FACE TIME YOSEMITE'S ROCK-CLIMBING INSTRUCTORS WILL GIVE YOU ENOUGH ROPE TO ... WELL, SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Byline: Story and photos by Bill Becher Correspondent

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - If you climb a lot, eventually some of the people you know will die, says Dave Bengston, head of the Yosemite Mountaineering School.

It's not that rock climbing is crazy dangerous, it's just that, as in flying, the penalty for carelessness is severe. Climbers have been killed slipping on easy approach hikes and by rappelling off the end of a rope.

``If you know what you're doing and don't take risks, you can keep it pretty safe and sound,'' Bengston said. ``It's all about experience, knowledge, ability and the choices that you make. But when climbing goes bad, it really bites you.''

The first time I tried rock climbing I was terrified, even though I knew the safety rope would save me from anything more than a bruise to the ego.

Fear of heights keeps a lot of folks from climbing. But some fear is good, according to Bengston - otherwise climbers take unnecessary risks.

After a few more climbs, I began to enjoy the physical and mental challenge of picking a route up a rock face, finding a place for my feet and hands, and the sense of achievement when I topped out. But these were all one-pitch climbs, less than 100 feet above the ground.

Yosemite Valley gets you a lot more vertical.

You're never far from El Capitan's intimidating 3,000 feet of sheer granite wall. Looking up at the antlike climbers on routes that can take a week to complete is either inspirational or terrifying, depending on your mood.

To get a taste of climbing in Yosemite's vertical granite playground I started on a relatively easy 600-foot climb called After Six.

Bengston led the way on this six-pitch climb. A pitch is the distance you can go using one 150-foot length of rope.

We ``free climbed,'' using only the rock for foot and handholds, but with a safety rope.

Bengston, a lanky, laid-back guy who's climbed El Capitan 48 times, places ``protection'' - metal nuts and cams jammed into cracks in the rock. He clips the rope, which is tied to his harness, into the protection.

I'm manning the other end of the rope, ``belaying'' Bengston - which means if he slips, my job is to cinch the rope attached to my harness to stop his fall.

If the leader falls and dangles from the rope, it's a ``whipper.'' But Bengston, nimble as a mountain goat, is too skilled to fall on this climb.

When he reaches a ledge where he can stand, it's his turn to belay me as I climb, removing or ``cleaning'' the protection as I go. When I reach his position, it's my turn to belay him again as he leads the next pitch.

This is the basic system of traditional rock climbing as practiced in Yosemite.

On the After Six climb, you have a great view of the spires of Cathedral Rocks and Sentinel Rock. I look down to see the green valley floor below. A granite-colored lizard skitters away on the sun-warmed rock.

When I reach the top, I'm flushed with the feeling of achievement. After admiring the sights, we hike back down to the valley floor.

Rock climbing is pretty intuitive; most of us have climbed a tree or scrambled up a boulder at some time. But there are fine points to be learned, especially when climbing more advanced routes. That's why I take a crack-climbing class the next day.

After Six is a ``face climb,'' which means using bumps and indentations in the rock for holds. But much of Yosemite's granite is too smooth for this kind of climbing. Fortunately for climbers, it's scarred with cracks that provide foot and hand holds. Sometimes it's just enough to hold on with one finger.

We learn about setting up an anchor for our rope and some of the ways to use a crack for climbing by jamming a hand, fingers or foot into the narrow crevice in the rock. Then it's time to do it for real.

Halfway up a crack, I'm wondering what I've gotten myself into. My hands are scratched and bleeding from jamming into the rock. Next time I'll think about wrapping them with tape, something experienced climbers do.

The crack ends, and I'm stuck. ``Look right,'' someone yells from below. I can traverse to the right on a thin ledge and find another crack providing a route up the rock.

Back on the ground, I think about the climbers on El Cap who will spend the night sleeping on a ``porta-ledge'' - a tiny aluminum and fabric cot suspended thousands of feet above the ground.

Bengston says a porta-ledge is a luxury accommodation after a day of strenuous climbing.

IF YOU GO

CLIMBING INSTRUCTION: The Yosemite Mountaineering School offers basic through advanced rock climbing classes as well as guides for the huge vertical faces of El Capitan and Half Dome. Call [phone] for reservations, schedules, meeting times, equipment and supplies needed for all climbing programs. For more information, visit www.yosemitepark.com (click on, in succession: Activities, Mountaineering School, Rock Climbing).

LODGING: Accommodations in Yosemite Valley include the stately Ahwahnee Hotel, the less pricey Yosemite Lodge, cabins at Curry Village and several National Park Service campgrounds. Call [phone] for information and reservations or [phone] for camping. That must be when you know you're over your fear of heights.

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Photo:

(1 -- 3) Sarah Setear, above, becomes one with the rock during a crack- climbing class in Yosemite. Dave Bengston, left, director of the Yosemite Mountaineering School, ascends on a climb called the After Six. Would-be climbers at the school learn such moves as the finger jam, below.

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IF YOU GO (see text)