Independence Day Climb - Plan B

It was an overcast and rainy Independence Day morning. Our plan to go to Wawa for a intro session to outdoor climbing was effectively cancelled on Wednesday afternoon, when it started to rain hard. 

To save our day from the disappointment of having wet crags, Jojo suggested we go indoor climbing instead. Power Up Centro was their gym of choice.

Sidebar: It seems that the recurring theme of my recent post is remembering the last time I did something (e.g. climb Kinabalu, rode my bike, etc.), which leads me to believe that I haven't been doing a lot of things in the past few months; not during weekdays/nights, anyway. Climbing in Centro is no different. I honestly can't remember anymore the last time I climbed here. It took a bit or research before learning my last visit to Centro was September 2013; and I didn't even climb that time. 

I arrived an hour and a half late from the agreed meet-up time. Patty, Zaxx, Jojo and daughter Zoe were already busy at the wall. I warmed up at the 2nd wall (vertical leading to a slight overhang), then tried the route Jojo was doing at the 5th wall (overhang-roof-overhang). The lack of training became apparent after my 5th ascent as my forearms got pumped and my hands burned from the absence of calloused skin. Charlie and Ros arrived much later, but immediately got to work on the routes (Ros's warm-up climb was the route Jojo and I just tackled). In between climbing and belaying, we were happily munching on Malagos 65% dark chocolate, which Zaxx brought.

This was probably the longest I've stayed in the gym for more than 2 years; nearly 3 hours of climbing and belaying. We were having a great time and would have gone on climbing, if not for our tired muscles and aching hands. I was too tired to finish the last "problem" I attempted. My hands couldn't latch on to the small holds that made up the midsection of the route. I fell down about half a dozen times, much to the dismay of my belayer. 

(photo by Jojo Gutierrez)

We finished up by 6 and made good use of the shower facilities in Centro. Half of the group then proceeded to Sarah's for a few brown bottles.

The only good thing about climbing is that you can still climb even if the weather is bad. It might not be outside, but at least your day won't be a total loss.