by: Tony minter, program director and christina lee, program facilitator
Day 1: Travel to Emma Long For rock Climbing Camp
At about 4:30pm campers and their families began to pull into the Youth Odyssey parking lot. This crew was an even mix of some of our most seasoned Youth Leaders and new participants. The trip out to Austin was a bit subdued, as everyone was pretty tired from full days of school and work. When we arrived at Emma Long Park, at about 10:30pm, we were a model of efficiency in getting camp set up. More experienced campers focused on helping those with less experience set up first; roles then reversed as the newbies practiced newly acquired skills helping the veterans complete their own set-ups. The evening concluded with a brief camp meeting to make general introductions and discuss plans for the next day. Soon, everyone had retired to their own tents to sleep.
Day 2: Climbing at Seismic
On this misty Saturday morning, campers woke up to the aroma of the sausage and eggs Robert was preparing for breakfast. As everyone ate with plates balanced in their laps, we had our morning check-in circle. Noting that the forecast called for rain, we took a couple extra minutes to thoroughly check groundcover tarps and rain flies before heading out to the crag.
At the Seismic Wall entrance to the Austin Greenbelt, we were greeted by two familiar faces and one new one. We took a moment in the parking lot to do an introduction circle. William Pyle, Youth Leader, had been unable to travel with us on Friday due to dress rehearsal for King High School’s production of A Christmas Carol. A veteran climber, Will arranged to have his family bring him to meet the trip in Austin. We were also joined this morning by Kristen Jeffrey, former Youth Odyssey Program Facilitator and Ropes Course Manager. Kristen co-led our summer Rock Climbing Youth Leadership Camps for the past two years and participated in the planning of this adventure prior to her decision to move to Austin to be nearer to family. Also joining us for the day’s climbing was Steve Brothers, Program Director Tony Minter’s climbing and sailing partner since the 1990s.
The climbing area was quite busy that morning, with climbers from four other groups working routes along the wall. We set top ropes on a variety of climbs – ranging from Die Easy (5.6) to Over Easy (5.9) – for our experienced climbers to warm up and for our novices to cut their teeth on. It was amazing to see our more experienced climbers teaching the new climbers how to do the 4-H safety check, the PBUS belay, and sharing beta (climber-speak for ‘advice’) on balance climbing technique. Our group enjoyed testing their limits on the harder climbs and celebrating one another’s accomplishments. Eventually, Steve and Kristen decided to set up Diving for Rocks (5.11) to give everyone a bit of a challenge. While no one in our group managed to complete this very hard route, several made valiant efforts. Will even managed to stick the crux move for several seconds before peeling off. But this is the nature of the sport: climbers push their limits on new and harder projects and plot a sometimes slow, but always steady, course toward success.
Texas State Capitol and Austin Creek Show
By 2:00pm we all had a pleasant burn in our forearms from the morning of climbing. We packed up our gear, bid adieu to our Austin-based climbing partners, and headed downtown. Our first stop was the Texas State Capitol. Program Facilitator Christina Lee dusted off her Texas History teacher chops and played tour guide on our walk through the building and grounds. As 5:00pm drew near everyone was getting hungry so we set out for Roppolo’s Pizza, three blocks away from our main attraction for the evening: the Austin Creek Show!
At about 6:30pm we were in line for the Creek Show. When we arrived the line to enter the exhibit was very long. We entertained ourselves playing some of our favorite focus games, including 3-6-9 and Cuckoo. This annual interactive art exhibit celebrates the role Waller Creek in Austin’s history and culture. We were particularly dazzled by the Creek Keeper, a three-dimensional video sculpture visitors could walk through, and Babble, a sound sculpture featuring multi-generational voices emanating busts fashioned from up-cycled materials telling stories about growing up on Waller Creek.
Day 3: Climbing at New Wall
Sunday morning, we were roused from our tents again with the smell of Robert cooking breakfast. After breakfast and check-in circle we were on the road for our next day of climbing. Arriving at New Wall we were again greeted by our Austin climbing hosts. Undaunted by the drizzling weather we set up Either Way, so called because the route offers two options easier to the left (5.7) and harder to the right (5.10). This was a great climb for our group with mixed experience levels.
That afternoon we headed down to the Texas Scienc and Natural History Museum to relax and wind down a bit from another morning of hard climbing. There we explored the museum’s awesome fossil collection. We speculated what it must have been like when megafauna, like as saber-toothed cats and giant armadillos displayed in the paleontology gallery, roamed Texas.
We also learned about the geologic forces that shaped the land of Texas, and we marveled at the beautiful mineral collection on display at the museum.
About 5:30pm we headed back to Emma Long. Back at camp we convened a debrief discussion, in which we celebrated one another’s accomplishments over the past two days. We spent the rest of the evening taking much-needed showers, sharing a spaghetti dinner, and playing games until lights out.
Day 4: Austin Bouldering Project
On Monday the campers got to experience a day of urban outdoor exploration. We had a slow start at camp, and then explored historic Zilker Park. In the afternoon we headed to Mueller Lake Park where Armando taught Blake how to cook hot dogs on the grill. Everyone was impressed at the master chefs’ work! While Jacob improved his photography skills and Cayden made new friends playing soccer, all of the campers enjoyed observing the ducks and trying to give away extra hot dogs. The park offered the kids a great opportunity to practice enjoying nature in an urban setting, and was a nice break from the intense physical and mental efforts of climbing from the previous days.
After a morning and early afternoon of rest, we loaded up and headed for an ice cream break at the iconic Amy’s Ice Cream, and then headed to the Austin Bouldering Project’s Westgate Gym. The folks at ABP were kind enough to donate two and a half hours of climbing time to our group. After two days on real walls, the campers were rock stars in the gym. Everyone loved challenging themselves to try new techniques and harder routes. Our volunteers Steve, Kristen and Abby all joined us, and were able to give the kids amazing guidance on the nuances of climbing in the gym as opposed to on the natural walls.
Two hours later, we had tired, sweaty, chalky kids, but I am pretty sure they would have stayed all night! We returned to camp for a dinner of walking tacos, and a campfire, complete with smores. During our campfire we took time to reflect on our trip, as well as other climbing trips, and even get a little hyped up for a summer climbing camp.
Stay tuned for our Spring and Summer 2024 Leadership Camps!
