Rock Climbing 101

Sunday Funday involved a short trip to one of the few spots in Iowa you can actually rock climb. Pictured Rocks is located just outside Monticello in north-east Iowa. With numerous amounts of bolted routes it serves as some of Iowa's best climbing.

Although a little buggy out, the weather was great and we virtually had the place to ourselves. When I see the rocks and the ropes I feel like  have taken a trip to an adult play-ground were I am allowed to run around, scrape my knees, and get a little dirty. 

Fun as it might have been, I was served a big slice of humble pie. Climbing is a fun and relaxed sport but it requires strength and not just muscle. It requires strength to push ahead of the last bolt and to keep breathing when the footholds are thin. It's a strength that is easy to lose and tedious to gain,  a strength I had apparently lost a bit of during my recent hiatus from climbing.But that is what the sport is about to a rookie like me. It's about getting my ass-kicked, coming back for more, and identifying true progress. A great climber once said "the person climbing the best is the person who is having the most fun." Truer words have never been said.