Camelback Mountain

Sarah is one strong woman! Maybe Crossfit is pushing her to test her fitness not only in the gym but everyday in all our activities. Whatever the motivation, Sarah seconded for me as we climbed two pitches to the top of "The Praying Monk" on Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale. To "second" you follow the leader up the climb while belaying them, removing gear, and working as a team.
While we are both new to this, I have had more first-hand encounters with the sensation of soaring heights and open air that this climb offered us. In rock climbing, the term is "exposure". As in, "Man that climb was so exposed it felt like I was on the top of the Empire State building!"
Now the exposure on this climb wasn't off the charts, but this was the first time Sarah had to follow me up a pitch where I am out-of-sight, while cleaning our gear, and rooftops look tiny below us. Please don't take this as a reason to worry though! The entire time she was safely tied into our rope and constantly belayed by me.
I could see the determination in her eyes as she climbed the final section up into view. There was no quitting, and the satisfaction on her face when she reached the top was definite. I am so proud of her!
Take a look at our photos. In the first photo of the album we climbed the wall above Sarah's head and the boulder above that. To give you an idea of scale, the boulder is around 100 feet tall!

Camelback Mtn.