8. Rock Climbing
As a clutzy and uncoordinated kid, I hated gym. I couldn’t run fast, throw a ball straight, or make a basket. Ever. One thing I could do, though, was shimmy up the ropes to the top of the gym and touch the ceiling. It felt great to master an activity that some more physically gifted kids found challenging.
As a clutzy and uncoordinated adult, I wasn’t sure I wanted to try rock climbing. My flying-up-the-ropes days lived in the nether regions of my memory, and the thought of scaling walls up to 50 feet high seemed intimidating.
Still, this adventure quest beckoned, so there I stood at Brooklyn Boulders in Somerville, MA, harness on, ropes attached, staring straight up and repeating silently to myself, “You can do this, you can do this …”
With climbing instructor extraordinaire Dan Alroy
In the Learn the Ropes class I took, led by veteran climber and teacher Dan Alroy, my fellow novices and I spent an hour and a half learning safety procedures, knot tying, and belaying do’s and don’ts. For example, when you’re belaying (holding the rope for another climber so the pulley action keeps them safe if they fall), don’t let go of the rope with your right hand. When one of us did this - and I did a couple of times before the lesson sank in - Dan would calmly say, “I just died.”
Clipped into an auto-belay, a magnetic contraption that allows you to safely climb without a human holding the rope, we climbed up about 15 feet and then Dan asked us to let go and fall. He wanted us to practice pushing against the wall with our hands and feet so we wouldn’t injure ourselves coming down. That first time letting go, though - OH MY GOSH. Releasing control and just trusting that I wouldn’t crash down and break my legs felt so counter-intuitive, but once I did it was actually kind of fun.
After Dan felt satisfied that we knew how to tie ourselves in properly and belay our partners safely, up we went. The first time, we used both human and auto-belays; after that, just human.
For my first climb I chose hand and foot holds that went evenly up the wall in two parallel lines. Easy! I scurried right up to the top, and felt fine as long as I didn’t look down.
Then it was my turn to belay. My partner, Jack, weighs more than I do. This seemed scary, but because of the pulley I don’t think weight matters all that much. When Dan asked him to fall on purpose, though, my feet came off the ground!
For my second climb, Dan suggested a more challenging area, with a curve in the wall. I made it up, but let’s just say I can’t use the word “scurry.” See for yourself:
Dan is a patient and effective teacher. There’s a lot to learn, and at first I wasn’t sure I would remember everything, but it all clicked in.
If you want a challenge - and you’re not afraid of heights - try climbing. At Brooklyn Boulders they have a huge space with many different rock walls of varying degrees of difficulty. They also offer fitness classes and have cardio equipment available, as well as saunas.
If I were twenty-something and looking for some new friends - or even a significant other - I would definitely join a rock gym. The place was hopping with young people, and had a good, friendly vibe.
Nearing 60, though? I’m not sure if I’ll try it again when I complete this adventure quest, but I’m glad I overcame my initial fear and gave it a go.
Brooklyn Boulders $79 for a two-hour Learn the Ropes class (our class went a bit longer), including gear and a complimentary day pass to return for belay certification. I bought this class during a Black Friday special, so paid $47.40.
