High as a kite--a very short kite

If you happen to be like me and don't mind trying things that have the potential to cause whole-body muscle pain, then check out MetroRock . On Wednesday night, Lunchboy and I went with a bunch of friends who caught the climbing bug, and we had a complete blast. After a one-hour safety class on knots and belaying, we were released onto the climbing floor to do our best. There were lean, muscular people going up the hard routes and making it look easy, but I quickly learned that even the "easy" routes were NOT a walk in the park.

I’ve always liked the “up” part of adventures—hiking, stairs, trees, whathaveyou—and less so the down part (down takes forever and is so hard on the shins), so indoor climbing was extra fun because you get totally wrapped up in how you’re going to get up and then you get to come down very quickly and easily before going right back up another route. I understand why real climbers tackle tall challenges—you get to keep going up. The walls at MetroRock are about 40-50 feet up, which didn’t look that tall from the ground but felt very high up once I got going. Also, who knew that climbing involved so many muscles? After two ascents, I could barely close my hands because my forearms were so tired. It’s hard! Two days later, I'm still stiff and sore but we're definitely going back.