The kids swam and played ping pong. My friend and I wandered the shops.
We found out there was a new climbing wall. The older boys were excited about the possibility, the younger siblings were willing to follow the older ones.
We had a good pre-climb instruction. Harnesses were demonstrated. Josh was the first to try. He strapped into the automatic belay thingie. The person in charge of the wall was excellent. He was focused, gave encouragement, gave instructions, was ever watchful for the safety of his clients.
Beginning the climb. The holds were color coded. The easier holds were white and brown. Pink and blue and green were okay too.
At the overhang. Trying to find the way up. The guy said, "There is always a way up." The tendency is to rely on the arms to pull you up. The best way to climb is to depend more on the legs to push your way to the next hold. Once you stop, it is harder to get going again.
Past the overhang and climbing to the top. Josh was the only one to make it past the overhang. I still attibute this to scouting. All those pull-up that he had to do every year for over 4 years gave him drive to work on his arm strength.
Way up at the top. Then he got to jump off the wall and let the belay device lower him down. So I think the wall was 30 feet. As his mother, I was grateful for the belay device and the attention of the guy. (I feel super bad I didn't get his name. I did remember to compliment him on his expertise and attention.)
As I write this, I must disclose I didn't try the wall. I was wearing flipflops, and I am not really a fan of heights. Although I like the opposite activity - repelling.
Boaz tried the wall also.
The guy again watching out for my boy. Boaz has a height disadvantage still. Although that will no longer be an issue in probably two years.
Just under the overhang, searching for a way up.
Getting his legs ready to provide the push up.
He tried several times and gained good experience. He will be better prepared next time he tries. And, again, he did better than I did because I didn't try.
The wall as a metaphor for life -- there is always a way up. Keep moving. If at first you don't succeed, try again. Build muscles and confidence. Focus on the path. Pick your holds intentionally. Go with people you can trust. Trust the people you are with. Use the proper equipment. There is always tomorrow to try to go higher and faster.
The guy showed us how an experienced climber does it. He went up in under 15 seconds. He almost ran up the wall. He trusted his legs. He knew the holds.
