There's A Balance Goddess!

My family pretty much thinks that I lost my mind long time ago. And rock climbing? Icing on the crazy cake.

However, my mother just told me, matter-of-factly, about a boulderer on Rock Center and I think it's pretty cool that she knows that bouldering is different from top rope climbing. Check out this 11-year-old who climbs with joy...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I was on Twitter yesterday having a conversation about Cirque du Soleil when the Balance Goddess chimed in. What, there's a Balance Goddess? I told her (Lara Jacobs Rigolo) that yogis love Balance Goddesses and Lara said that she loves yogis.



Speaking of balance, I had to find a film in the opposite corner of In the Land of Blood and Honey so I watched Ready? Ok!, a sweet little movie with a sweet little message.



Salud to Friday!

Show and Tell Saturday

Climbing route tally:

Coffee Stout, 5.8

Rangerface Baby McGee, 5.8

We (Fear) The People, 5.8

Pandora's Box, 5.9, Attempted

Pandora's Box, 5.9

Rodeo Cowboys, 5.9

What's Next?, 5.9

White Route, 5.9

My rock climbing shoes are as comfortable as they get but they tend to rub my heels. I've been putting oversized bandages and/or tape and it feels much better.




I was drawn to these sisters who normally boulder or climb but they were completely absorbed in their electronics and looked absolutely at peace.


Later found out that they had been at a slumber party and had no energy to climb.



Isn't this amaryllis gorgeous?


It's made me stop in my tracks a couple of times.



And someone's been tracking in my backyard. The indentations captured my attention from the window.




Going to see Cirque du Soleil.





Can this day get any better?

Hope that you're having a superb Saturday.

Wild Moves On The Rock, Part I of II

I met Joe when we were both climbing alone in April of 2010. I went climbing outdoors for the first time with Joe (Mike and Patti) and this interview was conducted while we were on the way back from that outdoor stint.

‘Drea: How long have you been climbing?

Joe: I’ve been climbing since 2005. So, about five years.

‘Drea: And how does your friend convince you to go climbing if you’re apprehensive about heights?

Joe: Well, I think he helped me to frame it as an opportunity to conquer my fear of heights and the way that he described how fun it is was pretty compelling and I also loved being outside anyway. So, I thought the worst thing that could happen is that I would be unable to do it but I'd be able to enjoy a day outside.

‘Drea: That’s a good way to look at it. Did you like it the first time that you went?

Joe: Sort of (chuckling). The first time that we went, we started off with a rappel off a 90 foot overhang and I had the harness on and I was all geared up and it was time to just roll out over the edge and keep myself from plummeting to my death by pulling the break of the rope and my friend had to, very patiently, talk me through that. It probably took 15 minutes to get me to roll out over the edge.

‘Drea: What did he tell you?

Joe: He said it’s really safe. It’s really simple. It’s okay to take my time. It’s gonna be okay. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. It’s really fun once you get out there.

(Laughter)

‘Drea: That sounds like a good friend…Did you ever take any classes at the gym?

Joe: Uh-uh.... No classes.

‘Drea: So, everything you know about rock climbing, you learned from your friend?

Joe: Mm-hmm, basically.

‘Drea: What else did he teach you about rock climbing?

Joe: Safety was always really important with him and now it’s really important with me. So, he would talk about all these different kinds of knots and pieces of equipment that you could use to make different, safe contraptions for top roping and various things you would want to do...hitches or something but, mostly, I think I learned from him how to be a little bit mentally tougher than I would naturally be able to be because his fingers would just be dripping blood and he would be just making these wild moves on the rock knowing that if he fell, he would just be caught by the rope.

‘Drea: Is this with bouldering? (Duh, bouldering is not done with ropes.)

Joe: This was with wall climbing but also with bouldering he would be 20 feet up in the air and making wild moves and it was just like whoa.

Patti: That doesn’t sound very safe to me.

(Laughter)

Joe: We had extra crash pads if we were bouldering and we had very safe equipment if we were on the wall.

‘Drea: So, it was nothing that he told you; it was just by example with him tackling problems?

Joe: I think that what I learned the most out of how to tie a figure eight and all kind of things he taught me; that's what really sticks with me.

'Drea: So, how did you feel when you went up the first route? Like, was it hard? Did you scamper up pretty easily?

