I decided to be real spontaneous this week and went on a random rock climbing trip, even though I had never been before. I got a call from a friend who said he was heading north to Hombori to climb the Hand of Fatumata. If I wanted to meet the bus he was on and tag along, I was more than welcome. So, I grabbed whatever I could find that I thought might be useful and caught the bus. We arrived in Hombori around 2am and crashed at a little campement. The next morning we met up with another PCV (now there were 5 of us... PCVs me, Kevin, Eric, Jared and Kevin's friend from home, Christine). The following morning, we woke up around 7am, hopped on another little transport van and found ourselves at the base of Fatumata's Hand by 9am. We started out with some sport climbing on a block that had fallen from one of the rock faces at some prior point in history. There have been people climbing these rocks for decades, so some of them... the block included... had already been outfitted with bolts. Jared and Kevin initially lead the top ropes. Basically they climb up first while hooking themselves into the bolts and hope they don't fall. Once they reach the top, they then set up the rope to fall back to the bottom. The rope forms an inverted V. The beleyer works the rop from the bottom ensureing safety. The rope then loops through the top anchor and comes back to the climbers harness were it is locked in through a figure 8 knot plus a safety knot.
Kevin and I gearing up before a climb.
That first day, I climbed up the block three times in the morning while it was shady. As the day wound on, the sun started beating on the rock pretty well and heating it up to oven temperatures. We rested in the shade until the day wore on a bit and the sun started to cool everything off. Around 3pm, we found an India-Mali pump and washed up a little bit before making our climb on the other side of the rock. We had to fight cows for the right to some water; they weren't happy about that. After many attempts on the opposite side of the block, none of us were actually successful. In terms of just having fun and trying to climb, we did well. I fell a few times grabbing for what looked like a strong hold, but just slipped in the end. The pendulum effect can be scary, but if you trust your equiptment and beleyer, it's really no big problem. Just try not to smash your ankle like Eric did!
This is me at the top of the block after my first climb.
That night we slept outside next to the block without tents or anything. I slept on mat with my sleeping bag, and it really wasn't that bad until the wind picked up. The wind kept blowing my sleeping bag away from me and pelting me with grains of sand, dried grass and little rocks. Definitiely not the most peaceful sleep I've had. Also, I was nervous that maybe some snakes and scorpions would find me in my sleep, get scared and bite me. That was not the case.
Sleeping below the block worked in our favor because we were able to wake up and just start climbing immediately before the sun got too hot. I failed my first few attempts, but once my muscles warmed up and I began to learn the techniques better, I was making my goals happen. It is just an insane adreniline rush when you finally figure out exactly how to make your move, get beyond it and realize that you are just that much closer to the top. When that view from the top is attained, your head just rushes.
There I go!
After lunch in the afternoon, we hiked up to one of the figers on the "Hand." Jared and Kevin set up a top rope and I made my first real climb on a mountain face. Before going up, I had some serious doubts considering how high up I was supposed to go. But, you just do it. I started out the climb going over a bulge, and that was a real physical and mental teaser. I did some mental route planning, and eventually figured it out. The next few moves were a breeze, but I soon came to a stand still with me hands and feet spread in all directions just trying not to fall. I leveraged myself up at one point and swung backwards off the face. Jared was beleying, and saved me easily. Determined not to be discouraged by a fall, I pulled myself back onto the wall and found a route. I had to "leap" upwards... it was almostl like the scence in 300 when Leonidas is climbing up to see those old leppers... My hand gripped a small ledge, and my fingers stuck. I let out a huge WHOOOAAA and everyone at the bottom laughed when they realized my surprise at actually sticking to the wall. At this point, the top o the climb was so attainable. Ijust made it happen and was beaming once I made it to the anchor. I had to lean back for a few minutes to admire the view before I let Jared bring me back down to earth.
You can see me on the face as a tiny little blip. I am wearing a green shirt and am in a middle of the photo. Look at me go.
That night I was riding a pretty good high after nailing the climb. We celebrated at a campement with some chicken, cous cous and a beer. Shortly after, we were all exhausted and asleep until Kevin woke us up again at 5am to begin our final climb.
Third day of the climb on the mountain as the sun is rising.
The sun was not yet up at 5am, so we packed our belongings up in the dark and hiked up to the face. As we had left the top rope up the night before, Eric made the initial climb as the sun was just peeking above the horizon. Jared screamed up to him, "Hey Eric, the early bird catches the worm, huh?" It was so appropriate. When Eric came down, I climbed up again... this time without falling, and posed for some pictures at the top. Jared has them, so hopefully they'll be sent my way at some point. Eric and I caught a bus back to Douentza around 10am while the rest of them decided to stay and climb on for the rest of the day. It was difficult to leave such an amazing adventure, but it was time to get back to reality. I have been bitten by the climbing bug and can't wait to make it back out there again. In two weeks, we're gonna do some scrambling and bouldering around the Douentza rocks... if you're reading this and in the area, let me know what's up.
Laughing and relaxing with the little kids that watched us climb everyday.
Here is Jared on beley with Eric climbing a sunny face of the block. Those little kids came by every day to sell woven trinkets, but we said to bring food. They never brought anything but woven trinkets. I tried to explain that we couldn't eat woven trinkets, but their heads were kinda thick. We just wanted peanuts or the sesame seed bars the villagers make here.
The gang's all here for the St. Patrick's Day festivities in Bandiagarra.
