There’s something inately pleasing about reaching for another grip while dangling 20 feet off the ground percariously perched on maybe a few inches of foot holds. Those few seconds of barely hanging on, followed by a satisfying and reassuring hand placement and attaining another foot in an ascent - albeit an easy 5.5 grade climbing wall. No, it doesn’t get much easier than that, as far as climbing goes, but getting to the top is a great feeling regardless.
Over the weekend, I took my first steps into the world of rock climbing. It has always been something that thought I was somewhat interested in, but for one reason or other I never got around to doing. After only a couple of hours of working the walls, however, it became incredibly apparent that I was far more interested in it than I ever really knew. Afterwards, I couldn’t help but conetmplate why I had never gotten into rock climbing before and why it wasn’t until the end of my 30th year that I decided to give it a shot.
On Saturday, Sonya and I showed up at the Guelph Grotto to take their appropriately named “Show me the Ropes” course - a two hour training session with a high school aged climbing instructor. The instructor showed us how to tie the necessary knots and gave us a quick lesson on how to belay (controlling the climber’s rope) then it was off to some of the easier routes on a couple of the walls.
In short, we had a great time. Rock climbing is loads of fun. Beyond that, it is a serious total body workout. After only a few times up the walls, my forearms and hands were toast and the next day I was sore from top to bottom. I had no idea that my legs would get such a good workout as well. Beyond the physical workout, a major aspect of climbing that I overlooked is the mental challenge - trying to figure out which foot to put where and how to maneuver from one hold to another. Overall, climbing is a great way to get a complete workout and have a really good time.
We really enjoyed it and can’t wait to go back and work on the lines that we had trouble with this time out.
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