Joe: It was very hard and it was at St. Francois (State Park) and there are, like, five routes at St. Francois and two of them are very moderate. So, we had very limited options but it was gorgeous and we started off at the top of the cliff and then rappelled down and climbed back up and so I was already having this kind of mystical, nature experience from being at the top of the cliff, rappelling down before we even started trying to climb back up. So that helped me even though I was scared and, even though it was hard, I kept plugging away.

‘Drea: Did you get better by following his example and just continuing to climb routes until you got it?

Joe: Yes, we did that and we also tried to -- we were really out on a mission to be able to climb 5.12’s. We did pull-up workout routines when we couldn’t get to the gym. We tried to climb at least three times a week which was the biggest part and we built a climbing wall in the garage of my house.

‘Drea: Sweet.

Joe: Yeah and then we would be bouldering, pretty much, on a daily basis.

‘Drea: Did he tell you anything else about technique or you just watched him and kinda mimicked what he was doing? Anything about drop knees? Matching feet?

Joe: He was always coaching all the time. So, yeah, all the techniques…he was both really encouraging and also telling me things to try…but it’s kind of funny; we have two pretty different techniques because he’s 6’4 and, like, over 200 pounds. I’m just under six feet and I’m like 150 pounds. And he’s really, really strong...but I really enjoy figuring out how to place my body so that I can make use of the hand holds and the foot holds and I usually tend not to be super-fast. I’m not a sprinter when I’m climbing but I enjoy really feeling the holds and feeling the different positions that I can get my body into to be helpful for getting to the next move.

‘Drea: So, you’re more like a detective on the route?

Joe: I like that idea. Yeah, but I’ve gotten more efficient. I used to be such a detective that I would be in one spot forever and my friend would be like, okay, we only have four more hours.

‘Drea: So, how many marathons have you done?

Joe: I’ve done two marathons.

‘Drea: Are you planning on doing anymore?

Joe: Heck, no!

(Laughter)

‘Drea: You’re hanging up your marathon hat?

Joe: That’s right. Yeah.

‘Drea: Did you do half or full?

Joe: Full.

‘Drea: Oh yeah, I would hang up my hat too. Do you play any other sports?

Joe: I love playing ultimate Frisbee but I don’t get to often but I hope to get back to it in the future.

‘Drea: Is that a team sport?

Joe: It’s like soccer or football but it’s with a Frisbee. I love soccer. I love basketball. I still enjoy trail running just not marathons. I really like playing any sport.

‘Drea: Me too. I mean, for the most part. I don’t know anything about soccer but I like to watch it. It’s just looks like and all-around good sport to play that requires agility. You have running...

Joe: And ultimate Frisbee is like that too. You might like it.

‘Drea: Are you in a league in this area?

Joe: No, we had a weekly, basically, a pick-up game but there were regulars who always came on Saturday afternoons in Webster Groves and, then, I would try to jump into other games if I could.

‘Drea: So, how are you going to convince your wife to get into rock climbing?

(Laughter)

Joe: I’m still working that out. If you have any insights, please let me know.

‘Drea: What did she say when she went climbing?

Joe: She said it really wasn’t her thing. She didn’t feel like she could get up the rocks and she’s scared of heights. She didn’t see the point.

(Chuckling)

‘Drea: And what do you think the point of rock climbing is?


(Mike, Joe and Chuck)

Joe: I think it’s to transcend on all these different levels and I really see it as a great practice that combines spirit and mind and body and, for me, it really helped me go from being terrified of heights and limited by that terror to not being terrified and being respectful of heights.

‘Drea: It’s pretty cool when you’ve been working on a route and you have that metaphoric-feeling of getting to the top.

Joe: And it seems like anytime it’s a pretty challenging route, for me, there are moments when I think Oh, I don’t know if I can do this but then I keep going and that feels really powerful to me.

One Boulderer To Another or Overheard at the Gym, IV

Note: Most of these exchanges were overheard at the rock climbing gym.

People who rock climb are not into comfort.

Brandi while helping someone select a pair of shoes during Upper Limits' Black Friday sale.

My toes are sound asleep.

Patti's commentary on her toes which were in her new climbing shoes and weighing in at about two sizes smaller than her street shoes. Brandi, LOL, helped her select the shoes.

Marrying you is one of the smartest things that I've done...Marrying you is probably the smartest thing that I've done.

Mike to Patti

This hurts. Boy Scout who was trying to put on his rock climbing shoes.

It's supposed to hurt. Another Boy Scout

Like, I can't even get my foot in the shoe...Boy Scout

Over Here-ah? Young boy who was trying to get input from his father about where to place his foot.

