You're Driving Me Up the Wall!!

Look at that sign.  Can you read it?  "Climbing is DANGEROUS," it says.  And guess who has gone rock climbing not once, but twice?? That's right, dear readers, Yours Truly, forever a person whose motto was (OK, still is...) "I was built close to the ground and that's where I like to stay," has climbed a wall.  Several, actually.

I planned for a couple of my blog posts to be exercise-related; I always figured that they would be about bicycling.  But I had so much fun the past couple weekends with this new adventure that I thought I would tell you about rock climbing first.  And it's probably going to be a long story, so I included some pictures for those of you who need some breaks.

The biggest reason it will be slightly longer than usual is the person referenced in the title.  Everyone should meet Daylin.  There has probably never been a person quite so, well, unique.  And, over the past few years in my class, he has indeed driven me up the wall.  And down it.  And over the edge.  And everywhere in between.  We get along great, unless we're not getting along.  He's quite an awesome trumpet player to go along with everything else - last year he was the Lead Trumpet seat in the Michigan All-State Jazz Band, this year he earned an Honorable Mention in that group, and this summer he will be heading to Europe with the Blue Lake International Jazz Orchestra.  This kid has serious chops...

He's also part monkey.  Or maybe mountain goat.  Several times the past few summers I have had him out to the house to climb on my pergola roof above the deck and trim the vegetation.  Our neighbors saw this and asked him to cut some limbs down that were hanging precariously above their garage.  And all of this he accomplishes without benefit of a ladder - just hops up to the nearest handhold and hoists himself up to whatever he's doing, walking along the 2x12's as though he's on the sidewalk.

This is him here.  He's "bouldering" in this shot - no ropes, just traversing across the wall using hand and foot holds.  More of a horizontal travel than vertical.

So a few weeks ago the family he's living with took him rock climbing in Kalamazoo.  Angie's brother Chris works there and is quite an accomplished climber, and they figured quite correctly that Daylin would love it as well.  What I never figured is that I would end up going, too, or especially that I would enjoy myself.

First let me say that I have no strength in my forearms.  Ten-plus years of lifting weights, and it's as if my fingers, hands, and arms have no real strength.  That was OK, though, Chris said, because the forearms are basically a conduit for holding on.  Hands and fingers do need some strength, but basically you are supposed to learn to kind of "hang" on the wall as you look for your next spot, rather than cling to it and hold yourself with your arms and fingers. So the second time around was a little better.

<<See the tension in my arms?  Since I'm not reaching for the next hold they should be more relaxed and my weight should all be on my legs.  Part of this was clinging to the wall due to terror...

This one is better - my arm is taking the weight through its whole length rather than my biceps and forearms...












The next thing I learned was that my legs are still pretty short...  This is an activity that will stretch you in many ways.  Mentally is pretty obvious - looking for the next place to put your hand or your foot while making sure you're not going to lose your grip and that kind of thing.  (I'll get to a couple other mental things later.)  And physically, well, let's just say that the only muscles I know I didn't use were my triceps.  Feet, calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, plenty of core, biceps, and forearms all got quite a workout.  Decent cardio, too, though again part of that may have been fear:)

So that's the climbing part.  The other half is the "belaying" part.  That's where you are in charge of the rope while your partner climbs.  There are procedures and routines for both positions.  Maintaining the correct amount of slack in the rope, for instance, or the speed with which the climber descends based on you letting out the rope.  There's the mental half again.

This is Daylin in the belaying position.  He's there to make sure I don't crash to the ground if I fall, and also to offer advice or coaching as to where the next hold might be.

Here's a big thing that was obvious to me even before I went climbing: there's a lot of trust required in this sport.  While you're climbing you have to trust the guy holding your rope.  If there's too much slack in it you end up jerking to a very unpleasant stop if you fall, and too little can be binding to your progress.  I am not a fan of high places, as most who know me can attest.  I was pleasantly surprised at my ability to get my feet more than 3 feet off the ground!  I actually have made it to the top of three sections of the easy walls, all while trusting that Daylin or Chris wouldn't let me crash.  Daylin is still working on trusting the rookie to belay him, but I'm getting better.  Haven't dropped him yet...

Another aspect of this that makes me happy is the group or partner deal.  I like working out with others.  I find that it helps me to stay on track and work harder as I try to improve myself and/or keep up with others.  And one thing that I know is good about it is the "encouraging" part.  You got this.  Move your right foot up to where your knee is right now; there's a spot right there.  That's it, now push up with your legs and grab that left hand.  There you go!  Now go for the next one...  These words, though perfectly familiar to me as a speaker of English, were coming from an unlikely source:)  He'll deny it, but Daylin is pretty good at the whole coaching and encouraging thing.  I even got a couple high fives after descending what for me was a precipitous height though for him would be a walk in the park.

After one of my descents:)

So that's the story of my climbing adventures thus far.  I wish there was a closer place to do this; Climb Kalamazoo is a 100-mile round trip, and it's 20 bucks a day to climb.  Not a bad price for the activity, but the travel time and fuel consumption make it a pretty long and expensive day.  But for the feeling of accomplishment and overcoming at least part of my fear of heights, as well as the excellent workout, this is a pretty cool pastime.  It gets to that whole "I can do that better" kind of mentality that makes you challenge yourself, which is fun.   It's also something I never would have thought I would be able to enjoy.  Here are some more pictures:

This is the "auto-belay" area - this man's rope is attached to a reel in the ceiling that operates similarly to a car's seat belt recoil: when you fall or let go, it prevents you from freefall.  No partner needed here, but it's a tough climb...

This is the main room - plenty of walls to climb.  Behind the left side wall is the more beginner climbing area, where I have made it to the top of three different walls:)

This route is used both for bouldering and practicing lead or free climbing - climbing and clipping into protection points as you ascend.  Daylin is at the end of a bouldering ascent route here and is preparing to jump down. 

Oh, since it's a new month, it's also time for a monthly recap.  Not bad weight-wise: I gained a pound in February, which actually was encouraging - with my crazy schedule, lack of exercise time, and convenience eating, I expected much worse.  I took an outdoor bike ride and hit the gym a few times in addition to my indoor training rides.  I think it was a total of a dozen workouts for the month, and only a one-pound gain, so I'm calling it mildly successful if not a win.