Thursday, May 21, 2015

Let The Smith Rock Climbing Guides Give You The Advantage You Need

By Tammie Caldwell


Arizona is home to some of the most beautiful cliffs on the planet, and they have become famous through Hollywood movies dating back. Nestled within this landscape is a school that was established in the early 1980s, and continues to take in students to this day. The most important personalities in this school are the Smith Rock climbing guides.

The school possesses the coveted accreditation from the American Mountain Guides Association. Their classroom is outside, and their goal is to teach students to seek out that place both inside and outside themselves, where the sky reaches down to kiss the land. First, the student must overcome their own agoraphobias as well as their animal instinct which tells them their feet belong on the ground.

There are twelve individuals who are charged with the task of providing instruction to new students that come into their school. These men are experienced climbers, having travelled the world in order to be challenged upon new rocks and ledges. Steep slopes are their office, and they are limited only by the point where land meets sky.

The average guide comes from a family who liked to climb, and many of them have been on the rocks and the ski slopes from a very early age. Anyone who has gone to the gyms that specialize in climbs and repelling has probably seen small children. Young people lack the instinctive fear of heights, and there is nothing like seeing a three or four-year-old climb like a little spider monkey, in any direction as effortlessly as an adult walks up a flight of stairs.

The AMCA does not recommend that small children be present for any serious climb; however, the average teenager is ready both mentally and physically to attend these classes. The life skills they can acquire while under the tutelage of a guide will make them the leaders of tomorrow. These young people can go on one day to provide mentoring and instruction to other adults interested in acquiring these skills.

The physical work-out that is experienced with even a modicum of practice is intense. Within fifteen minutes anyone can experience a full-body workout that will leave them as sore as any hour-long group fitness class. If one goes to a class, or visits one of these gyms even once a week, they will have a physical fitness level that will astound them.

As a hobby, it can provide a person with the strength, stamina, and confidence they need to face any challenge. The guide can help the student learn to plan out a climb, and determine how much equipment should be carried. It challenges personal limitations while also sharpening the mind and strengthening the body.

Naysayers always love to claim such hobbies are too dangerous. These people prefer to stay inside watching television, and living their lives vicariously through the passive viewing of actors on a screen. However, a climber knows that life is dangerous, tomorrow is not guaranteed, and the only thing we take with us at the end is the experience we gained through active participation.




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