Climbing at Smith Rock

Rob by the famous overhang (21 May 07 Smith Rock near Bend, Oregon)
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So, the only option when visiting Bend (apart from drinking their extremely nice local beer) is to visit Smith Rock, reputed to be the birthplace of sport climbing in the US.

When I agreed to spend my first ever day climbing there, I was in for a bit of a shock. The world's hardest climb till the mid 1980's is there - and although we didn't attempt it I was sure that most of the routes we attempted were pretty difficult!

Luckily we had met up with brilliant instructor Jim Ablo of Chockstone Climbing Guides http://www.chockstoneclimbing.com/ who patiently and calmly taught me the basics (and gave Rob a refresher) and we were "climbing on" in no time.

The Snoopy Rock! (21 May 07 Smith Rock near Bend, Oregon)
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I think that I managed 3 climbs in the day, including some self rapelling (abseiling) and a multi pitch practice. Rob, having a vague idea of what he was letting himself in for, tried some more challenging climbs, and did pretty well. The scenery around the area was pretty awesome as the photos show.

We learned a great deal and had the most fantastic time. If you are ever in Oregon, do give Chockstone a shout!