Showing posts with label instruction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label instruction. Show all posts

Saturday, October 2, 2021

Intro To Off-Road Driving - NY


What an amazing opportunity to learn basic technical skills for off-road driving! I have to admit I was really stoked about this course, but very anxious as well. At first, I had no idea if my stock Toyota 4Runner would be capable for this class. But after speaking with the owner, Scott Trager, I signed up for the course. And I'm so glad that I did! I learned basic technical techniques for off-road driving, and more importantly, I realized that my stock 4Runner is more than capable to handle off-roading! Scott was very thorough in explaining all the details and I look forward to taking more classes. Safe off-roading is fun!


NORA - Northeast Off-Road Adventures is located in Ellenville, New York, and has several off-road courses for every experience level. I signed up for the "Intro To Off-Road Driving" class. This two-part class (virtual presentation & onsite instruction) included an overview of common 4 wheel drive controls, driving on woodland terrain, working with a spotter, minimizing environmental impact, and off-road driving safety. There were 5 vehicles in our class and we drove the rock & boulder obstacle course, working with a spotter and understanding the importance of putting your tire on a rock! Afterward, we navigated a beginner trail drive with instructors, Scott & Alex, walking alongside our vehicles and spotting for us. The onsite terrain included driving over rocks, tight woodland trails, and hill sections. Enjoy some photos and videos of my instruction. 


I also had the opportunity to use the Crawl Control feature on my 4Runner while driving down a short, steep incline. The Crawl Control does all the work of adjusting the throttle and the brake and lets the driver focus on steering. No foot on the brake or throttle pedals. The crawl control also works in Reverse! In Toyota 4Runners this feature is loud and to me, sounds like "mechanical purring!" 😆



 🤙🏽 #girlswhooffroad #offroading #offroadgirlsig #offroad #offroad4runners #trd #trdoffroad #venture #toyota #toyota4runner #4runner #4runnergirl #black4runner #trd4runner #trd_hawaiigirl @nora4x4

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Crack Climbing - Instruction #1


vertical crack, hand jam

While out at Joshua Tree National Park last month I did some hiking and worked on goals on learning to crack climb. Hired Seth Pettit of Mojave Guides to teach me basic crack climbing skills. Climbed for 2 full days (Day 1 and Day 2) and got on 15 pitches! Now I'm hooked. I come back to the east coast and of course it's cold and all my climbing buddies are salivating for ice to climb on. Meanwhile I'm like, "dudes, I'm still in rock mode here!" So I started looking for a climbing gym in my area that has vertical crack climbing routes plus instruction. Found one 77 miles north of me at Salt Pump Climbing in Scarborough, Maine with Tino Fiumara. Tino is the Head Routesetter and Assistant Program Director at Salt Pump. I spoke to Tino about my vertical crack climbing goals before I left for Las Vegas and scheduled my first lesson with him for when I return from my Las Vegas golfing/climbing trip.

Fast forward to today.....
I had my first lesson with Tino today and it was fantastic! Where I mostly worked on low-angled crack routes in Joshua Tree, the route I worked on today is a 30 foot vertical hand crack with the last 15 feet slightly overhung. It is the easiest of 3 crack routes at Salt Pump Climbing. My lesson was for 2 hours and it started off with warming up and assessment on 3 types of easy routes. This was so that Tino could see my movement, route reading, balance, strategy and strength skills. Then we moved over to the crack route. Before I climbed we covered jams, locks, rattly/insecure jams, lateral pressure and body positions. I climbed the vertical crack using hand jams in the crack while using my feet on the holds up the sides of the crack. It was fun, challenging and scary all rolled into one and I got to the top on my second try. And not gonna lie....it was work, but the constant body tension of crack climbing is addicting! Can't wait for my next lesson for feet jamming, but for now, I need to practice what I just learned!





crack climbing
Ocun Crack Climbing Gloves
Convenient, easy and fast on/off

YouTube Channel - Hawaii Girl Adventures

Check out my YouTube channel at:  Hawaii Girl Adventures I will eventually be phasing out blog posts and be posting videos of my climbing, h...