Literally Climbing the Walls

Well, dear readers, in the past few weeks I have partooken ('partooken' is awesome for 'partaken in') the recreational sport of rock climbing at the Boulder Rock Climb gym.  A coworker of Mike's convinced him to try it out, and the weather here has been unamenable to mountain biking recently, so Mike dusted off his climbing gear and went.  I did not join him because that particular night was the very last of Stout Month at the Southern Sun, so I met Meg and Stevezie and a couple other friends there for dinner and drinks. 

Afterward, with a bit of a buzz on, I walked over to the BRC to spectate as Mike climbed with coworkers Brian, Joy and Jon.  The gym is pretty neat: lots of different-colored holds bolted to the concrete walls with colored tape showing which 'routes' to follow, and people on ropes lowering like spiders from the overhangs. 

Well, that evening whetted Mike's appetite for getting back into climbing, and the next Thursday I joined him and coworkers Brian, Joy, and Elyn at the gym after work.  I had (at Mike's prompting) bought a pair of climbing shoes for very cheap at an REI garage sale some four years previously, and Elyn loaned me her extra harness, and I wasn't required to belay anyone yet so I didn't need a belay device, so I was set to climb!  Mike checked my figure-8 knot on my harness and then we started the obligatory safety back-and-forth for climbing:
Climber: "On belay?"
Belayer:  "Belay on."
Climber:  "Climbing."
Belayer:  "Climb on."

My first climb was on a nice easy warm-up 5.6 route, but even so I was totally hooked.  Unfortunately, my nice discounted climbing shoes were much, MUCH too small, so I had to invest in a new pair that I could keep on for more than 3 minutes at a time.  I also bought a new harness and belay device.  Full disclosure: the shoes and the harness have matching color schemes, but it was unintentional.  For those of you who care, they are the Scarpa Helix shoes and Mammut Ophira Slide 3 harness and I highly recommend them both.

Here are some pictures from our most recent excursion this past Thursday!  We met Brian at the gym at 8:30 and climbed until they closed at 11, and then we were so ravenously hungry afterward we swung by the grocery store and got some mac'n'cheese for dinner.  Nothing like a box of Kraft at midnight!

Here's Brian using the auto-belay system to climb a 5.7 route:

Then Mike belayed Brian on a 5.8:

(Love the beefcake in the back.)

Then I, having warmed up on a few easier routes, gave a 5.10 a shot.  In this one I have only one hold to get to before I'm done, but I'm short so I have to kind of spring for it.  I missed on the first try and fell, but then I got back on and made it!

U-RAH!  On Wisconsin!

 Then it was my turn to belay Mike on the same 5.10, but unfortunately for you I am much less photogenic:

"Oops, I dropped him.  Turn off the camera."

Then Mike really went for it on a 5.11!

Overhangs are rough.

Black and white!  Artistic!

(Spider.)

And I had one more climb in me, so I finished the evening with a 5.9:

Look at that muscle definition!

Almost there!

So it turns out that climbing is a great activity for when the trails aren't ready to ride yet!  Maybe it will also give me some arm strength...

With any luck the next week of dry and warm-ish weather will get the trails dried out, and I can post some biking pictures!

Til then, good night, good luck, win awards.