While on this Floorball-focused trip to Europe (13 days until my team meets up!) I’m trying to find available time to climb in gyms near where I’m staying. Being out of the climbing routine for 3 months has been hard, especially when I show up to a new gym. I pay for a day pass, rent a harness, get tested on my belay skills, and finally I’m ready to survey the land.
If you don’t know much about climbing, it’s a great sport to get into. In the 6 months I was climbing before my trip, I progressed in bouldering from V0 grades to projecting V4s, and from top-rope climbing 5.9s to sending 5.10bs and even practicing lead. Obviously, in the world of climbing, I have a lot of technique to learn and a lot of tendon strength to work up to, but gaining that much endurance and muscle strength in just a few months felt amazing.
So, while I can’t climb regularly while on my trip, finding the occasional gym has been very fun and rewarding. However, to go from climbing in my home gym in Fresno in August to now climbing in Norther Europe has been a bit of a shock as far as temperature!
Luckily, climbing is popular in Europe, and I found gyms in Linköping, Glasgow (inside an old church!), Edinburgh, and Dublin. Mind you, once I actually show up and get ready to climb, I realize just how long I’ve been away. Part of me is slightly discouraged, and disappointed all of that work I put in before my trip feels wasted, but after a few routes my arms don’t feel so bad and I don’t feel so heavy. My hands were screaming a bit from becoming decently soft in my time off, so I definitely need to bring those callouses back!
Taking a reluctant break is hard, but climbing again feels wonderful and I absolutely can’t wait to get back to regular gym time when I get back home <3
