When I first started rock climbing, I had no idea what I was doing.
My friend and I decided one day that we needed a new hobby, so we went out and bought some shoes, a couple of harnesses, a rope, and a bunch of fancy metal devices we didn’t know how to use. We decided that from then on we were rock climbers.
My friend became completely obsessed. He called me every day to climb, and I went with him as often as I could. But it wasn’t enough. He suddenly became very hard to get ahold of. He went out of town a lot, and when he was home he spent his time watching climbing videos and finding new places to climb.
I enjoyed climbing, but I couldn’t keep up with him. My friend had found a purpose for his existence. I had found a fun way to flirt with death on the weekends.
This was almost five years ago, and when I think back on all the fun I had rock climbing, I’m amazed that I never seriously hurt myself. I never learned any real techniques or safety precautions. When I tell people stories from my climbing days, all they do is shake their heads in disbelief.
Greg Paul, co-founder and chief marketing officer for Momentum Indoor Climbing, is an avid climber, skier, and mountain biker. But he doesn’t recommend my recklessness.
“Those mountains are beautiful, but they’re also
dangerous,” he says. “We don’t like to hear about the accidents up there because it reflects poorly on climbing.”
I realized while talking to Paul that I had never learned the proper respect. I have probably climbed more than one hundred routes in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons without even knowing how to belay someone correctly.
So I signed up for a class.
I decided to take the “Experience Momentum” class for beginners, which is $30 for 45 minutes, comes with shoes, harness, and belay device rental, as well as certification for top rope belay at all Momentum locations. After re-learning how to tie the figure-eight knot and hook up a belay device, I discovered that my climbing knowledge was not as bad as I thought. After a minor correction to my belay technique, I was ready to go.
Chris McFarland, climbing school director at Momentum, says the climbing gym has classes for every skill level.
“One of the great things about climbing is it’s very accessible to everybody,” he says.
But the best thing about rock climbing is you get a workout without even realizing it. McFarland says this is one of the biggest misconceptions about climbing — it doesn’t require a lot of arm strength, and most people don’t know that.
“Your hands are there to keep you on the wall, to keep you balanced, and you do pull a little bit,” he says. “But really good climbing technique finds the climber doing most of the movement with their legs.”
For those more interested in exercise than adventure, Momentum also has a fitness area with free weights, machines, and practice boards. They even offer a Crossfit-type course that focuses on full-body fitness and meets three days a week.
For Paul, the biggest draw of indoor climbing, especially for cash-strapped college students, is the price.
“To go skiing at Snowbird or Park City now is over $100 per day. Skis cost $850. Bindings cost another $200. Poles are in the $50s,” he says. “Add the clothes and the goggles, it’s an expensive sport.”
At Momentum, he says, you only pay $17 for a day pass and $5 to rent equipment. And don’t forget that it’s nearly impossible to get frostbite or hypothermia indoors — making it the ideal winter sport.
“The weather is always perfect inside Momentum,” Paul says.
That’s good enough for me. When I got home, I called my climbing friend, who I haven’t seen since he moved out of state. I told him that if he makes it back to Salt Lake City this winter, he can find me at the Millcreek Momentum, perfectly safe and perfectly warm. He said it’s about damn time.
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