Boy: I want to come down.

Father: Don't look down; just keep going.

I'm afraid of heights, a little shorty halfway up Slabtastic, a 5.6 route

His father tried to convince him to continue with his ascent.

It's okay. It's all right. Don't worry about it. You can just climb. It's okay...

A young man repeated this refrain to his friend who did not pass her belay test. He reassured her for quite a while.

Shorty (hesitant about continuing upward): I haven't been here in a while...

Mother: I'm here. I gotcha.

How do I get my fat ass off the floor?, One boulderer to another...

Boulderers will often start a route in a seated position. That's Ryan getting ready to start a route.

Headstrong Into It

I asked Ryan if he would talk with me about climbing; he agreed.

‘Drea: How long have you been rock climbing?


Ryan: I’ve been rock climbing for about eight years now.


‘Drea: How’d you get into it?


Ryan: Through the Girl Scouts.

‘Drea: Really? How so?

Ryan: I came with a group adventure -- like a little group with the Girl Scouts; my cousin is a part of it and she invited me to come along and that’s pretty much how I got into rock climbing.


‘Drea: Did you like it when you first started?


Ryan: I did. I loved it.


‘Drea: Have you taken any classes?


Ryan: I’ve taken all the classes that we offer here at the gym. I’ve taken the six week class – all the basic stuff but the real gist of climbing comes with experience. You have to experience things to really get better at it.

‘Drea: Did you learn anything valuable from the classes?

Ryan: Yeah, but you can’t really teach someone how to lead climb in a class; it’s more of your personal style…

‘Drea: So, what are you climbing nowadays?


Ryan: Right now, I climb about a 5.11… Before I joined the military, I was climbing 5.12’s and V.7’s

‘Drea: What do you like more bouldering or climbing?

Ryan: I will always be a boulderer but because my knees are bad, I can’t really take the landings anymore. So, I’ve just kinda of given up on it and gone back to climbing.

‘Drea: Well, I can’t do the bouldering; I don’t like the falling part of it. (laughing) What kind of technique do you rely on when you’re climbing?


Ryan: Since I’m a boulderer at heart, I use more of my upper body which kind of sucks when you’re climbing routes because you get tired with using your upper body. I’ve been trying to teach myself to use my lower body…

‘Drea: How does that work? Because I know that I use my upper body more…


Ryan: You’re supposed to use your toes and your footwork more and climb more with your frame instead of your muscles but I tend to over grip on things and really pull with them instead of pushing with my legs.

‘Drea: Yeah, that’s why my hands look all jacked up now.


Ryan: Mine look pretty.

‘Drea: (laughing) …Are you involved in any other sports activities?


Ryan: No.


‘Drea: So, rock climbing is it? How often do you get to climb?


Ryan: When I’m not so busy with school, like in the summertime, I’ll be in here five days a week.


‘Drea: And you’ve done outdoor climbing, right?

Ryan: I’ve been all over the country -- from New York to California.

‘Drea: What’s your favorite place outdoors?

Ryan: It’s actually in New York City in Central Park.

‘Drea: Really?


Ryan: There’s a boulder problem that I worked on for the entire time the first time that I was visiting New York City. It was a V.10 in Central Park and the name of the problem was Sweat of the Rapist...

‘Drea: :o….


Ryan: It was really hard and it was a really cool route… Then, out in California, we went to Yosemite and I did some bouldering out there. Wyoming. Colorado. New Mexico -- all over the place.


‘Drea: Is there a certain way that you approach a route or do you pretty much figure it out as you go along?


Ryan: The best way to do it is to look at it and get a feel for the moves first or, usually, I just go headstrong into it as hard as I can -- make my mistakes up the wall then I learn from my mistakes.


‘Drea: How long have you been lead climbing?


Ryan: I'd say about six years.

‘Drea: What are some of your rock climbing goals?

Ryan: Goals? I don’t really have many. I do it because I love the sport not because I want to be the best at it. I do it for me. I just want to be able to get in here more often because it does make me happy when I climb -- kinda like that runner’s high.


‘Drea: Yeah, I miss it too. Like now, my calves are hurting but I really want to get in here tomorrow to climb… What was your most memorable route?


