Dangling hundreds of miles above ground, Tom Cruise miraculously makes his way across a scalding mountain, holding on with only his hands. However, in reality Cruise is as safe as any indoor rock climber, securely harnessed, and not five feet off the ground. As regular sports become dull, more and more adults are opting for indoor rock climbing as a way of exercise and bonding. Since lessons are not required, many find this an easy and enjoyable activity to begin.
“All you have to do is sign your life away,” rock climber Jesse Keast says, referring to the liability forms.
Rock climbing with artificial footholds began around the 1920s, opening up the sport to amateurs, attracting more challengers and eventually moving indoors. As lifestyles speed up, indoor exercising grows in popularity.
“I’d say the number of people probably tripled,” rock climber and Rei employee Ngan Nguyen said. “Here, the shoes are just flying off the racks.”
The different challenges offered to these athletes include bouldering, top-roping and lead-climbing. In bouldering, the athlete is not harnessed, and the object to be conquered is a large, some 10 to 15-foot high rock with various footholds. The only protection here is a softly padded ground. In bouldering, there are 10 levels of difficulties, labeled V0-V16, determined by the respective setters.
Top-roping, on the contrary, is based on a wall. With another person constantly looking out, the climber won’t fall more than a foot or two, and this is what beginners often start with. Lead-climbing requires a higher level of expertise, and the injuries can be more serious. National statistics show the highest percentage of injuries in the past year resulted from lead-climbing, as the climber is responsible for creating their own safety net.
Another attraction to indoor rock climbing is the safety provided. As long as you use basic common sense, Nguyen said, you shouldn’t get hurt.
“Last injury I saw, some kid jumped off a boulder, which you shouldn’t be doing anyways, and missed the padding. Common sense.” to choose from, the most popular being Planet Granite, located in Santa Clara. Other facilities include Rock City Climbing Center in Anaheim and REI in Cupertino. For students, membership rates generally range from thirty dollars to fifty dollars a month, or three hundred dollars to five hundred dollars a year. Some facilities may also charge a rental fee.
This alternative to the great outdoors may not be ideal, but is much more convenient. To go outdoors, equipment must be bought or rented at sports stores such as Any Mountain and REI.
The main reason indoor rock climbing is steadily increasing in popularity, Any Mountain employee says, is its relative easiness to begin, and the safety offered by indoor facilities. The most common injuries are seen from high leveled climbers pushing themselves too hard, rather than beginners making mistakes. Outdoors is a different story altogether.
Indoor rock climbing is also an effective way to build a foundation for other more advanced activities, such as mountaineering and ice climbing. A word of advice is to work up the body first. A bumper sticker reads “physical limitations are nothing” and the employees, two of them former rock climbers, laugh, saying physical limitation is everything.
One of the most important aspects is to have the right gear. Rock climbers are advised to get shoes a half size lower than what they usually wear. This creates more support and allows the climber to squeeze into smaller footholds while climbing. rock climbing has become the next best thing. Not everyone can be an MI agent, but this is a way to work towards one.

BOULDERING

A climber who boulders doesn’t need to use a rope because the wall is low enough for the climber to land safely on the ground.

INSIDER RATING - BOULDERING

The rating scale V0-V16 determines the difficulty of a climb when bouldering. According to Spadout.com V1 is an easy climb, and V16 is a very hard climb. Higher level requires more strength, and good climbing techniques because the wall has less and smaller holes to put feet and hands.

ROPE CLIMBING

There are two different styles of rope-climbing: top-roping and lead-climbing. In lead-climbing, the rope is attached to the top of the wall and to a “belaying” person who stands on the ground. In top-roping the climber clips the rope onto anchors on the wall while climbing, and the rope is attached to a person on the ground.

INSIDER RATING - ROPE CLIMBING

Yosemite Decimal System 5.10-5.15 is used to establish the difficulty of a climb in rope climbing. According to Spadout.com, 5.10 is an easy climb and the highest level 5.15 is an extremely difficult climb.

