Packwood boarders reach new heights

4th February, 2010

On Sunday 24th January 16 lucky boys and girls had the chance to tackle the indoor climbing wall at Plas Power Adventure near Wrexham.

We were met by our instructor Ian, who made everyone feel welcome. With eyes bulging, and hearts in mouths, we entered the centre and had a look around. Once over the initial excitement, and with everyone listening attentively, Ian carefully went through the programme for the session.

Safety was clearly very important, and this was always to be our first priority. After a clear demonstration, harnesses were put on and adjusted to fit. We then had a go at tying a figure of eight knot which is the knot you use to attach the rope safely to the harness. Some found this easier than others, but in the end we all managed to do it. After mastering the knots Ian showed us how to belay. This looked a bit tricky, but he assured us, that as long as we followed his instructions, the climber would be safe.

We then had a demonstration of what we had learnt. We were shown the correct way to start climbing; making sure that both the belayer and the climber were ready. After a not too confident sounding 'Climb when ready!', 'Climbing,' the first Packwood climber began. At first he went faster than the belayer could take in the rope. Ian told us not to be afraid to ask the climber to stop, so that the rope would always be tight and therefore safe. Now we were all keen to get started so we split up in to groups, each with an adult helper, and went off to climb. We started on the beginners' wall, and everyone managed to get to the top. The groups then went to try some longer and harder climbs. These were far scarier, but with help from the adults and encouragement from our friends, we all had a go. There were a couple of people who had 'Elvis legs', as one teacher called it, but we all did our best and really enjoyed it.

A big thank you to Ian at Plas Power Adventure, and to the teachers who took us, for making this a great Sunday trip.