Climbing Fun

Climbing Friends

A few of Ben's friends came over yesterday to help with a portion of the climbing wall.

Ben took a few test climbs...

Building an Indoor Climbing Wall

Ben has done a lot of indoor climbing with friends this year at Vertical World in Everett and Stone Gardens in Seattle. They were trying to decide if they might like to get a monthly membership to one of the gyms so they could climb a few times a week whenever they wanted. Then Ben noticed a corner wall in our garage that had some good climbing wall potential. And so the indoor climbing wall project began.

As usual, Ben did a good deal of research about what would be involved, talked with people, analyzed the space, made some designs, calculated costs, and set a project budget. After he figured out his plan, he began by cleaning up the garage and organizing things to make the space he needed. We made a couple trips to the lumber store for plywood, 2x4s, and screws, and he ordered some climbing holds and brackets for the wall. Then the real fun began.

Ben was happy when the supplies arrived.

He sorted and counted everything in order to plan a grid for the wall.

The climbing holds can be arranged in a variety of patterns along a grid so the climbing routes can be changed to make them simpler or more complex.

Stay tuned for more photos.

Almost Spring

I enjoyed a lovely bike ride last week, and along the way saw a few beautiful signs of spring approaching. I captured some photos during my trip, and when I got home, took a few more.

Daffodils emerging

Heather in bloom

A bed of primroses

Plum tree buds

Bluebells sprouting up through a mulch of leaves

First crocus in our front yard