I purchased a Groupon a few months ago for a "Best Start Package" from Rock Ventures in Rochester, an indoor climbing facility. Having never rock climbed in my life I thought it looked like fun. I purchased the package for two for $25 and put out the word I was looking for some adventurous friends to join me.
As with most Groupons, I forgot that I even had it until there was just a week left until the expiration date. With the expiration date looming, I gathered up a group and went this past weekend. The timing wasn't the greatest- it was a beautiful sunny day and the kids & Mark were invited out onto a boat for the day.
At least it was air conditioned inside!
We checked in and received climbing shoes, a hard hat, and harness. Dead sexy.
Then it was a 15-minute belay training course. The entire set-up made me nervous. I wasn't convinced that if I actually fell off the wall (which I did later in the day) that the single rope attached to my belt would keep me from crashing to the ground (it did). I was also nervous about being the belayer on the ground and having that responsibility on me- of keeping my climbing partner from crashing down!
The climbing itself isn't bad. Going up is the easy part. And then you look down and realize how far off the ground you are. Yikes.
With a reluctant cry of "falling!" I let go of the rocks and hung in the air. After a few moments the descent begins. Maybe that wasn't so bad after all. Let's try another wall!
We also tried "bouldering" in the two man-made caves. The caves, essentially a 10-foot high cavern with rocks attached to the sides and ceiling, is all about climbing and using upper body strength to get across without a harness and without falling. There's plenty of padding here, which is good because we weren't as good at this.
After two hours were were worn out and ready for a break. We headed to Park Ave for a late lunch. It was a great workout- and a lot of fun... and I already want to go back!
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