climbing

I am far from an avid climber: every couple years I boulder around and generally get bored after a few minutes, so when we booked in for a two-hour long climb at ClimbBase5 in Coquitlam, I honestly wondered how we would pass the time.

Two hours in however, I wondered where the time went.

On entering, we were greeted by Keith… who was very welcoming, friendly, and just the right mix of laid back and enthusiastic to get us pumped but relieve our apprehensions about climbing a 45′ wall. He was also great with kids, which was awesome since we had our four-year-old daughter with us… and unfortunately she inherited my general mistrust of anything new.

She didn’t want the harness on at first so he skipped past it and casually offered it again, once she felt more comfortable with the whole thing.

He managed to challenge us all enough that we left feeling accomplished. He also knew exactly when to chime in with words of encouragement or guidance.

I was glad that he pushed me just enough to finally get why it is that so many people love to climb. It’s exhilarating to get to the top when you’ve overcome some moments where you’re not quite sure you’ll make it past the next hold.

The gym itself was awesome. I would imagine an experienced climber would be able to spend the better part of a day in there without doing the same course twice. I personally loved the 45′ rope climb and rope latter. Where else can you do that strapped in?

My daughter noticed a birthday party going on, with a great little side room with tables and such. The kids looked to be having a great time. She decided she wants to have her next birthday here with Keith.

And now I get it, the top is a rewarding place to be at any age.

Disclosure: I received free family passes to ClimbBase5, however all views and opinions stated here are my own.