5 ms·

I started climbing indoors every week last year and have been keeping up with it since. It's very social, fun and develops your body in ways few other hobbies c

by yan 18y ago

I started climbing indoors every week last year and have been keeping up with it since. It's very social, fun and develops your body in ways few other hobbies can. There are rock gyms in most densely populated areas I believe. Plus there's less of a tendency for awkward, quiet moments as you get a break from eye-to-eye contact when you're actually climbing.

tocomment 18y ago
Isn't that expensive? Do you go by yourself or others? The one near me is inside a big sports store and no one is ever using the wall. I feel like all the shoppers would stare at me if I climbed there.
- yan 18y ago
  The ones inside big sport stores aren't really climbing walls. They're more like attractions. I pay $60/month for climbing (in Maryland), or it's $16 to go once. Rental harness and shoes is about $9. The prices fluctuate depending on the gym you go to though. Mine offers classes sometimes too, so if you want to take those it will be more money, but by all means they're not required. Try to find a local rock gym; googling works fine and searching climbing forums. I go with a few coworkers who also caught the climbing bug, there are also always regulars at the gym who you get to know after a while and I sometimes meet new people at the gym to belay me. (You can't really climb by yourself as you need a person to support you on the ground ['belay'] unless you're bouldering. Bouldering is close to the ground and is generally more inventive and harder as the problems (a problem is a set of hand/foot holds that you have to traverse to complete a route in bouldering) tend to be very technical. For more actual explanation on how everything works, wikipedia is a great resource, or alternatively, you can just contact me. It's a great hobby, in my opinion. Good for physical development, good for meeting new people and very rewarding as you see yourself progress to harder climbs.
- chris11 18y ago
  Shoes and harnesses aren't too bad. You can get a good pair of entry level shoes for 60-80, an entry level harness/chalkbag/ATC will run 80 to 100 dollars. That will at least let you climb at gyms with your own gear, or go out with friends who have rope.
jaytee_clone 18y ago
I know a few hackers who are also rock climbers. I'm seriously considering taking it on.
- yan 18y ago
  You've got nothing to lose.
nickh 18y ago
There's also parkour: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour It's a hell of a lot of fun, keeps you in shape, gets you outside and away from the computer, etc. Pretty much every major city, and many smaller cities, have local parkour communities. Just search Google for "parkour MY_CITY". And if you live in Toronto, Canada, come join us at pkto.ca

by yan 18y ago

tocomment 18y ago

Isn't that expensive? Do you go by yourself or others? The one near me is inside a big sports store and no one is ever using the wall. I feel like all the shoppers would stare at me if I climbed there.

yan 18y ago
The ones inside big sport stores aren't really climbing walls. They're more like attractions. I pay $60/month for climbing (in Maryland), or it's $16 to go once. Rental harness and shoes is about $9. The prices fluctuate depending on the gym you go to though. Mine offers classes sometimes too, so if you want to take those it will be more money, but by all means they're not required. Try to find a local rock gym; googling works fine and searching climbing forums. I go with a few coworkers who also caught the climbing bug, there are also always regulars at the gym who you get to know after a while and I sometimes meet new people at the gym to belay me. (You can't really climb by yourself as you need a person to support you on the ground ['belay'] unless you're bouldering. Bouldering is close to the ground and is generally more inventive and harder as the problems (a problem is a set of hand/foot holds that you have to traverse to complete a route in bouldering) tend to be very technical. For more actual explanation on how everything works, wikipedia is a great resource, or alternatively, you can just contact me. It's a great hobby, in my opinion. Good for physical development, good for meeting new people and very rewarding as you see yourself progress to harder climbs.
chris11 18y ago
Shoes and harnesses aren't too bad. You can get a good pair of entry level shoes for 60-80, an entry level harness/chalkbag/ATC will run 80 to 100 dollars. That will at least let you climb at gyms with your own gear, or go out with friends who have rope.

jaytee_clone 18y ago

I know a few hackers who are also rock climbers. I'm seriously considering taking it on.

yan 18y ago
You've got nothing to lose.

nickh 18y ago

There's also parkour: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour It's a hell of a lot of fun, keeps you in shape, gets you outside and away from the computer, etc. Pretty much every major city, and many smaller cities, have local parkour communities. Just search Google for "parkour MY_CITY". And if you live in Toronto, Canada, come join us at pkto.ca