I'm jumping ahead along my summer timeline, but this is worth it. I recently met a group of people who frequently go rock climbing and welcomed me to join them!
My first outing with "The Group" was to Marymoor Park, a large park in Seattle home to baseball diamonds, a velodrome, outdoor movies, big name concerts, and a man-made outdoor climbing wall. This manmade wall was a great warm up for me, it had been about 2 years since I climbed last (I don't count climbing at leadership camps such as Outward Bound or the Warren Center). This was also my first official time climbing outside!
The wall simulated real rock since it wasn't a flat wall with distinct holds like most indoor gyms. This presented a new challenge. Instead of knowing where you next hand must go (due to the clearly marked route), I had to feel around to see what I liked best. This meant I have to make sure I have a good hold before I start searching for the next hold because it can take longer than I expect!
The weather was once again beautiful and many people were out climbing!
Even kids!
Man Made Mountains!!!
My new climbing friends Kristina (on wall) and Gwendolyn (on belay). These girls can kick my butt climbing!
We enjoyed climbing, talking, and sitting around eating our brown bag dinner. I made several 'friends' outside of "The Group" with the large pan of rice crispy treats that I brought to share. It was a great day knocking off my climbing rust! I have a long way to go, but it's coming back quickly... it needs to come back quickly because my next climb will be on real rocks in two days! More pictures to come... much more!!!
