WE HAVE A CLIMBING GYM!

There’s a new climbing gym that opened last month. This makes me very, very happy. Check out the boulder cave! Since I’ve been climbing semi-regularly (not as regularly as I’d like to being 4 or 5 times per week), I thought I’d post some old school photos of myself…climbing!!

Climbers have really great, defined backs. I was never a fantastic climber. I red-pointed a 5.11 once, and I think I may have done a 5.12 once. Ever. Probably because it was a crimpy route. You don’t have to be good to get defined.

Just go often, and have fun. It doesn’t even feel like exercising.

I totally was having fun in this photo. Really! ;) This photo also makes me miss tanning… bad bad bad!

What was a unique feature about my climbing habits, is that I never use my pinkies when I climb. In some photos it only looks like i have three fingers and a thumb. My pinky curls right up when I climb. I also have/had abnormally strong tendons in my fingers, and not so much in my biceps.

Meaning my party trick back in 2004/2005 was doing 7 chinups on door the frames, where as I couldn’t do one pullup “regularly”.  Yes, that’s me! Check out the video I found of myself below! Don’t oggle at that body too long – I don’t look like that anymore. Ha ha! I love candy and… not running.

I even got brave enough once, to do a dyno. A dyno is what a lot guys (and some girls) do when bouldering. Powering up with one, or no hands to reach another hold, or the top. I’m “chucking” for the top in this photo. I missed, and got caught by large hands seen below me. Trust is something you definitely gain while climbing and bouldering. You don’t want to be falling all awkwardly and then have some weakling not guide your fall so you don’t break your neck.

Whoa. I just made climbing sound really scary. It’s not. It’s fun, I promise. I took my running buddy (I don’t run anymore) and she LOVED it. So much so that she bought a brand new pair of climbing shoes and ended up winning a month pass to go climbing! How awesome is that?

Fun fact: I was in a climbing film. I’d link it but it gives my last name. Here’s a photo from one of the days we went out to The Arches in Newfoundland.

The photo shown above was taken of me at either a boulder or climbing comp back in 2005. Basically right before I lost all climbing/muscle definition moved to Ontario.

I found a ton of climbing videos under the ‘climb’ folder of spiffykerms and decided to share it with you also! View the files here. Or you can check them out my YouTube channel:

7.5 chinups on the doorframe.

Bouldering and Climbing gets you focused. “In a zone” is a term that climbers like to use, and you really do need to think out and work out the problems in your head as you’re climbing the route, or bouldering. I didn’t even realize this photo was being taken. Love the angry face I’m sporting. Poop face even.

 I first started climbing in 1994 (holy fahhh… that’s 17 years, how about I don’t tell you what age I was when I started. Geezer, get me a cane!) when a local climbing gym opened up back home in Newfoundland. When I moved to Ontario they immediately shut down the local gym a month after I moved there. Talk about bad luck. Five years later a new one opened, much more closer to my work – which is so convenient, as I can pop in during lunch times for a quick boulder sesh.

You don’t have to be fit, or strong to go climbing! Everyone is always afraid to harness up and go for a climb. But what’s different about the climbing community is that we all LOVE new climbers! Ask anyone! Whenever I’m going with new people, I try and coax them up a route – the person next to me (a complete stranger) always jumps in and tries to help my buddy climb higher and reach the top. We love helping people! Every gym I’ve been to (Wallnuts, Joe Rockheads, Rock Oasis and now this one) are all super friendly and super laid back.

Give it a try! Have any questions? Leave them in the comments below.