This past Saturday, I took another rock climbing class.
I’d taken an intro class at REI in the spring, which was focused on the 27-foot, free-standing pinnacle at the downtown Portland location. There was also discussion about other rock climbing scenarios, but that’s pretty much all we did. Up and down the rock face on belay. It was a good class, and fun, but I wasn’t really prepared for what came next….
Bouldering.
This past Saturday, I took a climbing class at
Stoneworks Climbing Gym in Beaverton, Oregon. The website may not look like very much, but the gym itself is pretty impressive. There’s barely a square inch of the place that’s not a climbing surface. I’d expected that we’d go immediately into belay work, but we were introduced to bouldering instead.
In case you don’t know, this is free climbing — not hooked up to any belay system — focused on horizontal/lateral moves rather than vertical. In other words, instead of climbing up the wall, you climb across it. And, although you’re only a few feet or so up off the ground, it’s a lot harder than it looks — or so I’ve found.
The REI class had been taught by women, for women, which provided a certain level of security. At Stoneworks, my instructor (also the owner of the gym) is a guy who’s been climbing almost as long as I’ve been alive. The other two students in the class with me were a father and son. Other than a ten-year-old who came in and climbed like a monkey (after watching her, I felt sufficiently intimidated) for about a half-hour, and a staff member up on the wall in harness preparing a competition course, I was the only double-X chromosome in the place.
And, as it turns out, I suck at bouldering.
For someone from a family that avoids public embarrassment at all costs, it was not exactly the most comforting scenario.
Yes, the men in the class — Dan and Justin — relied a great deal on upper-body strength, which you’re not supposed to do, to move across the walls. True, this gave me the opportunity to focus more on actual technique, to lay a good foundation from which to build skill and confidence, but it also meant that I fell off the wall. A lot. I felt like the class’ problem child, but I didn’t get too tense.
When we got to the belay portion of the class, of course, I went up the wall like a pro. No problem. That, I can do. At that point, I was so relieved to be doing something I was marginally good at that not even my unshakable fear of heights got in the way.
The Stoneworks class also includes a month-long membership, including all gear rental, so it’s a great opportunity to explore whether rock climbing is really for you — because it can take about a month of regular climbing for your body to get used to the idea.
I gave myself Sunday off — on Saturday night, I was so wiped out that I had to put off showering until I was recovered enough to lift my arms over my head, and could actually grip the shampoo bottle — and went back Monday evening. I was pretty nervous, figuring I’d again make a fool out of myself.
The folks who'd seen me on Saturday welcomed me back with big smiles and even remembered my name. I muttered something about returning for even greater humiliation, and received (unexpected) genuine reassurance in response. “You did a lot better than you think you did,” said Matt behind the counter. “And now you’re back. That’s good.”
The Junior Climbing Team (about ten or so 14- or 15-year-old boys) was having their regular training at Stoneworks, and there were a couple of adult climbers there as well. Again, the only other females were a staff member working the desk, and the little girl she was babysitting.
On my very first attempt on the wall, I got further than I’d expected, but still ran into trouble. I tried various routes and was struggling, but was also stubborn in my perseverance. Surprisingly, I felt less embarrassed than I’d anticipated. The other climbers — most of whom wowed me with their own climbing efforts — volunteered to help me figure a way around different climbing "problems" (moves). One climber — Mark — watched me get hung up on a tricky spot, then jumped up on the wall himself to test out different solutions before he recommended particular footholds. Another guy — who blew right through an area I was having difficulty with — commented that it took him a full month to get past where I was currently stuck.
(“stuck” = literally stuck and/or repeatedly falling off the wall)
After about 45 minutes of getting good and sweaty — and only advancing so far — I called it an evening when my forearms decided they no longer wanted to cooperate. And on the way home, I found that my left foot kept looking for a foothold on the clutch.
I figure I’ll get back to Stoneworks about every other day, giving my body enough time to rest between attempts. The encouraging news is that although I climbed harder (more attempts in a shorter space of time) yesterday than I did on Saturday, I feel a lot less sore and fatigued this morning than I did Sunday, so something’s working. I’m also impressed by how encouraging and friendly everyone was.
I’m not knocking REI — they’re great folks and they know their stuff, but it is a retail location. You’ve got shoppers hovering around, watching, commenting on your performance, and the pinnacle is completely exposed (inside a corner, two-story window), so you’re being observed by everyone on the street and in surrounding buildings as well.
I feel much more comfortable at Stoneworks. Having such a supportive environment when you’re trying something new — and doing so in front of people who are a lot better at it than you are — makes all the difference in the world. Now, if I could just figure out what size shoe to wear…. The sevens are a bit loose, and the six-and-a-halfs have left my toenails bruised.
