Safety first!

I went climbing at a climbing wall in Jinja today. It’s the closest place to climb anything that I’m aware of. The next closest place (with real rock!) is Sipi Falls, about 8 hours away. The wall at Jinja is attached to a bungy tower. It’s made of planks of rough wood.

Not surprisingly, the safety measures were somewhat lacking. The top-rope was set up with a strand of fraying webbing tied to the iron girding of the bungy tower. The rope was attached via a single carabiner. The climbing guy tried to tie us in by tying a knot in the rope, attaching it to a carabiner, and then attaching said carabiner to the harness.

As we climbed, the holds frequently spun around, sending us flying. We climbed in bare feet. Bare feet + wooden wall = I’m sure you can imagine.
I’m usually much more frightened climbing on real rock than at climbing walls, but this was an exception! Anyway, we managed to get a little climbing in and survive to tell the tale. I have procured photographic evidence of the sketchy set-up, so if I ever manage to post pictures, you can see it for yourselves.