Angeles and I are trying to do a better job at taking care of our health. Angeles, in general, does a much better job at this than I. So she was the one to look into gyms and found Teton Cross Fit Gym/The Rock Gym. They have cross fit, rock climbing and yoga/hot yoga. Angeles got a membership there for the Cross Fit and Yoga sections.
I wasn't too enthusiastic about those two, but I have done a little bit of rock climbing in the past at scout camp and I wanted to try that out. They also have an area for bouldering that I haven't tried out yet. Bouldering is basically rock climbing a short enough wall that you don't need a harness for it. The routes on them tend to be harder too.
I started my membership on June 29th and have gone every day (except for on the Sabbath) since then. I've been having a blast.
I got myself a pair of rock climbing shoes and my own harness, so I won't need to rent them every time. Angeles and I went to Al's Sporting Goods in Idaho Falls to get them. Rock climbing shoes need to be pretty small for your foot in order to work well on small foot holds. When we were there, there was a couple who climb and they were able to help me choose my harness and shoes. They were super helpful. They waited around until I picked the right size. Angeles pointed out later that there were four people just watching me put on shoes: the husband and wife, Angeles, and the store employee who kept getting me shoes from the back to try on.
A few routes are changed each week so that every month and a half it's an entirely new wall! Each route is marked at the bottom with the name of the employee that made it, the name they gave it, when it was made, and its difficulty rating.
The US uses the Yosemite Decimal System for rating its rock climbing routes. It goes from 1-6, but most of it is irrelevant for rock climbing. For example, a rating of 1 would be a basic hike. What is relevant to me is 5.6 to 5.12+ because that is what we have at the gym. The 5.12+ that I saw looks ridiculously hard. I imagine 5.0 might be like climbing a ladder.
Angeles decided that we should take a few videos of me while climbing. The shots aren't great, but she was belaying me so the phone had to stay propped up on the ground.
This yellow route is called Sunnyside Up. It's rated 5.7, which I guess is a little past beginner and is one of the easiest routes at the gym. It was made by Amber (I don't know who that is, but I feel I should give credit). This was my second time climbing this route and I found it quite a bit easier than the first time. I really like this route. The overhang is my favorite part.
This purple route (sorry you can't really see the colors) is called Alligators are Cool. It's rated 5.8 and is also made by Amber. This is my first time climbing it. When I was half way up I wasn't sure if I could finish it, but right when I thought that Angeles called up saying that I could do it. :) When I finally reached the top my fingers were numb and shaking. It was really hard for me. There's no audio in this video because the Gym plays music and YouTube recognized the song, even though I can't hear it because the audio was terrible.
Our friend, Kat, had never tried rock climbing and really wanted to. Because it was her first time at the gym, I was able to bring her in for a free trial, which is something I can do only once a month. She had a blast. She was able to belay me too, so I was able to try Sunnyside Up again. I found out after the fact Angeles took some pictures of us climbing. I've been going mostly in the mornings, during member only hours, and there is usually only one maybe two other people there rock climbing. When Kat I went, we had the rock walls all to ourselves. Angeles was just across the room at her cross fit class and we were able to wave at her :)
I've been starting to get calluses on my hands from all my climbing, but I'm still enjoying it all the same.