Ryan: My most memorable route was actually a boulder problem. I can’t remember the name of it. I think it ended up being a V.13 and I just worked on it all day in Laramie, Wyoming (by the state college). If you’ve ever been to Elephant Rocks, it’s probably the same texture....but on a grand scale and this boulder problem was right next to this like 1,000 foot wall and it was really over hung with a beautiful line and a dyno right in the middle and nasty crimps and nasty slopers. I worked on that for a good six hours.

‘Drea: What part of the military where you in?


Ryan: I was in the army.


‘Drea: Do you mind telling me about your accident again?


Ryan: I fell done a flight of steps and broke both patella, tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), MCL ( medial collateral ligament) and meniscus and fractured both tibia.

‘Drea: How did you get back to climbing condition?

Ryan: Lots of physical therapy.

‘Drea: Was it painful? (Possibly the craziest question that I’ve asked so far…)

Ryan: ...Like, right now, I’m still doing my physical therapy. I’m about a year and a half into it and it still hurts every day. Like walking from my bedroom to my kitchen to get a glass of milk hurts.

‘Drea: What kind of exercises do they have you doing?


Ryan: It’s more of like strengthening the muscles around my knees to compensate for the joint damage to my knees. It’s a lot of stuff to strengthen my quads and my calves and they said that part of it is that I have overdeveloped calves and it’s kind of pulling on my kneecap… and that‘s why it still hurts so bad. The guy said my quads are underdeveloped and my calves are overdeveloped and he said that it could be from the way that I rode my bike -- all my life.

‘Drea: Do you still bicycle?

Ryan: I try to. I have a little BMX bike. So, I tend to do stupid stuff on it.

‘Drea: Do you go on any trails around here?

Ryan: It’s usually just city riding…

‘Drea: You said that climbing doesn’t bother your knees?


Ryan: Climbing routes doesn’t bother my knees. It’s very low impact and I’m usually climbing in the overhang and it‘s a soft fall.

‘Drea: Did I ask you if you liked rock climbing the first time that you tried it?


Ryan: Yes.

'Drea: What did you like about it?

Ryan: Everything…

‘Drea: If you were to tell someone about rock climbing and they didn’t know anything about it, what would you tell them?


Ryan: It’s a lot of fun and you get out of it what you put into it.


‘Drea: All right. Thank you.

Ryan: No problem.




For my final pictures, I asked Ryan if I could get shots of his Where The Wild Things Are tattoo.

Whenever I see Ryan in the gym this refrain, of course, pops into my head:

The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes...

Leaning On Each Other

During our normal meet-up negotiations, Patti said that she was ready to go (climbing) now. We still had about 24 hours to go but it made me wonder how often Patti would go climbing if she had her way. She responded two to three times and asked me how often I would go. Three, I responded. Patti was all like, well, let's start planning.

I love a woman who can make fireworks happen. Hee-hee.


I was chit chatting with Josh before Patti and company arrived. I asked him about how he coped with tender hands and he inferred in a very nice way that I, basically, needed to suck it up. What about tape? He only uses it for crack climbing or injuries. Injuries you say?


'Drea's Callused Chalk-Coated Hand

I also asked Josh about his ritual of hanging on holds. He's warming up his hands especially since a finger is injured. I thought he was strength training.


When Josh saw me, he started smiling -- not because he was happy to see me but because he assumed that Patti would be coming.

Me: What makes you think Patti is coming?
Josh: Because you all climb in packs.

Josh has been strongly nagging encouraging Patti to lead climb and she did lead climb three routes. The pack is so proud of our little shining star.


Patti Clipping In on Chag
So, as Josh leans on Patti, Patti leans on me. I briefly took a short, practice rope in addition to the regular rope to try my hand at lead climbing. I also attempted to climb the Chest Cracking Cart route. Yowza...

Route Tally:

Sponge Bob, 5.7 (Ascended and Down Climbed 2x's)
The Seven, 5.7
Hallelujah, 5.8
Chag, 5.9/5.8
Chest Cracking Cart, 5.9 (Aborted)
Pacman Revival, 5.9

I also did a little bouldering. Thanks to the rock climber with the star burst tattoo who gave me a tip about the rope while I was practicing lead climbing. Forty eight hours until I climb again...

Is someone leaning on you or are you leaning on yourself? Are you looking forward to your next exercise outing?

You Find The Strength Somehow: A Look Behind The Rock Climbing Scene, Part II of III

This interview is part two of one that I conducted with Jessica and Patti, two of my belay partners. I wanted more information about rock climbing and I couldn't think of a better place to start.


‘Drea: What would you consider your climbing style?

