Climbing Course in Seoul 03/16/2014, Bulamsan, hosted by Rock Climbing In Korea, session 1 of 4! PHOTOS BELOW! (All photos, except those noted, were taken by 원해호, posted to the Meetup.com site) I’ll avoid describing the terrors of the subway system and just get right down (or is it up?) to the terrors of climbing hehehe. I’m taking a rock climbing course in Seoul for the next 4 weekends, and it is very informative. For our first session we learned two knots: figure 8 and stopper, along with uses of various equipment. The important pieces are your rope (with normal use lasting 2-4 years), harness (this saves you when you fall. And yes, you will fall!), various metal clips and fasteners (ATC, carabiners, rappelling rings, etc.), climbing shoes, and helmet. We learned how to fasten our harness, which has various loops and connecting points and is strong enough to securely stop a large cow falling 90 meters (or so they say). As long as you are tied in properly, have checked your partners ropes and fasteners, there is little chance of injury from falling. I found the double checks and buddy system to be similar to precautions taken in diving. Our instructor is Korean, and we had an excellent interpreter, along with many additional climbing experts helping, guiding, supervising, and ensuring our safety. After we worked on knots for a while, and got geared up, we ascended to the slab of rock we would be practicing on. Now remember, I had a smidge of practice over the last two weekends on pretty vertical rock and a wall, but this “Slab” was equally scary. You see, I acquired a fear of heights for absolutely no apparent reason about a decade ago. And it sucks! There were others there too with slight fears so I didn’t feel out of place. We were somewhere between a 40-50 degree angle of climb, that’s what I’m guessing. It was steep! Of course our instructors scrambled up the rock slope without a thought to set up a line for us! We end up top roping up and down this incline ("top roping" means the line is anchored up to the top, then comes back down again, where your belayer controls it, while you climb upward toward the anchoring point). It was steep enough that those wearing tennis shoes had to borrow other shoes because they couldn’t’ make it up. It was basically an exercise in form and balance and how to move your body; excellent practice. It was also scary as hell, but I kept my eyes on the rock and concentrated moving my weight and shifting and placement and handholds (which there were none ha ha, unless you call a slight indentation of .5mm a handhold). Luckily I had purchased rock climbing shoes last week in Busan, and while deadly tight, they grip the hell out of rock! We basically scampered up (slow scampering?) this incline then had to stand upright and walk backwards down the slab. We had a belayer, who is the person and your partner that controls the rope as you ascend or descend, stopping you if you fall. But you try--just try-- walking backward down a rock face in complete trust of the person holding your life at the bottom…whoa! It was a great experience and I will keep on facing both my fear of heights and of the Seoul Subway system for the next few weekends; then I can relax with easy and cheaper trips to Busan to train at the climbing gym there and hang out with some more awesome peeps!
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Amnam Park, on the water in Busan: sheer cliffs with rock in stratified hues of bordeaux, death-mask grey, and all-the-blood-draining-from-your-face-in-fear white. Apropos to my first outdoor climbing experience, although I celebrated with Soju rather than that fine French red. I wonder if it is common to run through the scale of emotions I felt while clinging to that rock face. I felt enthralled, nervous, terrified, ecstatic, victorious, angry, frustrated, failure, amazement, jealousy, weak, strong, pain, fatigue. The rock seems gigantic and sheer in my memory, and yet small and inconsequential at the same moment. At the time I felt nothing but my physical grip and mental blocks. Now, I am amazed that I was able to put my toe on a small ledge and hold another with fingertips, and remain---attached to that cliff face. Of course, if I compare myself to those wonderful, talented, strong souls I accompanied, my feat is nothing. But without comparison, it is of the grandest feats accomplished. In reminiscence, climbing that cliff wall was akin to sailing across the Atlantic, absolutely no land in sight, and if I were to slip off the deck... It is a feeling of awe, not of conquering; it is a feeling of oneness, not of overcoming; it is a feeling of respect, not fear (although I was very fearful of falling). And at the core of motivation to move upward upon this rock, and within my deepest Self; this climb is a battle with limitations physical and mental. That is the hardest to face: although I could overcome many physical limits of strength, agility, and knowledge, I could not overcome my own fear. I could not move beyond that one step, that one reach, and this is what drives me on to try again. Because I know I can, and I am determined to, overcome this silly, irrational fear of heights I acquired a decade back. Because I am determined to become stronger and accomplished at this sport of rock climbing. I am determined to squash with violence that meek voice inside that says "You can't do this, you are too afraid, not fit enough, not young enough..." etc. The voice is only a whisper, and I will quell that self-defeating intimation with a roar of: "MORE SOJU PLEASE!" AH HAHA HAHA AH HAHA! ...Well, in the Jjimjilbang, at any rate! "What the heck" you ask, "is a