Climbing to new heights

I've really felt as though we've turned a new leaf since returning from NZ and Australia-- we've become more ambitious about exploring our state, enjoying the outdoors, and trying new things. The rain this weekend put a damper on our hiking plans (at least we got that nice bike ride in though!), so when our friends Bill and Katie asked if we'd like to join them indoor rock climbing today, we were excited!

Bill and Katie have been climbing for a very long time and spent a lot of time showing us the ropes (hehe, get it?) so that we could ace the test the center would give us before letting us climb. We learned how to belay, tie figure-8 knots, and how to (safely) repel.

After passing the test (first try even!), Dave set out on his first climb. He had no problems making it to the top and after a bit of hesitation trusting me repelling, he made it back down. We switched up and Dave served as my belayer as I took the same route up. It was easier on my legs and arms than I thought it would be, but much more of a challenge for my fingers. We took turns for several more climbs getting all kinds of good tips and advice from our friends.

Katie and I even gave the tightrope a try. Even given my gymnastics balance beam background (say that 10 times fast!), I failed miserably at the wobbly tightrope.

We also tried bouldering a bit, but given how exhausted we were (especially our fingers), we were terrible at this, too. I'm sure we'll be plenty sore tomorrow, but we sure had a blast!