On belay
I was never a good Boy Scout. When we learned about knots, I usually forgot how to do them by the next lesson. My favorite trip wasn’t the camps with the rifle shooting, but the annual visit to Mall of America. On occasion, we went on climbing trips. My reaction to these was anxiety at first, but then once I started climbing, I had fun.
Now, this post about climbing is in the Rambling, Courses section. This might be a stretch, but bear with me. Climbing is basically walking up a rockface. The rope is just there in case you fall. Climbing walls also have multiple routes, each with a start and a finish. This is similar to how a golf course has many holes.
Most often we climbed indoors. The local university hosted climbing nights in their fieldhouse. In addition, during those Mall of America trips, we visited Vertical Endeavors. They’ve got the good stuff. There are many climbing walls, and a few are “Auto Belays”. You just clip in and climb, and when you are done, the magnetic brakes let you ride down in style. If these are all taken, better find a good buddy. I still remember the safety script; “On belay. Belay on! Climbing. Climb away!”
Devil’s Lake
The most renowned place for rock climbing outdoors in my home state of Wisconsin is Devil’s Lake. This seems to be the place that everyone wants to go to when they get into rock climbing. “I’ve been climbing after work lately at the gym.” “Oh, have you been to Devil’s Lake? You’ve got to go.”
Devil’s Lake is scenic, with tall rock cliffs and forested hills surrounding a dark lake. The rock cliffs are home to over 1600 charted climbing routes. As a Boy Scout, I stuck to the easy stuff, and even that I probably couldn’t complete. All I remember was climbing up a bit, getting stuck, then getting tired, and then rappelling back down. There is an easy route called “Boy Scout”, specifically targeted for packs of young kids on their first climbing adventure.
Since my only experience climbing at Devil’s Lake was as a child, I’ll do my best to give the low down. The rock is quartzite, and most of the climbs are rated as moderate (5.5-5.8). However, there are plenty of 5.10+ routes to go around, and some of the cliffs are 100+ feet high.
I can’t talk about climbing and not talk about bouldering. Well, Devil’s Lake has got you covered. There is a guidebook out there claiming Devil’s Lake as the largest bouldering area in the Midwest, and it describes over 900 problems as proof. For those not in the know, a problem in climbing is synonymous with route. Falling is also a problem, but a different kind.
I worked at Epic in Madison for all of 3 months, and coworkers talked of going to Devil’s Lake for climbing. We visited once to hike, but I left before the climbing came to fruition. As inspiration, I will end with this picture of a guy climbing up a crack surrounded by smooth rock.