Jessica: I like to go side to side. I like to flag a leg out, do drop knee, do a lot of – kind of almost contorting…twist my body. I like the logical routes that are built for people who are about my height. Yusuf (former Upper Limits employee) is a really soft climber and I really like his routes because they force you to climb like him where you’re doing that reaching but you can kind of twist and you can get it.

‘Drea to Patti: And what about you? What do you consider your climbing style?

Patti: I don’t have a style. Brute force.

Jessica: That’s not true. You like to push and pull -- get into corners. You also tend to keep your body straight onto the wall. You like to be more stable. You’re also more daring than I am. I’m using more techniques and kind of tricks to get there and mom is using technique but she also jumps for things more often than I would. She goes for it and commits to a move that I find hard to commit to.

‘Drea to Patti: So, are you a jumper?

Patti: Usually, I’m a faller. (all around laughter)

Jessica to Patti: But you’re more willing to do that. I’m still working on that.

'Drea: What kind of books would you recommend?

Jessica: I haven’t read it yet but The Rock Warrior’s Way; it’s about the mental part of climbing and pushing through. Training for Climbing is a book that we've read.

‘Drea: Any reason why you chose Evolv shoes?

Jessica: Mom and I both have wide feet so we went with Evolv men shoes. Steve is a good person to talk to about shoes. Every time you see him, he has on a different pair of shoes.

Some people actually have, if they're hardcore about it, they'll actually wear one type of shoe on the right foot and a different type of shoe on their left foot. They'll have a crack up on the left side and a certain shoe is good for crack climbing but the other shoe is good for smearing. The Evolv that we have is just a good multi-purpose shoe...

I went shopping with Kam for shoes and he said, “Oh, I like this color.” The woman was like make sure it fits your foot; it doesn’t matter what color it is. So, I wouldn’t order online the first time.

‘Drea: Did you both take lead climbing class?

Jessica: Well, you have to be able to climb a 5.9 lead test up front. So, you have to climb up to the fifth clip without falling, clip in, climb above it, fall and then climb back up and finish the route without any problems and we were not climbing 5.9s consistently for awhile after we got through with the class.

And people’s definition of what the ratings are is very different from person to person. It depends on how tall you are, what your style of climbing is. So, we actually waited until there was a lead route that we could climb consistently and was relatively easy so we weren’t going to be freaking out. The two routes that are up right now, I don’t think that I would have passed the test.

It was good to hear what Jessica said about the lead routes because I attempted that 5.9 lead route this day, struggled mightily and barely made it halfway up.

‘Drea: How many times have you been lead climbing?

Patti: About two dozen.

Jessica: When you talk to different people, they have different attitudes about it (lead climbing) and I don’t think a lot of people would appreciate the attitude that I have towards lead climbing. It’s uncomfortable and that’s not what I feel like I want out of climbing – to feel that uncomfortable and to pursue it. Mentally, I think that could be a very good exercise... I think it’s more dangerous and, for me, I don’t feel like it’s necessary. I don’t like having my heart pounding the whole time. That being said, when I did lead climb and it was a route that was harder, I did feel really good when I pursued it.

Patti: …You know the consequences of not doing it (a lead route). As you’re climbing and you think, I don’t know if I can do this then you think, Oh my God, I have to or else I’m going to fall; you find the strength somehow.

Jessica: Yeah, you can’t ask for take just anywhere on the route or if you do ask for a take, you’re going to fall.

‘Drea: What about bouldering?

‘Drea To Patti: I know that you fell in a love with a little red route.

Patti: I don’t like bouldering because you climb up 12 feet and then you have to get down and I know that on my delicate ankles that would not work.

Jessica: And bouldering is more dynamic. So, it’s putting the five or six hardest moves right together. Whereas climbing is more about endurance and I don’t really like doing all of the hard stuff back-to-back. I like that it’s a puzzle where I’ll have a hard moment here and there that you have to figure out then trying to get the endurance to get through the rest of it. Bouldering is harder on your body; it’s harder on your tendons. It’s usually more of, like, a young man’s power through game but there are some women who are excellent at bouldering; there are some older people who are excellent at bouldering. It’s not my cup of tea.

‘Drea: What's the highest route you’ve climbed?

Jessica: A 5.10+ (inside). The routes are longer outside. I’ve lead outside once and it was terrifying and I vowed never to do it again. The only way that I would do lead outside again is if it were super, super easy – like grips all over the place. Here the clips are maybe about five feet apart. Outside, it’s usually about ten. If you get up to the next clip and you botch it, you’re falling 20 feet.

