Our trip out to Mineral Wells went very well. We left around 7:30am from SMU and arrived at the site close to 9:00am. Everyone on the trip was excited to get out on the rock and start climbing. Most of the people on the trip were inexperienced climbers, but at the end of the day they all said that the trip had been a fun and rewarding experience.
We were able to set up a variety of routes, from a humble 5.6 to a challenging 5.10. The participants did very well on the rock and surprised themselves at thier climbing prowess. We broke for lunch for forty-five minutes and then continued to climb. Near the end of the day we were able to set up a rappell. Only one participant decided to rappell off of the rock face, but the others enjoyed watching.
The trip ended with a quiet ride back to SMU. The day had taxed everyone and it was a common agreement that a warm shower was to be well enjoyed later in the evening. All of the participants expressed that they would enjoy being a part of a future trip and that they would like to start climbing at the wall more. One enterprising staff member even managed to get a participant interested in competing in the CSS rock-climing competition.
At the end of the day, the participants felt that they had experienced a great trip and the staff agreed that the trip was a success. Though tired and worn from a full day, smiles protruded from every face as they walked out the door to thier cars. The trip, in this writer’s opinion, was better than that which could be imagined.

Submitted by Trip Leader-Rock, Devon Finninger