“You did it! You’re a really good climber.”
These words spoken between siblings are music to this mother’s ears, so when my girls ask to visit the Maine Indoor Rock Gym, I’m hard-pressed to deny them.
Each time we visit the rock gym, we enjoy the challenges and celebrate the accomplishments of climbing the walls with all the various angles and holds. But there are so many other positive things we gain from our visits there.
At 11 and 12 years old, the girls are more deliberate and focused about the walls they climb now (unlike when my younger daughter enjoyed pretending to be a fast-climbing monkey when she was 8). They set their own goals (without realizing that’s what they’re doing) to climb challenging walls that take more upper body strength as well as agility to find and grab their holds.
But their beaming smiles and the self-esteem boost that comes from climbing to the top of a particularly difficult wall, as well as the encouragement they offer to each other, makes each trip to the gym well worth the cost of this not-so-cheap outing for a family of four (about $20 each for climbing shoes, harness and admission; parent belayers who choose not to climb are admitted free).
Because we have found this activity to be a great family team-building experience, the kids talked their 4-H club into taking a trip to the rock gym recently.
Not all the 4-H club members had climbed previously, but a helpful and knowledgeable gym staff member worked with our group to cover basic safety issues for climbers, and the importance of communication between the climber and his/her belayer while on the wall. And all the kids who were 12 and older were given a chance to serve as a belayer as well as to climb.
At the Maine Rock Gym, unlike most free-climb walls at fairs, amusement parks and indoor play centers, belayers are required for every climber and are secured to the floor with an anchor rope attached to their harness along with the climber’s rope.
As climbers ascend, the belayers pull up the slack rope through the carabiners to keep them secure should they lose their footing or hold on the wall. With a taut rope, belayer and climber are less likely to be jolted from a slip. It also helps climbers feel more secure.
When descending, the climber sits back and lets go of the wall to hold onto the rope. The belayer manages the carabiner to let the rope out at a slow and steady pace as the climber rappels down the wall. Even the smallest of our belayers handled this aspect easily because the gym’s carabiner was easy to use.
The rappelling is the part most kids and adults (myself included) find the most anxiety-provoking the first time. After that initial introduction, letting go of the wall is a lot less scary. And as my 11-year-old will tell you, “Jumping down the wall is the best part of climbing.”
During our trip with the 4-H club, the kids kept gravitating to one particular wall for the swing factor. After climbing this wall, the climber has to let go of their handhold and is forced to swing away from the wall due to the way the rope is looped through the ceiling to the belayer. After trying this wall myself, I had to agree with the kids that swinging from the rafters was a lot of fun.
After a dozen trips up and down that wall, my 11-year-old modified her feelings about rappelling.
“Swinging down that wall is even more fun than jumping down the other ones!”
Indoor rock climbing is a great family activity, especially when the weather makes for a less than enjoyable day out on the hiking/skiing trails. And your kids may just learn that doing something together as a family – especially with their tween/teen siblings – can be a whole lot of fun.
MAINE ROCK GYM
LOCATION: 127 Marginal Way, Portland
CLIMBING PASS: $15 for adults and kids
SHOE & HARNESS RENTAL: $5
WINTER HOURS: 2-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 2-8 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday;
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine, January 2009
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