Climbing Gym Hopping

We did not have any grand plans this holiday season. Initially we wanted to do another family bouldering trip, but the weather scratched the idea out. So, we opted for the next best thing... gym hopping! In between work, holiday stuff, family visits... we spent our own family time at the gym. And occasionally with Roger, who has become our best rock climbing buddy for these outings!

--> LA Boulders

First up, was LA Boulders, the LA.B. We met up with Roger there on Christmas Eve to check out the LA.B, a bouldering only gym.

Since there wasn't much else going on, all of us were happy to spend the day climbing. We were there for about 5+ hours, and closed the gym. LA.B is another established Touchstone gym. It is decent, spacious gym with lots of variation of climbs. Fun to climb in, but nothing really spectacular that stood out.

View from the 2nd story of the top out boulders.

Roger and Ryan working a V5 problem.

Kiddies usually take about 4 hours of doing any thing but climbing before they warm up and climb. I brought water painting materials for them to work on. The gym didn't stand out as being too kid friendly. Even the beginner climbs, the V0s, were still set in a way that would be too reach for little kids.

--> Cliffs of Id

Next up was the Cliffs of ID. Yes, we liked ID! Check out the panoramic of this place! Aggressive and varied features throughout the gym with well set routes. Lots of space for the kids to hang around and run, as well as lots of room to work different climbing areas.

We hit the Cliffs of ID the day after Christmas, Dec. 26th. This place is not officially opened yet as this is a brand spanking new Touchstone gym. They soft opened the bouldering section while the rope area is still under development. When we walked into this place to sign in/pay/etc, the person working the front recognized us immediately. Apparently a lot of people that were climbing at the LAB on Dec. 24th, came over to ID on the 26th, like us! This validates we are not just obsessed, but normal climbing folks.

We can count on Roger to climb with us! Yes, he came out again the day after Xmas, to do a 5-6 hour climbing session at ID. Roger and Ryan, once again, figuring out a V6 overhang problem.

Liam just chilling around.

There were a few awesome easy rated V0 climbs that were very kid friendly. The kiddos really liked this one route that they kept climbing over and over again.



I unfortunately did not capture a video of Emilia working another V0 climb that was challenging for her. It was a great climb and I'd say a "real V0" for her. She kept trying it over and over again and got frustrated at one section, the crux of the climb, where she couldn't figure out how to make the next move. The frustration is real as she would be on the verge of tears saying "I can't do it". With some encouragement from Ryan, as well as her own determination to get this, she finally accomplished it on her own. That moment of accomplishment is a pretty awesome. She was beaming as she got high-fives all around. These little lessons of climbing... they help to build various aspects of character. This was a proud parent moment.

--> Mesa Rim

So, this wasn't exactly our family time, but worth mentioning because the kiddos have an amazing 2nd cousin that is a National star rock climber. Liz came down to stay with us for a few days while she attended a competition training camp at Mesa Rim to help prepare her for upcoming Divisional and National bouldering competition. I don't know much about the competition scene, so it was interesting for me to learn about the details and to get to watch her during mock competition trails while she was here. Anyhow, Mesa Rim recently opened a world class training facility and these are my first looks at it.

Liz doing her 3rd climb at the mock competition.

Liz waiting for her 4th climb, with her back facing the route. Competitors have to sit facing away the routes so the do not see any beta (info) on the climb they are to work on next. The competitors have a time limit, I think 4 or was it 5 minutes to complete a climb. Then competitors rotate to the next climbing.

Liz's turn up, and she flashes it!



Emilia is still a good 2+ years away before we can see if she'll take to rock climbing in a competitive way. But having Liz as an example is a good influence!