Hannah: Rock Climbing



This is me. Climbing up a canyon.

You know how people always say you can trace things back to one specific point in your life where once you experienced that moment, it changed everything?
Well, they do say it. I say it too.

I was dating a smooth talker who told me he loved me, wanted to marry me, and all the other little one liners that women love to hear. Maybe not all women, but I was definitely one of those who melted with each word. We dated for months and started to plan our futures together. We became great friends and our relationship seemed to be going in the right direction. Life was perfect. But the man wasn't, and that was what really hurt when he broke up with me on a very unexpected evening.

I had been through disappointments in the past, dealing with men and relationships, but the ache I had felt when he drove away was unlike anything I had felt before. Usually in the past when I go through a breakup, I eat gummy bears and Doritos, drink wine out of the bottle, watch Sex and the City, and don't leave my room for a while. I've been broken up with a lot. I gained a lot of weight.

I knew that this breakup was going to change me but I did not know how important this breakup was going to be. I did know that no amount of fermented beverages, artificial snacks, and cliche DVDs would fix this. I had to do something to truly make me feel better.

I live one mile from a gym. A lot of people can say that, but my gym is different; you won't find treadmills or saunas there. My gym has walls and walls filled with fake rocks, essentially. I've always toyed with the idea of trying rock climbing and now it just made sense. I didn't have to question it. I knew it was what I was going to do the next day. Only I got there and looked through the window and reminded myself, "Shit. You have no idea how to do this." I stood outside for a good 15 minutes and stared through the dark glass. A man opened the door and smiled as he said, "It's ok to come in if you want to look around." I walked through the door and went straight up to the front desk where I asked that same man (who, it turns out, worked there), "How do I do this?" He tried to show me around and tell me about the prices but I interrupted him and said, "I don't care. I just want to do it."

I went through my orientation and learned the basics of rock climbing. I had no idea what a carabiner was (but I did know that it made a great key chain!) and, for the life of me, I couldn't remember the word 'belay'. I do know that once I tied my first figure-eight and went up that wall that I was in love. My heart wasn't broken anymore.

When I first started rock climbing, I would go every single day after work. I had no idea what I was doing and I wasn't even good at the little that I could climb, but I loved every moment of it. My mind was so focused on learning technique, building my strength, as well as exploring muscles I never knew I had (they hurt soooo bad)! I became friends with the owner who invited me on outdoor trips. I made the decision to go on my first outdoor climb up in the gorgeous Sedona with other gym members. The hard part about this decision was normally when I try something new, I have a friend or two to do it with me. I usually need a boost of encouragement like that. When I started rock climbing, none of my friends would try it with me although I tried to convince them as best as I could. I was about to do something totally new and I was totally alone with strangers. I met a couple girls on that trip who had climbed outside before and had helped me overcome my jitters. I tell you, the first time I trusted myself in the hands of my belayer and on the rope was a huge moment for me. When my feet left the ground and I worked my way up the route I really soaked up the process of moving my body from one side to another, shifting my weight to let gravity lift me up, feeling the smooth cool sandstone against my calloused fingers, listening to the trees whistling, and feeling the wind intensify as I got higher and higher. This was zen. Why didn't more people do this?! Why hadn't I done this sooner?

The beauty of this sport is literally anybody can do it. I've seen people missing a limb (or two) beast their way up a rock, I've climbed with people in their 60's who put my track record to shame, and I've seen all different weight classes learn how their body moves as they make it to the top.

Rock climbing has given me the opportunity to explore areas of Arizona and the Southwest Region I had never known existed. This sport has given me strength, courage, motivation, and friendships. Rock climbing has also introduced me to the man which I now am in love with and it gives us a mutual passion that we can share together. It's funny, isn't it? If I never had my heart broken, I never would have started rock climbing, and I never would have met my better half. I always appreciate that I have found my life long rock climbing buddy.

Rock climbing is a sport that I will never be the best at. I won't be in the climbing magazines that I have laying around my room. I won't be the strongest climber at my gym. I definitely won't be doing competitions any time soon. And that is something that I love. I just want to always enjoy feeling different types of rock. I want to always feel accomplished no matter how many times I fall. I want to never get bored of reaching the top of a canyon, or mountain. And it would be cool if I was rich enough and fit enough to climb Everest.