Jjimjilbang? And are you sure that's spelled correctly???" Ha! Contrast luxury with a common, everyday occurrence, and you have a Jjimjilbang! Ritualistic and ingrained in the culture is the partaking of the healing waters, hot and cold, saunas, and massage of the Public Bath Houses of Korea! This is not for one who shies from nudity, or finds it odd to be in a roomful of naked women (well, I am a woman, so I was only allowed in the female area, but I'm working up a plan... hehehe...kidding peeps!) in various stages of relaxing, bathing, showering, swimming, baking in the sauna, freezing in the cold pool, resting in a marble chair in one of three hot pools, chattering, watching Korean soap operas, and all the things girls do. Just Naked. It was awesome! And it cost only $6!!! The J.J. (I will refer to the JJimjilbang from here on as JJ, it's just easier!) Jeong took me to Friday night after class includes 4 floors of an office style building, and is the newest and nicest in Tongyeong. First, you get a key for the shoe locker at the counter. Remember, you have to take off your shoes when entering most places in Korea! Once your shoes are locked in the shoe locker, you return to the counter and pay for the visit and trade your shoe key for your locker key. There are a few options from which you can choose: the bath house, additional private body treatment (massage/skin buffing/shampoo, etc.), JJ, and exercise room. Just like a gym in the States, you can pay by the visit, or monthly, or class pass option. So for $6 each we visited the "public bath" portion. The body treatment costs only an additional $25 for one hour! We took the elevator to the second floor, where the women's locker room, showers, and bath house are located. My eyes were instantly drawn to the large design on the marble elevator floor, inlaid with brass, multi-colored stones, and mother of pearl, arranged in a circular decoration. The locker room was typical of nicer private health clubs in the States: well-lit, expansive, hair dryers, vanity mirrors, and the like. As with all the locks in Korea, the lockers had electronic locks, so you carry a key on your wrist. There is a small snack stand in the lokcer room, where assorted women are standing in line, sans dress, buying juice, snacks, special waters, etc. They also offer toiletries in case you forgot some of your own. Bathing is an art, a ritual, here. There is a standard of undress and behavior and procedure. The first time I went, I was with Jeong, but I ventured in on my own last night ( Friday, Dec. 20). After you disrobe and lock up belongings, you walk through the heavy glass doors into the main bath area. In the center are three large tubs, of differing degrees of heated water, very very hot, hot, and mildy hot. This large square tri-section is rimmed in marble, with a large center square column that divides the three, leading your eyes up to a circular design of multicolored, changing lights. With your legs folded underneath, you can comfortable sit on the bottom with your neck and head above water (2 1/2 feet or so deep?). There are also ledges along the wall in the pool, for sitting. When it gets too warm, or if they are chatting furiously with friends, many women sit out of the water, on the cool marble ledge that forms the edge of each pool. There is a sense of respect, disinterest, lack of competitiveness here. Or perhaps Koreans are just okay with nudity and understand it's natural. We all have vaginas and breasts so what's to look at. Everyone is comfortable and at ease with their bodies ( or so it appears from outside). There doesn't seem to be staring or competitive sideways glances to see who is skinnier than who, etc. It's a given that it is impolite to stare, and yet you look at each other and greet, and your eyes pass along another's body as though it is another fixture of the baths. This is a remarkable refreshing and comforting experience for someone coming from a puritanical country where nudity is still seen as "sinful" or socially unacceptable, and the female body is still objectified by men. It is an absolutely relaxing, new, and freeing experience to walk around and lounge in completely nude outside the boundaries of my own house! Anyway, so you'll see many women sitting in various positions on the ledges of the pools engaged in vibrant discussion, or taking respite from the hot water. As I mentioned, there are lights above the three pools, in a swirling pattern, that change color, and it is immensely satisfying to lie back in the medium-hot pool, which has dolphin fountains and bubbling water, and lazily watch the muted light show above, as the colors melt into each other, pink, green, red, blues. The hot-hot-pool is a little too hot for me, but the same size as the medium-hot. "Size" meaning being large enough for 10+ women to sit comfortably spaced well away form each other--like 4-5eight person hot tubs put together maybe (?). Then to the rear is the less-hot tub, with marble "seats" built in along the wall: large armchairs made of marble and hard as such. The three giant "hot tubs" are the focal point of the room as you enter, with a whirlpool bath and body exfoliating machine to the left, showers and bathing areas to the right, and to the rear of this huge room are the wet and dry saunas and the two cold tubs (and I mean COLD people!) The private massage rooms are directly left of the entry door. Just how clean can you get? Well, you'd be amazed that it takes several hours and two good scrubbings to qualify as fully bathed and finished. That's two hours if you're in a hurry! And following is what you do! |
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