Rock Climbing!!

Last night I went rock climbing for the first time, and it was so much fun! My friend Alexa and I went to the The Edge Rock Gym here in town. We got the pass to climb and rented the harness, carabiner, and these special shos which made it easier to grip. Since it was the first time for both us we also took the belay class together and learned how to belay each other as well. The guy teaching us was really nice, and he made it easy to learn and understand. "Take this rope and make an alien head... Now we don't like this alien, so we're gonna choke him, and poke him in the eye- and now you have your knot..." With instructions like these, how could you not catch on quick, ha ha! We both felt a little embarrassed however when it came time to test out knowledge. Out helper was still watching is to make sure we were doing everything right and we each took a turn climbing while the other belayed. It was our first time on the wall at this point and by the time we got about 4 feet off the ground we were both saying, "I'm ready to come down now..." We knew it would be tough, but it was a lot harder than it looked!!


In addition to belaying, there were also certain areas of the wall that had the "auto-belays" which you simply hooked in to and they went up as you went up but caught you and slowly lowered you down to the ground if you fell. These were what we decided to get started with because we could both climb simultaneously and we didn't have the added pressure of trusting the other person while we got used to the climbing. I have to say, Alexa seemed to be a natural! She zoomed right up the wall after only 1 or 2 tries, like a little spider-monkey. It took me a while to really trust that the belay device would catch me. It wasn't easy to get so high off the ground then just let go- it's a strange sensation and obviously goes against everyone's natural instincts. I kept trying though- the key for me was to not look down. On one course I made it about 2 feet from the top and then it was ruined when I looked down and freaked out about the height, despite the fact that I knew I couldn't fall...


Plus, after all that time trying to make it to the top, your arms get really tired!! Rock climbing is such a workout in a fun way. I am definitely more a cardio/ aerobic workout person rather than doing anything involving weights or muscle, but this kind of activity that is fun AND works out my muscles is a nice change of pace. After 2 hours we finally threw in the towel because our muscles were tired and our hands were so raw from using all of the ropes and grips. I never did get to the top of any of the course, but that just means I'll have to keep trying!!! 

http://www.theedgerockgym.com/ 

Here I am climbing up one of the first sections we tried out using the auto-belay devices. At this point I'm really only like 10 feet off the ground, but Alexa's photo-taking skills make it look a lot more impressive, ha ha.

Say CHEESE :)

This is my rock-climbing partner in crime Alexa.

Here we are climbing and using the auto-belay devices together. Every time I got to this point on this particular course I gave up because I couldn't get over that ledge without freaking out. Alexa did a great job of concurring that crazy ledge on her course though!

This is my favorite photo! I think it really does a great job of showing the height... Alexa is in the top right corner all the way at the top!!