Climbing at the gym

Fun times at the climbing gym

Both of my girls were interested in going to a climbing gym. We had some time a couple of weeks ago and stopped by a bouldering gym in Lehi:

I haven't been to a climbing gym in years and was pleasantly surprised to see one fairly nearby. So, off we went. The prices were fairly reasonable and the quality of the routes was great. There was a large kids area where we spent a lot of our time that has problems that are appropriate for shorter arms and legs.

Isabel and Sophia got right into it.

Both Sophia and Isabel have similar physiques and almost the exact same height, so they were able to talk to each other about the different problems that they worked through. Sophia did very well at being patient and analytical which is very characteristic of how she approaches things.

Isabel was not as patient as Sophia, but was able to do some more difficult problems because she has some insane upper body strength.

You may notice in these pictures that the girls weren't able to keep their climbing shoes on, they rubbed the back of their heels raw fairly quickly and it became too painful. Pretty typical of rented shoes unfortunately, if you decide to try it be prepared for this and bring medical tape and some topical analgesic to increase endurance :-).

Here's some Q&A I did with the girls. Isabel's responses are in blue and Sophia's are in purple.

Q. What did you think of climbing?

A. Amazing! I would like to do it again sometime, but maybe next time I should wear bigger shoes.

A.Great! When I was learning something I thought about my muscles because they help you climb which is really cool.

Q. Did you think that climbing was hard?

A. I thought it had small things that were kind of hard to hold on to.

A. Not that much and it was also really fun too and there were goals in the middle.

Q. Could you climb for hours and hours like your Dad used to?

A. No! Because, if I climbed for hours and hours and hours and hours I would feel all achy and horrible.

A. Probably not, I would have some fun because I love climbing because that is how Monkeys live.

Q. What muscles do you think are important for climbing?

A. My hand and finger muscles and arm muscles.

A.Leg muscles, toe muscles, arm muscles, finger muscles and your arm muscles.

Q. Do you remember anything you learned while climbing?

A. I learned that you can't also use jugs to hold your hands, you have to hold onto all sorts of things.

A. Always keep your muscles straight or crunched up.