which upon closer investigation already had a rope on it. We soon met a friendly (SAR) guy (also a veteran) who was practicing some ‘Search and Rescue’ techniques as that is who uses these climbing walls the most and most likely is why it is kept on the down low. He was using different types of ‘prusik knots’ to ascend from the bottom up and then pulling up a huge and VERY heavy rock he had tied onto the bottom of the rope simulating a person. He was extremely knowledgeable and was patient enough to share some of his experience with us for well over an hour. We were very appreciative of this. Instead of using the top anchor there, we copied his method and anchored our rope to a group of trees just behind the top of the cliff and proceeded to check, double check, and triple check our gear before attempting a descent.

Looking up at the first climbing wall. This one had a nice overhang to it.

On the next climbing wall we seen it had a rope on it. We were like, who leaves a rope ? lol Then we met the owner of it !

Looking down at another climbing wall below us

Hanging out at the base of the cliff wondering who`s rope this was !

Finally we had our rope rigged up and ready to use !

This was an ideal place for learning to or practicing to climb /rappel. It was completely vertical, it even had some overhangs where you would be in mid air, and it was easy to hike back to the top without wearing you out. This allowed Tyler and I to rappel many times trying out various equipment and the new knots this rescue guy had taught us. We took turns going down this wall many times.

Took this while waiting on Tyler to get hooked up on top

Tyler begins his first rappel on this wall.

That first step backwards off the edge is the best one ! Esp when not on belay.

Tyler testing his device, approaching the void as he makes his way down.

Tyler on the rope

Tyler having lots of fun on this descent !

Tyler on rappel

This was the first time we had used a double rope on a single person rappel with no belay.

Tyler almost down to the base

Tyler unhooks after his first successful run

My turn !!

Like I said, that first step !

Using a double rope with no belay was new to me but, I adapted quickly !

My favorite part was the void where you were in mid air. Bear Grylles would be proud !

A fat RAT on a rope giving a thumbs up !

This is the perfect place to practice.

Taking my time on the first run, getting used to the equipment again.

Slowly making my way down to the bottom

Rat on a rope !

Team Blue learnin` the ropes !

Tyler on top of the cliff getting ready for another run. Using a different device this time.

Looking down from the top !

Our rope

Top of the cliff

Side view

View of the upper part of the cliffs as seen from the top. A really nice area.

Zoomed shot of some of the smaller drops

Our anchor system. It is best to always use more than one. Three is best but, for what we were doing these two are fine.

Eventually our new friend packed up and left and after a few more times down the wall Tyler and I followed suit. We put our gear in the car and did a short hike of the area where we met this very friendly young deer who was more than willing to pose for us. We had learned about a great secret local place today and I am sure we will be back here again in the future. With these two practice runs under our belts, we are now confident that we can use our gear and techniques in a real time scenario soon. Until next time,,,

Poser

Poser !