The Stanford Business Reporter

Issue date: 10/1/01 Section: Outdoor Adventures

The OA Rock Climbing trip was an amazing experience for the 19 GSB students and 4 SO’s who attended. We caravanned out to Yosemite on Friday morning set to experience two exhilarating days of learning to climb some of the most famous rock in the world. Guides from the Yosemite Mountaineering School explained the history of the sport, helped us safely don our very fashionable shoes, helmets and harnesses, and then threw us up on the mountain.

Day One was spent at Swan’s Slab learning the basics of climbing, repelling, and belaying (working the rope that keeps the climber safe). Although the group started with very little climbing experience, by the end of the day we looked like experts.

After spending some time catching up on the US Open, the group ventured back to camp for a BBQ and marshmallow roast. We learned a lot (maybe too much) about each other that evening including group members’ various experiences with elephants, body piercing, leapfrog and Las Vegas.

On Day Two our skills were tested and fears confronted as we ventured to a spire towering above the Yosemite Valley. We hiked out to see a magnificent vista over the park and learned that we would be climbing rocks and traversing between cliffs over 1500 feet high. The group stepped up to the challenge and spent a spectacular day on the rocks.

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