Saturday, 13 June 2009 11:35
Rock climbing has become one of the things I look forward to all week. While it is exercise and can be pretty strenuous, you wouldn't notice while you're doing it. Its not like going to the gym and lifting weights. Its a mind game, sortof like a three dimensional puzzle. Balance, positioning, grip and body tension can decide the battle between you and the wall. I think that's one of the things I love about it. Its not you against anyone else, its you against the wall. There is a full range of difficulty levels, from "its practically a ladder" to "those are the holds!?!?, are they kidding?". The point is that anyone can rock climb, you don't have to be super strong to try it.
To start you'd be doing what called "top roping". That's where you have a harness on and tie a rope to it. From there the rope loops up around an anchor at the top of the wall and your partner ties in the other end. Your partner uses a "belay" device to keep the rope taught. This makes it so that if you "fall", you only fall a couple inches at most. Its a bit terrifying until you get used to the feel of it, but there couldn't be anything safer. They make you take a safety course the first time you go in, so you don't have to take my word for it.
The cost isn't too bad, its $31 for the intro lesson, special climbing shoes, harness, chalk bag, and a day pass. As you get into it, things get cheaper... Because I have my own gear and a monthly membership, my per time cost is about $5 per time (@ 8x/mo). For an experience of this quality, its a smokin deal... at the least its worth trying once.
Its a pretty social atmosphere at the Vertical hold, at the time of writing I have 3 solid climbing partners that I climb with twice a week. Every tuesday and thursday from usually around 6:30pm to about 8pm. Heres a link to the Vertical Hold website, and there is a map below. Its just off the 805, really close to Miramar rd. Above are some pics of the gym on a typical thursday night. If you're looking for a little more info, check out the climbing FAQ.