Cp, I'm an outdoor person and I've "tried" rock climbing once on a much much smaller rock face. I determined that was one activity I'll stay away from. You might twist my arm to try again but I'm not so sure. Good for you guys. I'm sure the view from the top was worth it.
I learned a great deal in a few hours. On my own I would have concluded the same as yourself. I was scared to death at the top of the rock as we were preparing and I am generally pretty courageous. Compounding the concern of someone falling but even more so that I was going to be put into a position to where lives were dependent on someone who did not know what they were doing. That being me. I had the impression that a great deal was going to be required of me by the expert while he was at the bottom and I at the top harnessing and helping youth some of whom were semi terrified. That was actually good for me because I leaned into the job and my mind was intent. However, my friend was very responsible in not handing me more responsibility than should be and he was there overseeing everything. There was really nothing required of me that was not overseen very carefully. I relaxed and did a good job. Whew ! This was at the repelling stage or the beginning. When we went down and each began to climb quite a bit of the fear was gone howbeit not entirely and that is good. A healthy respect is a good thing. The rock was not a mountain but even so, if you fall 60 feet the end result is the same. I ended up being amazed at what even an athletic beginner can climb in terms of what seemed next to impossible to me. Shoes, chalk, strategy, tenacity, and physical strength and endurance all have there part. While I am out of shape and up there near retirement age I have a lot of natural attributes like excellent strength to weight ratio etc.. That allowed me to do very well and make it to the top. It was a great experience.
It was interesting that I was even intimidated a bit crawling out to the edge and look down the face. I did it but was most uneasy. I was also concerned that someone could stubble while walking and fall over the edge. That all eased over time. Knowing what you are doing and having confidence in good equipment is vital to overcoming fear and intimidation. There was certainly a point early on to where I would have been happy to forget this adventure but the expert showed a lot of confidence and that helped.