CLIMBING THE ROCKY ROAD

            Recently, I had the privilege of accompanying my son and his four kids to an indoor rock climbing event.  With an age span of six to sixteen, I was rather dubious as to how this family excursion was going to play out.  I couldn’t imagine a six year old girl and a sixteen year old boy sharing the same physically demanding and tactically challenging sport, much less their middle siblings, a twelve year old boy and a ten year old girl.  I was wrong.

            The climbing area was in a huge building with a very tall ceiling.  There were knotted ropes hanging from this ceiling that you could climb or you could swing from one to the other al la Tarzan of the Apes.  The uneven, rock-like surfaces had areas where you could free climb if you wished or you could attach your harness to a guide line, which was in turn attached to a person on the ground and after reaching the top you could repel down. 

            Jason and Alec were the ground men with the guide lines and made sure the three younger children had plenty of wall time.  It was incredible how quickly they took to this sport.  The two middle kids kept going for the more difficult climbs and their repelling became quite efficient, reaching the ground quickly.  Our six year old had no difficulty climbing up the wall but when it came to the return trip, repelling was just not her forte.  She made it down but in her own way. 

            After a few hours, the three youngest took to free climbing and Jason and Alec were able to spot each other on some difficult climbs.  Watching the two big boys was priceless.  They stayed safe but which ever one of them was the ground man did everything possible to make the other look stupid or less than graceful while making their descent; sometimes making it impossible to get close enough to the wall to repel down. 

Observing the antics of the two older guys, our little six year old commented that Alec was having just as much difficulty repelling down as she had.  Regardless of the reasons why they both shared this difficulty, they indeed did.  A six year old girl and a sixteen year old boy and two siblings in the middle all shared the same goal.  They all strove to get to the top and return from their mission.  The path back may be different for some of us since we are not made from the same mold, but just make sure you finish with both feet on the ground.  

Sharon

Comments

[Russell Stewart]

Climbing is really an interesting and effective sport to perform for getting a mental and physical relief. Nice sharing...