Adventures in Climbing Shoes

Today's adventure was looking for climbing shoes. If the hubby and I are going to climb regularly, it would be nice to have our own shoes. The rentals are always beat up looking and the velcro pops open when I'm at the top of a wall. Not cool!

I couldn't find anything online cheaper than $70-$80, which I really only want to pay $40 for climbing shoes, if I climb once a month or so. The hubby said they were having a sale at the local outdoor outfitters store and texted me a picture of some climbing shoes for $49.99—the same shoes that are $80 elsewhere. I decided to go have a look.

Meanwhile, they didn't have the sale shoe in his size, so he bought $90 lace-up climbing shoes. I sure hope he's going to climb a lot, because at $3 a rental, he'd have to climb 30 times to get his money's worth.

I went to the store later that day. The sale shoe was a velcro shoe, and I think I'd rather have a lace up, so I could tighten it. But I'm not sure it's worth twice the price. It didn't actually matter. The size 7 in the sale shoe was too small. I tried an 8 and oddly that fit. (I have never in my life worn bigger than a 7.5). Only, the catch was that only the display was the sale price. That 7 that was too small was the only $49.99 shoe. The 8 he brought me that was an identical  style was $80. He didn't tell me that until I was trying on a different style, still velcro, but it fit better and was that plum/fuchsia color I like so much. I was't paying $100 for climbing shoes I'd barely use so I left the store without buying anything.

I liked the way these 5.10 Rogue shoes fit better than
the other shoes, but not for $100.

Now the hunt is on for inexpensive climbing shoes.

Staycation Adventures: Climbing in Atlanta

Today the hubby and I went climbing at Adrenaline in Atlanta. We had a Groupon.

This shelf was NOT easy to get over.

I think it's my favorite place to climb. The atmosphere is very relaxed. The space is a tad small, but not too busy. There are lots of paths to climb—and it's very beginner friendly. So if you've never been climbing before, you can find paths to climb and have fun. Want something harder? They have paths along the roof, under a boulder. So something for everyone. They use an auto-belay, so it's easy to learn and they'll give you an intro before you start. Or you can opt out and pass their belay test—which they're super chill about.

We climbed a little, but mostly bouldered. I think I did all of the red (very beginner) bouldering paths. I found those challenging enough.

Beast Mode muscles.

Another shelf that gave me a challenge.

Matt bouldering in his Aerofit shirt.

Climbing in Atlanta: Stone Summit

This photo was taken from the second floor balcony,
 so those climbers behind us are super high up.

My friends rave about Stone Summit, a giant climbing gym in Atlanta. We brought a groupon and visited one Sunday.

You check in at the desk—they give you shoes and then you have to pass a belay test before you can climb anything.

So we bouldered for a while first. They have two big bouldering walls. Fun-ish. With enough easy paths for beginners. The experienced climbers were bouldering, resting, repeating, then going to climb.

But back to the belay test. You're on your own. There's no person to teach you. Unless you sign up for their hour-long class. You have to look at a chart on the wall or ask someone to show you. AND they don't use auto-belays. You actually have to thread your own rope. I looked at the wall chart and knew there was no way in the world I'd pass it. BUT I couldn't even climb on their auto-climb walls upstairs without passing the test. That royally pissed me off.

And then if you did want to take the test, you had to ring a bell and wait 20+ minutes for a staffer to come certify you.

This place is a huge gym, with lots of room to climb. There's even exercise equipment upstairs. But the belay-certication left a horrible taste in my mouth. This place isn't friendly to beginners at all. It's great if you're a climbing enthusiast and know exactly what you're doing.

Verdict: Not a fan of their belay test. If they make climbing more accessible, I'd look forward to going back.

Atmosphere: Casual. Not too judgey. It's lots of fun to watch the really good climbers.

Hazards: Dry, chapped hands and I always get bruises on my legs afterwards.

Intensity: Moderate. I can boulder for 60-90 minutes (with lots of breaks in between)

Price: $18 Groupon for two people. Pretty good.

What to wear: Capri's, a workout shirt. You will get sweaty. Bring socks.

Would I go back? There are other places to climb. I might go back, but I'm in no hurry.

Climbing in Atlanta: Adrenaline Climbing

I don’t think I’ve been indoor rock climbing ever. I think I did some too-easy climbing at summer camp once or twice as a teen, but it was always something that looked fun. My husband used to love climbing, so to surprise him I bought a Groupon to an Atlanta climbing gym.

Overall, I’d say that climbing was super fun. There was a steep learning curve and it was harder than I thought at first.

Climbing on the walls wasn’t the cake-walk I thought it would be. Sometimes it was really hard to know where to put a hand of a foot next. I’d panic on the wall, Matt would yell a direction and either I’d try it or I couldn’t do it. But having the direction helped. 

And then belaying. Also hard. God bless the poor girl who tried to teach uncoordinated me how to belay. I was practically in tears trying to learn it. I kept doing my hands wrong, or bending over the belay. She kept saying “you’re not the worst we’ve ever had” which means I was pretty close. Finally, I figured out how to belay, up, up, down, down and slide my hands. And I tried belaying Matt who is 70 pounds heavier than me. It was a struggle to bring him down.  His weight would bring me up. I had to brace and make a staffer spot me.

Mostly we bouldered. I was honestly angry and ready to go home after 10 minutes. It was SOOO HARD. Then, I started watching what the kids were doing and what seemed super easy for everyone else. And copied them. That worked! I could do some of these routes.

Then, I found the color-coded route guide on the wall and voila! I figured it out. I found the easiest routes and tried those. And climbing was so much more fun when I could do it.

I goofed around on the upside-down-holds, though I wasn’t strong enough to climb it. I tried the easiest way around the routes all the way around the gym (and just didn’t any colored holds if I was really lost). And finally had to call it quits when I was too tired to do anything else. The hubby said I did really well and took to it surprisingly well. (He does sugar coat things but I loved climbing trees when I was little.) We left the gym and he threatened to go buy a bunch of climbing gear. He was hooked.

Random thought: I did spend a lot of time spent deciding what to do next or waiting for a path to climb.

Quick guide

Verdict: A fun way to spend an afternoon. A little more challenging than I’d anticipated, but fun once I figured it out. Don’t give up too soon! Ask for help or watch others.

Atmosphere: Very casual and family friendly. Everyone was doing their own thing without staring at you.

Hazards: The day after my hands were a little chapped from climbing. Not too bad.

Intensity: I didn’t break a sweat but I could tell my shoulders got a workout.

Price: $22 for two people to climb. Includes gear. Very reasonable. Rented shoes are awful though.

What to wear: Workout clothes. The website urged against shorts. Bring socks.

Would I do it again? Yes, I’m going climbing again later this week. Matt is completely hooked.