‘Drea: That doesn’t sound very good.

Jessica: Not my cup of tea. (laughter)

Patti’s highest route inside is a 5.10 and a 5.9 outside.

‘Drea: What do you think is good supplemental exercise for rock climbing?

Jessica and Patti: Yoga.

Jessica: I think swimming is good. You do need a certain level of strength but, at some point, muscle becomes more weight that you’re taking up. Pilates, I bet, would be good...


Note: Steph Davis just recommended Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind for someone who wanted to increase their resistance to fear.

Part I of Interview with Jessica and Patti

It's The Falling That I Don't Like

It's been exactly seven days since I stepped into Upper Limits. Finally, my jones was fulfilled -- for now.

Remember that 5.8b route, And You're Ready Now?, that I tried to tackle so many times and finally was able to ascend? Well, it's gone now -- a bouldering competition casualty. I was straight up looking forward to ascending that route more smoothly.

Guess that's just a little life lesson about being prepared for change.

I did try a new 5.8 route, A Savage Salvage Project, and it was a tad bit, as indicated, savage. I didn't think that I would be able to make it to the top but I called for a take mid-way and I was able to get up the rest of the route.

I also tried a bouldering route even though I'm not that fond of bouldering since I unexpectedly fell off the wall once. I think it was helpful that I wasn't expecting the fall because I was more relaxed. Plus, the floor is rubbery. Still, I can see how a person could injure themselves. The bottom line is that I probably should not do a whole lot of climbing without a belay system.

While I'm not enthusiastic about bouldering, here's one young lady that loves it. This video is pretty cute.



And, oh yeah, just in case I didn't say it, it's the falling that I don't like when it comes to bouldering.

When Your Grip Strength Is At Its Best

I'm jonesing to go rock climbing today but there's a bouldering competition going on at Upper Limits; so, no dice. My jones will have to wait until tomorrow.

I've been reading Eric Horst's Training for Climbing. A lot of the advice applies across disciplines: strengthen your core, be relaxed, eat properly, get enough sleep etc. Chapter seven, Personal Training Programs, had me chuckling:

As a final note, the belief that physical performance tends to be worse during menstruation is not absolute. While the menstrual cycle's affect on performance varies widely among individuals and from sport to sport, at least one study has shown that grip strength was greater during the actual menstrual phase (Davis 1991).

No doubt, the grip is stronger. I know that I've wanted to put my hands around some necks, instead of holds, during that time.

In the same chapter, there's also a section devoted to special considerations for females and "juniors." Horst mentions teenager Tori Allen, who is already an accomplished, award-winning climber.

Here's a video from a segment that the Discovery Channel did on Allen.



Needless to say, Allen is athletically gifted.

Third Rock Climbing Class

I was intensely looking for some videos about belaying but the ones that I saw on YouTube weren't providing any enlightenment. I finally found this one which is pretty good:



Visualizing belaying must have worked because I did a little better tonight. My instructor was tempting me big time. I was, again, attempting a more difficult route and he started telling me about some 350 pound dude who took on indoor rock climbing. Was this anecdote supposed to be some kind of inspirational parable for moi? Had it been yesterday, when I was experiencing the furies, I would have tied a figure eight around his neck. "J" also mentioned something about custom made harnesses but I decided not to take that one personally since it was in the context of the conversation that we were having.

I also tried bouldering (climbing without a rope) at "J's" suggestion and that was so unwise. I fell from a spot that was a little high and jarred my ankle. When I felt that sensation go through my ankle, I saw my entire regimen flash before my eyes. If I had been put out of commission because of bouldering, I would have been furious at myself. Right now, I'm trying to remember how I fell because my right shoulder and right upper thigh don't feel so hot but that could be because of the climbing.

I have to thank Jessica for going over the finer points of tying a figure eight knot with me and for giving me the tip to practice by threading the rope through a loophole on my pants.



Jessica could teach Introduction to Rock Climbing in her sleep. She's quite the Spiderwoman and, I bet, her spidey sense is tingling right now.

I went by the Clayton Schnucks after class and I have to say that the Schnucks in Clayton is much nicer (mega-understatement) than any Schnucks that I've seen in the city -- especially skanky Schnucks on Grand and Gravois. Really, the deli and fruit section is bigger than some entire stores.