Tue, Oct 3 2006 - Indoor Rock Climbing! (View Original Event Details)
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Russian Beauty Hits on El Rey OR
The Power of the T-Shirt!
Sometimes I get asked what inspires me to choose a particular type of event, or why I chose to do this over another event. In this
particular case, I have to go back to the Warsaw Caves event, in which crawling through the tight crevasses and caves was fun,
but this wasn’t the inspiration. The inspiration came afterwards, on our short hike to see the kettles (big holes in rocks). I went through
the rabbit hole, and once on the other side, there was two ways back up – the long boring way, or up the sheer side of the Kettle
(about 18 feet up and no soft landing); guess which I chose! So with the itch to climb large unmovable objects,
I set up the climbing event, and the rest is history!
Fast Forward to October 3, 16 excited and very eager TOCers arrive at the Climbing Academy, some so eager they are there an
hour early! Jenn P, Renee, Trish, Nicole and her cousin Christina are already at the Academy when I arrive and the rest of the crew
arrive shortly after. With waivers signed and climbing shoes on, the 1st group, the Eager Beavers, are led to the climbing area by
their instructor, Jose, while I wait for the remaining stragglers and late comers (I believe they were on Caribbean Time). Our
Instructor, Shaun takes us down to the climbing area, where we learn the fine art of tying knots, Belaying, climbing, falling, and
that harnesses are actually masochistic contraptions designed to ride up in all the wrong places (and lets not forget the ‘comfort’
strap). After our lesson, we are released into the wild, and set out to conquer the Beast!
As I look around, I see our group split up into 2’s. Saifey & Prash, Abi & Tania, Sharla & Tara, Jenn & Trish, Nicole &
Christina, Renee & Mel, Matt & Lorie (one day you’ll be on time right?), and I was stuck.. I mean teamed up with Mark (I still
climbed with you at the other end didn’t I!?). I’ll say this much, if you ever want to do some team building, forget that close your
eyes and let some one catch you bit, go climbing instead, you’ll see some serious trust and bonding in no time! The nice thing
about climbing is that while it’s a group outing, once your on that wall, it becomes a very individual experience, and for some, it
can be very Zen (be strong like rock, yet bend like grass).
It was great to see everyone giving it their best and pushing (and pulling) their limits until they could climb no more, or reaching for
that last hold, and realizing they were 40 feet up in the air! And lets not forget that feeling of falling for the first time! (that thing-a-
ma-giggy is gonna catch me right?) Once our poor little fingers could not hold us anymore, we called it a night, and got ready to
go. As I was waiting for the rest of the group, I noticed a very pretty tall Russian blond girl checking me out for a while (hey, it’s
my write-up!). As this kinda thing happens to El Rey on a regular basis, I thought nothing of it, but for some reason, she couldn’t
take her eyes off me. Eventually she couldn’t hold back any longer, and this is where reality sinks in. She was really checking out
the Awesome TOC T-Shirt I was wearing, and she was so curious about the club she just had to ask what we where all about!
After I explained to Natalya (or Natalie) what the TOC does, she quickly grabbed a pen and paper to write down my number.. I
mean the TOC’s website (Jenn thought I was gonna scare her away), so perhaps we will see more of her at some future event (like
rock climbing!).
After such a great work-out/event, the best way to end the night is by being a Real Jerk.. or going to the Real Jerk Restaurant for
some Caribbean Brew and eats! Sharla, Jenn, Tara, Saif, Mark, Lorie, Prash and myself walked down the street to this fine
establishment (sorry Goose, just a tinch tooooo far), and proceeded to wash down the delicious Goat, chicken and chickpea
Rotis with Tropical Juices, Red Stripe an Carib Beers. We learned a lot about Sharla (she’s been just about everywhere!), and
you can tell she’ll fit right into the club (her first event and already seems like she’s been around for a while!). With bellies full
(quite the understatement), and lunches (maybe even dinners too) packed to go, we said our final good-byes and headed out into
the night sky, looking forward to the next time we can conquer the Wall!
El Rey
ps- as you can see, the T-shirts are very fashionable, and have magical qualities that will make you irresistible! So if you want to be
picked up by cuties of the opposite sex, then may I humbly suggest a small investment in our amazing Shirts! Just ask Lorie the
next time you see her how many guys have tried to pick her up! you order yours at Tshirts@TorontoOutdoorClub.com.
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.