Social Climber: Learning the Ropes of Rock Climbing at Reno RockSport

My hands could barely grip the steering wheel. My fingers, caked with chalk, feel stubby from rope burn and stiff from trying to grasp rocks stuck on a wall. I am now a proud owner of a chafed shin and multiple bruises. On any typical sport I've tried, the soreness comes, if it does, the day after. Not with this one. I'm sore and shaky as I'm doing it.

I've just spent three hours at the climbing gym for my second first attempt at this sport and I'm trashed. I don't think there's any other sport as unforgiving and as viscerally painful for newbies as this.

But I didn't have a choice. For the last two years that I've come out of watching Banff Film Festival Films that make it to the world tour showings, I always tell myself it will be the year that I pick up rock climbing simply because I want to know what it feels like.

And although the pain and discomfort post-climb now gave me an idea, I am way out of the ballpark of what an Alex Honnold or a Hazel Findlay would do. Way out. Not even in the same universe. Or Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell who free climbed El Capitan's Dawn Wall this January. And then there's the pioneers of Yosemite climbing as shown in the fascinating Valley Uprising which documents the history of the American obsession.

But hey, they all started somewhere.

So perhaps if in between mountain bike training, I could steal away a couple evenings to train. Perhaps.

If you've had that same nagging voice too about rock climbing, but cannot get momentum going because you're in the same predicament as me (i.e. you're female, you have no belay partner, and none of your friends are interested in it), here are some advice from what I learned today that might help you.

1 Get private instruction. For not much more than the cost of group instruction, a one-on-one is a better investment if you're serious about learning.

2 Ask about Auto Belay. I hung out at the gym trying my hand (well, feet) at highlining (think walking on a tight rope) and I noticed that there were guys around who were also solo, but they manage to climb. I asked the front desk about what the dealio is and they initiated me into auto belay. You simply hook to the auto belay device and you're good to go.

3 Hang out and make friends. I've heard this from a few people already that if you just hang out at the climbing gym, you will make friends. People will volunteer to belay for you. And today I got a bonus! I made a friend who climbs a lot and who was giving way more instruction than I would have gotten from a class. By also watching an experienced climber negotiate a route taught me so much about little tricks that people do.

4 If you're female and in the Reno area and have been itching to rock climb, lets conect by leaving a comment below! We can have fun learning together. Tuesday nights from 5-10 are Ladies Night and it's only $10 to climb.

5 Let your hair down and have fun. It is an extremely challenging sport and I'm not sure if people come right of the gate able to do the advanced stuff. As with anything new, it takes hardwork, training and repetition to learn it. It is oftentimes humbling to realize you're not as strong or as skilled as you think, but in the end, the whole point is to have fun and enjoy, otherwise, why bother?

Now if you'll excuse me. I need to get an ice pack.

Reno Rocksport is located at 1901 Silverada Boulevard, Reno, NV. They have all sorts of indoor climbing levels, including bouldering. They are newbie and child friendly, for sure!

#adventure #renotahoe