Today I bouldered at Wall Crawler with Kirsten. I babysat yesterday and we ended up going to Stone Summit, where I finally passed the belay certification with “flying colors” (which means I don’t have to retest unless I go more than a year without climbing there). And then I belayed kids for ~3 hours, which worked my left biceps (when they were going up) and right triceps (when they were going down, because they were so light I had to pull the rope through the ATC).

My sleeping and eating schedule have been a wreck the past couple of days, too, so I went in expecting not to do so well. I was tired -- I only climbed for about an hour, but I managed to complete most of the routes I worked on last time and couldn’t quite finish. I think I’ve nailed more than half the VBs there now, and I made some progress on a couple of others, too (there were a couple I think I might have managed if I’d tried them fresh). I also managed to make it from hold 3 to hold 12 on the endurance route, and from the beginning to hold 4 (there’s a 90 degree turn in the wall, so navigating the corner is tricky). Before, I couldn’t figure out how to get from holds 3-4 to hold 5 without my feet coming off the wall, so it was a pretty awesome improvement.

I finished my session with some laches (only managed one, because I was too tired and I was worried my hands would tear), reverse hyper extensions, incline (near vertical) sit-ups, a bit of play on the rings (tried for a muscle-up, but only could manage a pull-up), and some plant plyos on a box.

I think I might be leaning towards this gym. Its location is a little closer to work, it tends to be less crowded, and their extra equipment is something I’d actually use post-climbing (vs. the rowing machine at SS, which I doubt I’d do on the same day as a climbing session). (I haven’t gotten a chance to try the aerial silks at Wall Crawler yet, but I hope to during my next visit.) I haven’t tried any of Stone Summit’s free fitness classes yet, but I just think all in all, I’m more likely to make it to WC more often, especially since SS is near one of the worst traffic spots in the area. If I want to climb big walls, I can get a day pass to SS. I need to look into how expensive a harness and ATC are, and I’d need to find someone else to top-rope with at WC, but I plan to do more bouldering than top-roping, anyway.

I know my beginner gains are so rapid because I’m still figuring out technique, and they’ll slow down, but for now  I’m enjoying laying down new neural pathways and figuring out how to move my body in different ways. Also learning to trust my body again and trying for harder things. I’m learning to commit, and not be afraid of failure (and falling -- because even when that happens, I get up and try again, or keep it in mind for next time).

Today I bought a 5-punch pass to the big climbing gym (Stone Summit) and climbed with my friend Sarah. We ended up shutting the place down again, top-roping for about 2 hours and bouldering for half an hour.

She had me try an easy 5.6 downstairs (a big wall, but not as big as the tallest ones), and I started freaking out part of the way up. Truthfully, I started freaking out about 5 feet off the ground, but then I just reached a slightly difficult hold about 6 feet from the top and couldn’t move. When I asked to be lowered, I couldn’t let go of the wall for a second, but Sarah was very patient and talked me down (she wouldn’t let me climb down, tightening the rope until I let go).

I belayed her on the same route, and then we went upstairs for me to gain my confidence on the smaller walls. I completed a 5.6 and a 5.7, and I was one hold from the top of completing a 5.7 with a slight, short negative slope (it was really frustrating, but I just wasn’t well-balanced on my feet, and neither handhold was secure enough to let go of the other -- my arms were too spent).

I climbed a 5.6 and another 5.7 downstairs. The 5.7 was a bit terrifying; it had a ledge, which wasn’t too bad on the way up, but was pretty scary on the way down. Again, Sarah was able to talk me through it -- I got on my hands and knees, then let my feet hang off and lay on my belly, finding a foothold until I could lean back enough to get off the rope. (Sarah is amazing, really... I thought I was going to be stuck up there, but she was able to calm me down and break it into small steps that weren’t so scary.)

I was so full of adrenaline after making it up the 5.7, I decided to try a 5.8. I made it halfway up, and then got a bit off-course, trying for what I thought was a decent handhold, but was really just a nub. When Sarah tried it, she used some handholds I hadn’t seen on the opposite side of the rope, and nearly made it to the top (but the rope got in her way, and she couldn’t figure out a way around it... I tried moving, but that didn’t help).

Even though my arms were already tired, I couldn’t resist bouldering. I made it to the top of two of the easiest routes (the second after watching a girl use a handhold with her palm down on it... I had been trying to pull up on it, but it didn’t have good grip for that). I got close on a third route, but I was near the top and had to basically do a bicep curl with my left to keep my balance while reaching with my right. Fifteen feet off the ground was too high for me to even try. (I did end up having to jump down from that height later, and it was fine... maybe next time.)

So my fear of heights is definitely holding me back a bit, but it’s getting better each time I climb.

I’m already sore in my quads, hip flexors, abs, lats, forearms, and biceps. I guess it’s too early to be DOMS, though... Hopefully they’ll feel better tomorrow; it’s still hard to use my hands properly.

Climbing is such an amazing total-body workout, and I like how much analytical thinking it requires. I can’t really zone out like I can when on a run (maybe when I’m better? though that seems dangerous), but it’s somehow relaxing to be focused on such a simple yet difficult problem.

I forgot to post about my climbing adventure last week, and I just had another one. So I’ll discuss both.

Last week, I went to the big gym (Stone Summit) with my friend Sarah. I took the belay test, which I passed for that evening, but I’ll need to take it again before the next time I climb (which made me feel a bit better about their safety requirements, honestly, since it’d been over 3 months since my intro class). We started upstairs on the 20-foot walls, and I managed to do a 5.6 and 5.7. It was really helpful to get advice and watch how Sarah tackled things (though it’s always frustrating when you try it yourself and find it much more difficult). When Sarah showed me that you can rotate your hips towards the wall, it opened my eyes to so much potential movement!

