SRT Weekend

Thanks to all who participated in the SRT course on December 5-7, 2003. The course was arranged by Sarah Cervone and vertical instructors Tim White and Berta came down from Atlanta to "show us the ropes". Most of us know Tim and Berta from the past OCR course which was also a huge success.

The classroom sessions were held on Friday night where the students learned all kinds of info about vertical equipment. Ascending gear, rappelling gear, ropes, rigging, webbing, harnesses and knots were all discussed.

Saturday afternoon the class met at the home of Bill Birdsall. Special thanks to Bill for the use of his backyard training ground. The weather was a bit cold, but everyone got plenty of time on rope practicing climbing techniques, change-overs and rigging.

Sunday dawned bright and clear but fortunately not nearly as cold. The class met at Wendy’s on 326 for a quick breakfast and to complete their test. While the students completed the paperwork and discussed what they had learned, Matt Vinzant and Brian Williams headed to Speedway Quarry to rig the ropes for a day of wall practice. The 70 ft. wall was rigged with 4 ropes for rappelling and ascending. The entire class got their fill of climbing and rappelling. Tim and Berta were really on top of things as usual and I believe a lot of good information was learned by everyone. Thanks again to Tim and Berta for taking the weekend to drive down from Atlanta for some great vertical instruction. Special thanks to Sarah for getting the class set-up, Becky Detorre for reserving a room for Friday night work, Bill Birdsall for the use of his home, and Matt Vinzant for helping with Saturday and Sunday’s vertical workshop and rigging.