Gorge Scrambling

Thursday started off somewhat gloomy, but warm, so we were unsure what exactly Sally would have us do that day. Once we got picked up Sally told us that we were going gorge scrambling, which is climbing on large rocks along a stream that eventually turns into steep waterfalls and paths. Once we got to the Conway Center we gathered our supplies that we would need and put on our wetsuits and other layers. The area that we would be climbing was about a 4o minute drive in Conwy Valley on Afon Ddu Gorge, meaning Black River. As soon as we got out of the van we put our harnesses on and zipped up our vests and headed to the path toward the gorge. As we were walking on the path we played Chinese whispers, much like the American version of Telephone, to practice our communication with each other that would be essential for the day's activity. On the path there was a sign that explained ways to protect the gorge and surrounding area from erosion since it's a major concern when so many groups of people use the same gorge every day. Before we started our journey along the stream Sally gave us some helpful hints about gorge scrambling. Some rules to follow when gorge scrambling are "green is mean", meaning that we needed to avoid stepping on rocks with green lichen growing on it to protect the growth of these natural wildlife, "black, stay back", which meant that the rock was slippery and had algae growing on it, and "grey is OK", meaning that the rock was dry and safest to climb on. We followed each other single file, passing messages along the line of people when hazards were ahead or information was being explained. The first part of the climb wasn't very difficult, just needing to watch our footing and challenging ourselves by trying to stay dry. At one point we had to use our rock climbing skills and climb around a path of water on the side of a rock. Our first real challenge though was climbing through the Elephant's butt, which was a set of two rocks that appeared like the back end of an elephant. Sally climbed through first to attach a rope at the top for the rest of us to use as a guide. We got a little wet, but all successfully made it through the opening up the rock. We continued on our adventure up the stream until we reached a small waterfall that we had to climb around, but not without kissing the rock that was under the waterfall. Sally promised it was good luck. As the path got steeper and we ran into more challenging areas, we had to communicate to each other where it was slippery or a hazard was coming up. Many of us slipped a couple times, but when we started to really focus on where we were stepping and remembering the code Sally had provided us, we were able to avoid the slips before they happened. We helped each other a lot by offering our hand whenever possible, supporting each other and providing helpful advice in more challenging climbing spots. Another steep climbing area we had to get on our bellies to pull ourselves up onto the rock, and Sally tricked me and pushed my head in the water, I just laughed. Along the path there was an area where we got to climb through small rock tunnels that weaved, making me nervous since I wasn't sure if I would get stuck, and I've always feared tight places. But after crawling through the first tunnel and then the second and reaching the end, I found it was much easier than I thought, especially since I wasn't panicking and stayed calm. One of the other activities and challenges we got to experience was wading under a large rock, between a small space at the bottom of the rock, in order to get to the other side. Throughout the day we each took turns carrying the bags of supplies and lunches because they were so heavy and bulky. Everyone was really good about sharing the weight of the bag on their backs. Before lunch, Sally let us try dam blocking, which is when a line of people sit directly behind each other on a stream path and everyone but the person in front lifts their bottoms, washing the person in the front down the "slide" made of rock into the open water. We did this several times, the more people the easier it was to wash that person down the path. I felt like little kids, but I loved those activities the most. For lunch we stopped at a beautiful waterfall and a view that overlooked the valleys. It was very peaceful, but we had to avoid sitting on any green lichen that were growing on the rocks. We continued up the waterfall, walking up a steep path beside the falls. We found a tree that was low enough to flip over, so we all did flips on our bellies over the tree branch. At this point we were climbing up more dangerous steeper rock paths, that involved Sally having to climb to the top of the rock and attaching a rope that reached to bottom for us to attach ourselves to. In sets of two, we walked up the steep rock with the rope attached to our Karabiners on our harness. There were a couple large rocks that we had to slip under, submerging our bodies in the water, to get to the other side of the path. We came across another steeper rock wall that Sally had to attach a long rope to, and again we climbed in groups of two, watching our footing carefully to avoid slipping on the wet surfaces. As the day came to an end, it began to rain, getting colder since we were already wet. The last challenge of the day was at the very top of the gorge where we were given the option to jump into a section of deep water from the side of a rock. I was so excited to be able to do this, but once I got up there, ready to jump, I froze. I wasn't scared about the cold water, but the thought of jumping in from a high height into water I didn't know what was at the bottom. But I did it, and it was the best feeling, after the shock of being submerged in freezing cold water. Everyone jumped from the rock and we even convinced Sally to jump a pose. What a great way to end the day! Through all the challenges, I felt like I took extra caution on my footing and what I was stepping on to avoid falling. Everyone had a great time, completed every challenge, and did something that scared them, which I felt like was the goal of the day.

Once we got back to the van, our wellies full of water, we changed right outside of the van, with just a towel to cover ourselves, and tons of kids running around everywhere! We had to take extra caution in not accidentally flashing any of the young kids or the old men standing around. It was a really exciting day, with all sorts of different activities and challenges that tested our ability to use the skills that we learned in rock climbing and use good communication to avoid accidents.