2008-09 Rock Climbing at Taylors Falls

Ray and some of the people he works with went to Taylors Falls to due some rick climbing. Chad was our leader as he had both the equipment and the experience to set up the climbs and keep us safe. He went through a safety demonstration and showed us how to put on the harnesses and tie the knots. He also checked everything for each of us before anyone started to climb. At the top of the cliff, Chad secured a carabineer that our belay rope is fed through. The belay rope is secured to the safety harness of the climber, through the carbineer at the top and then back through the harness of one of us on the ground. This person constantly pulls out the slack out of the rope and then controls the descent of the climber as they rappel down.

Our first climb was just off the main walkway south of the parking lot on the MN side of the river. A couple of school groups were in the park, but of the most part it was very quiet this time of year. Trying to work your way up the sheer rock face was a great challenge. What look like good paths, footholds or handholds from the ground end up being totally different as you work your way up. We all ended up taking different routes up the rocks to the top, some more successfully than others. Lack of technique made the brute force method the preferred method for most of us. I would guess total height of the climb was about 50 feet, which is a long way clinging to the rocks

Our second route was further down the river to a taller rock face, probably closer to 80 feet tall. There were many more hand holds and footholds in this part of the cliff. IT was easier to utilize your legs for climbing, which is less tiring. We again all ended up taking different routes that fit our capabilities. It is amazing how just moving a little bit one direction or another will give you a whole other set of options for feet and hands. While we were in this area, the paddleboat that cruises the St Croix River went by on one of their daily tours. The cruises are popular this time of year as the leaves are starting to change.

After the two climbs, we packed everything up and headed back home, with a few more sore muscles for our efforts