rock climbing next to icicles

Went rock climbing yesterday, in Rumney, NH. It was snowing on the way there and I started to think we were crazy. When we got there it was overcast and the rock was COLD. For the first climb, I couldn't feel my fingers at all and I had to actually look at my hand to see if I was gripping the rock or not. A very discomfiting experience. After that the sun came out and the rock warmed, we warmed, and it was a lot more fun. One climb was dotted by ladybugs all the way up - very cute.

I realized yesterday that even though I"m fine going up, I get really scared when I have to climb down (some climbs you have to go down and across for a bit before you continue up). The sticky bit is that I actually have to look down to do it and even though I trust the rope and my belay-buddy, it's a loooong way down. However, it's nice to kick fear in the nuts occasionally. Plus, being accompanied by an easy on the eyes ex-German-army-trained climber doesn't hurt . . .