JJB’s Ramblings

Meghan thought it would be a good idea to take me to a rock gym and show me a thing or two and far be it for me to turn down a chance to try something new.  We started with some basic knot lessons at her house followed by a brief introduction to the art of using the belay. According to Meghan this would keep her from falling from 30 or 40 feet which she said may put some strain on our friendship if it were to happen, so I paid close attention.   

When we got to the gym I was sized up for some shoes and harness and got my registration card (above).  I like how they have the emergency contact right on it, good to know.  After a brief test where they made sure I could tie a knot and keep Meghan from falling to her demise we were off.  I was pretty sure that my incredible tree climbing skills would come in handy and I was right, they did.  I managed to make two climbs without any trouble but on my third I ran into a little difficulty.  After slipping once Meghan pushed me to go the last 15 feet (maybe she yelled something about pushing it to the limit, or to the extreme or something. Or maybe not) and I hit the top.  Meghan was kickin’ some serious ass herself and all in all we were there for about an hour.  On my last climb I went back to the set that I got stuck on earlier with the determination to give it a good run.  I got to the same spot again and got stuck.  After resting for a few moments I gave it one more push but realized that my arms were just done.  I mean I couldn’t have crushed a grape if you asked me to.  So we decided to call it a day after that run, grab some coffee and make our way home. 

All in all, I really enjoyed the climbing and the atmosphere.  I am pretty positive that this is something that I could get into (recreationally).  Everyone at the gym seemed really nice.  In fact they had a boulder climbing competition going on (some of those dudes are really frickin’ good) so they had a radio station there broadcasting live, people taking photos, etc.  Actually, on the way out this guy stopped me and asked for my email because he had taken some shots of me when I was up on the wall.  So I gave it to him and we left.  I was pretty excited when I got an email about an hour ago with the photo, so I thought it would be nice to post with the story.

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