Saint Helens (oregon) climbing partner

[B Deleted_Beck]

howdy..

 

i'm brand new to rock climbing, and pretty much new to climbing in general. i learned to rappel in the army, and took that super basic knowledge and applied it at work, as a roofer. i work with ropes and equipment all the time, but it's obviously a different sort of application. just stated so you know where i'm at.... new, but not dumb new.

 

anyway... i signed up for a membership at the Vault rock gym in Saint Helens (where i live), and have climbed a couple times now, belayed by staff. obviously it's all toprope- since staff is only available to belay sometimes, if you want to climb as often as you'd like, you gonna need somebody else to belay.

 

i took their belay cert class, and am now certified to belay. i still need some practice, but i won't drop you, and i own a grisgris if that makes you more comfortable (though i'd prefer to get more experience with the ATC).

 

just lookin for somebody preferably local who can meet up at the gym and climb/belay for an hour or two several times a week. obviously you'd need to already be a member, or make the commitment to join. you can join right now for $40, and get belay certified for $45, if you don't already have credentials stating you know how to keep somebody off the mat.

 

i'm so brand new here at CC that i don't actually even know if there's a PM feature.... (surely there must be?) so i guess i'll plug my email in here....

 

bkb0000@comcast.net

 

and i'm ben

 

thanks

 

ETA- i should also mention that i'm looking to do some REAL rock, hopefully locally/regularly, in the probably nearish future. the only thing holding me back is guidance and equipment- need to get some anchors and learn how to use them. but the motivation is there, and climbing strength will be there soon.

Edited January 9, 2011 by bkb0000

[The Ospray]

Hey Ben, thats awsome Saint Helens has a climbing gym now, I grew up there and never thought that would happen!

 

Cheers

Todd

[Water]

most gyms have a bulletin board for people looking to sell stuff or find partners. You might ask the staff there about this, or if there isn't such a board, you might start one--there are probably some folks at the gym that are looking for someone to belay them as well.

 

good luck, happy climbing!

[B Deleted_Beck]

yea.. apparently they've been open for about 2 years, and i only just noticed 'em about 6 months ago. they're next to the theater in down town- and i never go down town.

 

i guess there's a relatively good sized climbing community around here. since i'm just now getting into sport climbing, i don't really know anybody.. kind of makes it hard to get involved. but i'm doing what i can. hopefully some local climbers are members here.

 

either way, i'm sure this board will be a good resource in general. glad to have found it. the apple of my eye is alpine mountaineering- but i want to get a firm foundation and learn competence in all the sub-categories before i try my hand at big summits.

[B Deleted_Beck]

most gyms have a bulletin board for people looking to sell stuff or find partners. You might ask the staff there about this, or if there isn't such a board, you might start one--there are probably some folks at the gym that are looking for someone to belay them as well.

 

good luck, happy climbing!

 

thanks.. i actually talked to 'em about it last night. all they've got is facebook (which i'm also new to), but they liked the idea of members being able to link up, and said they'll come up with something better. maybe put a partners section in the newletter, get a board up on the wall, something tangible.