Tuesday and Thursday evening, I went climbing with Lisa. I brought along my camera to take some photos. Lisa was kind enough to take some shots of me climbing. This route involves using only the purple-colored grips. I'm doing a slightly more difficult variation that includes fewer grips — only those marked with red tape.
This first move is probably the hardest part. It requires a big lunge upward to reach the next grip.
The hand-foot-match heel hook here makes the next bit possible. (And aren't you impressed by my use of climbing lingo?)
The cross-over here frees up the right hand and makes the reach for the next hold a bit easier.
The next one is a big easy grip, but that's nice because the last move is another long lunge.
Made it!
Here is another view of the tricky route on the upstairs bouldering wall. I've pretty much mastered this one. I think it's a bit easier for me than for some folks because I have a long reach.
The beginning isn't too hard as long as you can get a good grip on the hold to the upper left.
The hand-foot match takes some getting accustomed to, and I have found that it helps to position the foot as far out on the hold as possible. This provides a tiny bit of leverage to push the body against the wall and keep balance.
Keeping the body as close as possible to the wall takes some of the weight off of the left arm.
Most of the power for the last lunge is provided by the right leg, but the left foot and hand contribute a bit too. The final hold isn't a bucket, so the grip has to be placed carefully and firmly. This argues against wild all-or-nothing lunges. Balance and patience are the keys.
Victory! :)
This route is a short one, but tricky and fun. It involves a simple leap over to the big flat gray hold on the left wall above the overhang.
An action shot!
Handling the swing and still maintaining a firm grip is the tricky part.
Here is a nice shot of Lisa resting in the downstairs bouldering area. Lisa is the excellent photographer who took all of the shots of me climbing.
Tuesday we met Markus and Kristina. It was Kristina's first time climbing, and we helped show her how to belay.
From the top of the tall (15 meter) climbing wall, one has a good view of the upstairs bouldering area.
From the top, on can also see the entrance stairway and the small gym area under the stairs.
It was there that Lisa practiced doing some chin-ups.
Thusday night we went climbing again. Here I am doing a nice route of moderate difficulty.
On this route of red-colored holds, it is much easier if ones does a hand-foot-match on the big bucket hold.
This route isn't a hard one, but it's fun and it shows off my shoulder muscles, such as they are. :)
Here I am about to match hands on the hold I am gripping with my right hand, having just moved my left hand from the hold near my left knee.
Next, I moved on to the big yellow feature on the wall. It is big, but it doesn't offer much of an edge on which to grip.
I'll conclude this post with a few photos of Lisa on the tall wall.
This route is rated 6b, which puts it a bit out of my league. I needed to rest in a few places when I did it.
Not an easy route at all.
The view from the top.
A well-deserved rest.
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