Outdoor Recreation

Driving to the site of my first "technical" rock climb, I turn down the volume of my radio. The funereal sound of a sonata by Chopin fuels my anxieties, and they're already in overdrive. In 15 minutes, I'll meet my guide, Paul (Dief) Diefenderfer, who will lead me up a 100-foot face of Camelback Mountain and watch as I rappel down a 90foot vertical drop. "Look," I said to him three weeks earlier, "I've never done this. You really think you can show me how in one session?"

HIGH ANXIETY: LEARNING THE ROPES FOR A TECHNICAL ROCK CLIMB

"Sure," he said.

What the heck, I thought. He's the president of the Arizona Mountaineering Club; he makes a living teaching people how to climb and rappel; he's routinely called upon by state and county officials for mountain-rescue operations. Why worry?

This morning, eyeing the face we will climb, I think of a million reasons why so many that I consider backing out.

"You really think I can do this?" I ask him again, hoping he'll say no.

"Piece of cake," he answers as he unloads ropes, carabiners, and other climbing essentials.

We trek up to a face below Camelback's "Praying Monk." All the time, Dief is telling me about "dumb things" people have done while climbing that caused serious injury and even death. This is helping me a whole lot.

I step into a harness. Dief attaches a nylon rope to it and effortlessly scampers up the vertical face with the other end. He reaches the top, ties himself to a tree, and yells for me to start.

Two things are wrong. First, my knees are really shaking now, so I'm weak and unstable. Second, I can't at first find anywhere to put my feet and hands.

WHEN YOU GO

An important point about technical rock climbing is that it requires a great deal more than physical fitness. It can be dangerous if attempted without proper supervision and equipment. Instruction is essential to the sport.There are several sources in the Valley for information about rock-climbing instruction. One of the best is the Arizona Mountaineering Club (P.O. Box 1695, Phoenix, AZ 85001). Paul Diefenderfer, president of the club who organizes rockclimbing classes, can be contacted at (602) 256-0052. Information also can be obtained at outdoor outfitting places including REI in Tempe and Desert Mountain Sports in northcentral Phoenix. These outlets routinely post information about organized climbs and instructional classes.

But slowly I make my way. I know I'm not going to fall because I'm attached to Dief, but I could lose my footing, fall away from the rock, and smash back in.I make it up and slump down by Dief.

Then we hike to another face down which we'll rappel. I try to be cool at the edge of this nine-story drop, but it's no use. I tell Dief I'm scared.

That's normal, he says, tieing both of us to a bolt already embedded in the ground and knotting a second rope that I will use for the descent.

"Just remember to keep your heels flat against the face, so your legs are at right angles to the face," he says.

"Lean way back from the face and sit into your harness."

He shows me how to release rope as I descend and tells me I'm ready.

I can't bring myself to step over the edge. I stand there, looking down, shaking.

Fear shouldn't stop me, Dief says. This is a measured, predictable thrill. Fear shouldn't stop me.

I turn around, my back to the edge. I lean back and step down with my right foot. I'm not falling yet, so I take a step with my left foot, simultaneously releasing the rappeling rope.

I'm in control. I sit back in the harness and press my heels to the face. I smile up at Dief, who's peering over the edge.

This feels good. Quickening my pace, I look behind me and down to the rocky ground far below. Then I pause to imagine what I look like, so far above Phoenix.

"Like Batman," I think, laughing out loud.

In minutes, I touch bottom. Dief follows, and I hand over my harness.

On my way home, I switch my car radio from classical to rock 'n' roll. Then I pump up the volume.