Plan 5: Climbing at PG Presidio

I climbed it because it was there.

There, in the Presidio at the end  of Crissy Field, is the location of the new Planet Granite.  I've been a PG member for a couple years, and wanted to see what all the hubbub was about this new club.  (Read, "I wanted to see the reason our rates went up last year.")  The gym is amazing!  A little background first, there are two kinds of climbing: top-roping, where you strap into a harness and are attached to a rope that'll catch you if you fall (see photo); and bouldering, where you never get more than ten feet or so off the ground (which is covered with cushy mats).  The top-roping routes were crafty -- Jeremy (in the orange shirt, belaying me) found two tough routes for us: one which required a traverse from the main wall onto a stalactite... while 40' in the air; and another which required a one-foot balancing act as you streeeetched out to reach the little chip/hold with your fingertips.  Very "technical," as they say.  The gym offered spectacular views of the bay, and we stayed until sunset when got to see the city bathed in a golden glow backed by pink clouds as the sun made its way west.

Planning the Plan

This plan sold itself.  I talked to a couple friends three weeks or so in advance and found dates they could make it, and I claimed that day.  I sent out an email about a week and a half before the date, and then a reminder a few days before.  A couple people responded to the email saying they were interested, but the ones that came were the ones I talked to personally.  As Curtis said, "word of mouth is the best advertising." Jeremy and I each brought a couple new(ish) climbers, and Steve brought three of his friends, and a couple folks showed up solo to climb (11 in all).  We were all so thrilled with the facility and the climbing that I might have to organize another outing there.