Mesa Rim

So this blog is called 'Watch Ed Build', so you probably expect me to build something at some point. To write a post where I talk about fixing or creating something. Well, this post is not that post. This is the post in which I discuss the wonders of rock climbing, and my gym in particular!

I've been climbing off and on for several years, but in the past year I've started going regularly to a gym with a buddy and working on my top rope and bouldering skills. I have to note about Mesa Rim, it is for certain the best climbing facility in San Diego, and I can say that, having tried them all. The walls top out at fifty two feet, the tallest indoor walls in San Diego, and the routes are constantly being updated by a really talented setting team. There are about seventy individual top ropes set up, plus a number of routes for lead climbing (lead climbing being the practice of bringing the rope up with you as you go). The ropes are also regularly replaced, which matters rather a lot, as ropes do not age well.

The bouldering area is also pretty excellent, offering a variety of inclines and heights and a couple of caves. The best part to my mind is the fully padded flooring, which makes any fall a painless tumble. In many other gyms, they keep a number of pads that you have to drag around and put down underneath where you'll be climbing, which provide all the cushioning of a sack of rocks. Actually, that may not be strictly true of all of them, but I had a bad experience the other week, so I'm gonna assume that they all do. For reference, if you're going to Vertical Hold, get two or three pads to make sure you're covered. Whatever part of your anatomy absorbs the impact will thank you.

A final word on the facilities: they evidently have a hot yoga room, a really solid gym, showers and a sauna. I haven't taken advantage of the sauna or the yoga room, but it's nice to know they're there. My last word on the place in general is that the staff is pretty excellent. They're helpful and friendly as all get out. And Allyson Boyd's boot camp class regularly beats the living tar out of me, and keeps me coming back for more.

Now, I've had a hard time trying to come up with a way to show my climbing on this blog. I've seen very clever things done with photography, taking a number of pictures and then making a mosaic out of them to show the progress up the wall. I've thought about using one of those nice GoPro cameras to perhaps record my ascent, but I don't have one, and also I'd look really silly wearing one on my head around the gym. So I'll work on coming up with a good way to demonstrate that and get back to you. 'Til next time!