I Hate Titles
On Sunday I went to Rocks & Ropes, which is an indoor rock climbing gym. I went with a bunch of strangers because that is what I do now- random activities with people I don't know. But the rock climbing was actually way cool. When we first got to the gym, it was a roller coaster of emotions. Like this:
Oh, those walls are really high and scary. This is bad.
Oh, that kid is like 4 and he's zooming right up the wall. This is good.
Oh, that kid is really, really high up. This is bad.
Oh, those people are like 65 and they're doing it. This is good.
Oh, that girl is like my age and she keeps falling off. This is bad.
Fortunately most of the girls I was with were also rock climbing virgins so I wasn't the only one who would be looking like a fool. So, we got all geared up and harnessed in and then had a lesson in knot tying (If you could see my figure 8 knot with a figure 8 follow through, you'd be wicked impressed, I think) and belaying (that's where you hold the rope for the person who is climbing). Then the instructor guy was all, ok, you're set. And that was it. We were turned loose to climb the walls.
And it was totally fun! I basically climbed straight up that wall like some kind of spider monkey. So maybe it was the easy wall. But it was still really high, and involved standing on these tiny little pegs and doing other scary things. And the girl climbing next to me only made it half way up. Not even half way. So to make it to the top, on at least 5 separate occasions, is a big accomplishment. And you know what else, even though I am sure it looked ridiculous, I didn't even care how my butt looked in that harness to the people on the ground. That is a huge breakthrough for me.
Here are a couple of pictures just to show that I really did this.
Oh, those walls are really high and scary. This is bad.
Oh, that kid is like 4 and he's zooming right up the wall. This is good.
Oh, that kid is really, really high up. This is bad.
Oh, those people are like 65 and they're doing it. This is good.
Oh, that girl is like my age and she keeps falling off. This is bad.
Fortunately most of the girls I was with were also rock climbing virgins so I wasn't the only one who would be looking like a fool. So, we got all geared up and harnessed in and then had a lesson in knot tying (If you could see my figure 8 knot with a figure 8 follow through, you'd be wicked impressed, I think) and belaying (that's where you hold the rope for the person who is climbing). Then the instructor guy was all, ok, you're set. And that was it. We were turned loose to climb the walls.
And it was totally fun! I basically climbed straight up that wall like some kind of spider monkey. So maybe it was the easy wall. But it was still really high, and involved standing on these tiny little pegs and doing other scary things. And the girl climbing next to me only made it half way up. Not even half way. So to make it to the top, on at least 5 separate occasions, is a big accomplishment. And you know what else, even though I am sure it looked ridiculous, I didn't even care how my butt looked in that harness to the people on the ground. That is a huge breakthrough for me.
Here are a couple of pictures just to show that I really did this.
Comments