It’s been months since OTF has been closed. Per state government, gyms offering group fitness classes are somehow (yes, I have read the studies, and yes, I am very salty about this) less safe than other fitness options, hence places deemed as group fitness remain closed. Other fitness options include big box gyms. I don’t attend normal big box gyms because I really doubt that they can ensure every equipment is truly cleaned and because I know from word of mouth that the procedures in place are truly lacking to ensure the safety that is needed. I think soon there will be another case of COVID-19 linked to a big box gym. For now, the climbing gym is open. Climbing is something #thehubs and I had talked about wanting to try once we got more fit. Side note: We are skinnier than when we got married–isn’t the opposite supposed to happen?! A friend of ours also had recently taken up climbing and raved about it…that was the final push we needed to go try it! Everything is better with friends! She and her family were there our first day to climb with us. Since that first trial day we fell in love with the experience and soon thereafter signed up for a monthly membership. I feel that the climbing gym has procedures and education in place that are appropriate. I also feel that the general population who attend this gym are cautious and follow all rules to prevent the spread of disease. No, the hand holds on the climbing walls are not cleaned after each person. However, everyone uses hand sanitizer or washes their hands before and after each problem/climbing attempt. There are areas split into zones to allow for social distancing. The use of locker room and showers are not allowed. The drinking fountains are also blocked (but one can use the water bottle filler). There is a reservation system to ensure there is only a certain number of people in the gym at a given time. There is a waiver and attestation and reminder about procedures in place every time you sign up for a time slot. I have not seen ANYONE wear their mask incorrectly at this gym. This is huge! I believe it is because the people that attend this gym generally are 1)fairly fit and healthy–because climbing is not easy-and they want to stay that way 2) tend to lean toward the non-right wing fanatical political stance (aka reasonable people) 3) want to follow procedures so that this gym stays open and they can continue to attend. I trust that employees here follow all rules and see them disinfecting common areas and benches frequently.

Disclaimer, we only ever tried indoor climbing so far. And we have been using the autobelay system (still need to take a class and be certified to do toprope belay).

These are my thoughts on and during indoor climbing:

• This is really hard indoors…how can people do this outside?How can I be breathing so hard?

• My heart rate is still elevated after 5 mins of resting!

• Are the good climbers basically like Spiderman without the webs?

• How do these people just hang from their arms like monkeys.

• I will just hold on forever because it is so high up and I’m scared of going down (even though I have a harness and I won’t crash down).

• These people here are so impressive! They move like dancers with intent. 

• Maybe I should do yoga to be more flexible.

• Maybe I should lose more weight to make it easier for me to pull myself up. 

• I’m Queen of the world (when I finally make it to the top). 

• Let’s stick to the kids room because the climbing walls are not so high.

• Are there gloves I can use for my hands so I don’t get blisters? The answer is no…you just get calluses over time. 

• Climbing shoes are not comfortable. Now I get why the people who are not beginners take their shoes off in between climbs.

• Dear person…can you hurry up and finish so I can go try that climb/problem?

• What are all of these repair creams/lotion bars for?

• Should I wear climbing tape? *Goes to buy several different types of athletic tape/bandaids to see what works best to cover those popped blisters*

• How do you stop getting blisters?

• I like the creativity in the naming of the routes. 

The different tags indicate the level of difficulty (you follow the same color holds…which is the route). So far we are all about the green and yellow tagged(aka easiest) routes which are 8’s an 9’s. The difficulty varies by route setter (some route setters are easier than others)…because there is subjectivity in the rating. Below are some of the routes that I was able to make to the top. I guess I will have to download the app to track everything I have completed. Hope you like the photos!