PLANET GRANITE
(408) 991-9090
815 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale
Mon-Fri 6a-11p, Sat 8a-8p, Sun 8a-6p
Fees adult day pass $17
Morning pass $12
Student Mon –Fri before 5p $12
http://www.planetgranite.com/
Planet Granite is a large climbing gym that offers crack, rope, lead and boulder climbing for all levels. They also teach a variety of classes for those who are interested in learning more about climbing.

CITY BEACH
(510) 651-2500
4020 Technology Place, Fremont
Mon- Thur 11a-11p, Fri-Sat 11a-10p,
Sun 11a-6p
Fees adult day pass $15
11 visits adult punch pass $130
http://www.citybeach.com/sports
City beach offers over 16,000 sq. feet of climbing to cater all levels. They also have rock climbing classes for all levels.

TWISTERS SPORT
(650) 967-5581 Ext. x 311
2639 Terminal Boulevard, Mt. View
Mon-Fri 4p-10p, Sat 10a-6p, Sun 10a-5p
Fees adult day pass $12
Student and Teacher $9
http://www.twisterssportscenter.com/
Twisters Sport has a friendly staff that are passionate about rock climbing. They offer belaying and basic climbing classes.

PACIFIC EDGE
(831)-454-9254
104 Bronson Street #12, Santa Cruz
Mon 4p-10p, Tues 8a-10p, Wed 10a-10p, Thurs 8a-10p, Fri 10a-10p, Sat 10a-8p, Sun 10a-8p
Fees adult one day pass $14
5 day card $63
10 day card $115
http://www.pacificedgeclimbinggym.com/
Pacific Edge’s facility offers 14,000 square feet of climbing. They have a variety of classes from learning about the basic skills to how to climb with an advanced technical technique.

REI
(408) 871-8765
400 El Paseo de Saratoga, San Jose
Mon-Fri 10a-9p, Sat 10a-6p, Sun 10a-6p Thurs 3p-7p.
Fees adult $5 & REI members free
http://www.rei.com
REI is a retail store for those who love the outdoor life. But they also have climbing walls that are open to the public on Thursdays, they offer basic rock climbing classes too.

STUDENT ROCK CLIMBER
JESSE KEAST

by Patty Chao

“Again?!” Planet Granite employee exclaims when Jesse Keast sheepishly reveals he has lost his membership card. For the third time.
Keast used to rock climb with his ex-girlfriend. After a lapse time, he picked it up again with his brother. When the venue he climbed at in Santa Clara closed down, he began to visit Planet Granite. Keast, a full time student, is also a full time rock climber. Now, he rock climbs four times a week, three hours at a time.
“The appeal of it is that it’s a sport, and there are always new routes and new problems,” Keast said.
At indoor rock climbing facilities, two different challenges are offered: bouldering and the wall, each ranging several levels.
“The easiest ones are like climbing up a ladder. You grab a hold, and the next one is right there for you,” Keast said.
Although Keast is no amateur, often tackling V5s and V6s in bouldering (on a scale of V0-V16), he always starts out with the first levels and stretches to prevent injuries.
Rock climbing injuries are usually muscle-related, Keast explains, because an average person is not used to applying so much force to their joints and arm muscles. After a deep sip of energy drink, Keast relates to the time his tendons almost came off his bone.
“It was swollen up to this big,” Keast said, tracing a tennis ball sized area around his finger joint.
As a result, Keast advises beginners to take it slow. Although he has had no professional training, Keast looks every bit like the pro. Inside his duffel bag are all sorts of rock climbing gear, from a harness to a license to belay or control the slack in another climber’s safety line.
Though he mostly boulders, Keast wishes to try more lead-climbing, in which he had to take a two and a half hour class for. Rock climbing amateurs are required to start out with top-roping, as the falling distance for lead climbing is much greater. However, Keast enjoyed the heightened danger.
“To be honest, my favorite part of the class was falling,” Keast laughs.
Though not yet a professional, Keast has definitely reached a “respectable level”. Started as just an interest one and a half years ago, it is now a necessity in his life. Balancing school work is already a task, but Keast is always sure to make time for rock climbing.
“If I don’t do it, I just don’t feel right.”