I tried a couple of routes on the bigger walls, but I kept getting hung up by having to do big lifts on my left leg that my knee just can’t do. We went back upstairs so I could try the auto-belays, which were terrifying -- I climbed back down to about 6 feet before I could let go of the wall the first time, and the second time wasn’t much better. Then we hit their bouldering room, which was a little crowded but huge. They only have 3 categories, so it was hard to figure out which “easy” problems were easy enough for us to do (and again, I kept getting foiled by that left knee). Stone Summit also has some cardio equipment (including a Concept 2 erg) and fitness classes (yoga, pilates, abs, etc.), neither of which I tried (but would love to on later visits). We climbed for about 2 hours, including lots of breaks.

Tonight, I tried out Wall Crawler, a family-owned gym. It doesn’t have 60-foot walls, but the walls are plenty high enough, and it had a really friendly atmosphere -- even though it’s “small,” it’s really not that small, and it has a great bouldering room. My friend Kirsten only ever boulders, so I decided to start (and end) with that today, especially since equipment rental is broken up based on what you’re renting (shoes alone are $4). There were about 5 different grades, but it was still hard for me to find problems I could do -- I think I only completed 2 or 3 routes (each a few times), but I did make it pretty far on several others. They involved a lot more lateral movement and overhangs even for some of the easiest routes, compared to the other two gyms. So there were more new movement patterns. I definitely worked my core, lats, and grip a lot more than my other two climbing days. My forearms are already shot, and the DOMS hasn’t even hit them yet.... We only bouldered for a bit over an hour, but I think the total time actually working out was comparable to last week.

Wall Crawler had a few other pieces of equipment that were pretty exciting: a Bachar ladder, rings, bars of various heights and spacing (I managed a couple of 4-5 foot laches, woohoo!), plyo boxes, and silks (I didn’t get to try those).

So... I really like both gyms; each has unique things that the other doesn’t have, and depending on time of day and where I’m starting from, either could be slightly more convenient than the other (but neither should be difficult to reach). I think I’ll start off climbing about once a week, so I’m going to buy a punch pass to both to start. I’ll have someone to climb with at either place, if I want to. I just really need to buy a pair of shoes soon. Kirsten offered to take me to REI for their members’ sale and use her discount this weekend.

Maybe I’ll develop a preference for one of the gyms, but I think trying them both out a few more times would be best.

Woohoo! I e-mailed my friends who are members at the two climbing gyms, and one of them already got back to me. She let her membership lapse, but she’s been hankering for a climb, so we are set to climb Tuesday evening after work! It’s the “big” gym, Stone Summit -- the one with the 60-foot walls. They also have a shop that sells (new and used) climbing gear, so maybe I can find a cheap pair of shoes...

I hope I don’t freak out over the big walls; I’m sure they have some shorter routes, too...

See, self? It’s not so scary to reach out to people and invite them to do something...

"These mountains belong to the Stone Summit, human!" -Dagnar Stonepate, smiting some troublesome Ascalonian interlopers

Of all the elder races, the dwarves were without question the nicest to the human upstarts. While the Forgotten retreated into the desert, the jotun attacked any who came near, and the mursaat hid in the Mists, the dwarves opened the floodgates of trade and commerce, allowing Kryta, Ascalon, and Orr to flourish in the shadow of the Shiverpeak Mountains. The Deldrimor dwarves, led by King Jalis Ironhammer, were particularly friendly toward outsiders.

But not all dwarves saw things from Ironhammer's point of view. The king's brother Dagnar Stonepate believed that the humans, and by extension, everything that wasn't a dwarf, were little more than primitive savages. He told Jalis that the dwarves should be wiping the humans out, not trading with them. Jalis, being a kind, sane individual, refused to listen. Dagnar, infuriated but clever, began to search for those who would. 

In Deldrimor outposts across the Shiverpeaks, he found dwarves burning with hatred toward outsiders. Dagnar whispered in their ears and told them of a coming revolution, the dawn of a new golden age in which dwarves would rule Tyria without question. Driven by their blind rage, these dwarves joined Dagnar in his quest. Before long, Stonepate had an army at his back.

This was the origin of Stone Summit. Their sigil? A red cross, dyed the color of their enemies' blood. 

Dagnar had no qualms about betraying his brother, or plunging the dwarves into a civil war. He coldly commanded his army to attack several important Deldrimor holdings, including the Frostgate, a fortress that protects one of the only passages into Kryta, and the Iron Mines of Moladune. Lacking in numbers what the Stone Summit has in zeal, Dagnar ordered the enslavement of any non-dwarves, to extract raw materials from their captured mines and assist in the war effort. 

King Jalis did not take this betrayal lightly. The Deldrimor were quick to take up arms against the usurpers and reclaim lost ground. Though the Stone Summit had taken them by surprise, their Deldrimor kin still outnumbered them, and every bearded warrior worth his battleaxe was coming for Dagnar's head.

The Stone Summit, though, was well-prepared. Many members (including Dagnar himself) were powerful sorcerers, and they were more than glad to harness this power against their enemies. They managed to create an army of Ice Golems to bolster their forces, and the development of powerful superweapons quietly began in their mountain headquarters.

Some even deployed dolyaks as beasts of war, riding these once-gentle giants to war. They proved to be quite effective in breaking the enemy lines, though they cannot compare to their other mounts, the fearsome snow beasts. Bred for war and starved by their handlers, these mounts were known to viciously tear apart the Summit's enemies