Jen's Column / Rock climbing

It’s easy to get caught up in the same old, same old — the cooking, the cleaning, the errands, the homework policing. I understand this kind of predictability is necessary for the day-to-day… but sometimes I just want to break out of the comfort zone.

That’s why some friends and I created our own Adventure Club. Our goal is to shake things up a little by trying new things — push ourselves a bit.

Our first official adventure — rock climbing — was on Friday. Our inaugural group consisted of six adventurers, including one who happens to be six months pregnant. (Yes, she checked with her OB. No, her husband wasn’t exactly thrilled.)

Our instructor at Prairie Walls Climbing Gym was a 20-something rock-climbing aficionado named Isaac. Isaac’s first order of business was to teach us to put on our harnesses — which we immediately dubbed butt bras. (“Is my butt bra on right?”,

“How do you latch the butt bra?”, “No one better take a picture of me in my butt bra….”)

As soon as we were all squared away, Isaac led us back to the beginners’ wall. In contrast to the 27-foot walls in the “big room,” the beginners’ wall is only 19 feet tall. Still, simply standing at the bottom gave me an adrenaline rush — and we hadn’t even learned to tie the knots yet.

By no fault of Isaac’s, it turns out that knot tying is the most confusing and therefore giggle-inducing part of the class. Lucky for me, it just so happens that my favorite thing to do is laugh until I cry — and that happened twice in the first five minutes of our rope-tying lesson.

When Isaac tried to help Bethany weave her rope into the loop in her butt bra, we snickered like embarrassed schoolgirls.
“OK,” admonished our instructor — who wasn’t even born until some of us were well on our way to college. “We’re all adults here.”

Once we were tied in, it was time to learn to belay. Belaying is what the person on the ground does when the person on the other end of the rope climbs. The belayer’s job is to keep the rope tight so if the climber slips, he or she will hang in midair instead of crash down to the floor. Obviously, there’s some pressure in this position.

Lisa — who was on the other end of my rope — must’ve seen the fear in my eyes, because she told me I should climb first. And man, I have to tell you — the climbing? Balancing precariously while deciding where to step next? Slapping your fingers against the ceiling when you reach the top? Complete exhilaration.

When Isaac figured we knew what we were doing, he moved us into the big room. Any confidence we were beginning to feel was wiped away when we turned the corner and watched a man climb an entire wall using only his arms. (Can you imagine?)

We didn’t try that particular move, but we all displayed considerable chutzpah nonetheless. LaNae — aka “the pregnant lady” — ended up being the most adventurous, climbing one wall until she could sit comfortably at the top.

We climbed until our legs were jelly and we had a nice glow (OK, it was sweat). There was not one minute in the two hours we climbed that I thought about groceries or homework.

We went out afterward and threw around ideas for our next adventure. One person suggested belly dancing. Another gave snowboarding a nod. LaNae proposed skydiving. But she should probably have that baby first.