Day 17: Hobbies
I always start the year with a plan to take up different hobbies, but that usually never happens. Perhaps you learned to knit, or started scrapbooking, or learned to play an instrument. Did you take up a new hobby in 2012? Do you plan to stick with it in 2013 or try something new?
So I’m lame. I didn’t take up any new hobbies in 2012. I essentially stuck to what I was already doing in 2011: dancing ballroom, conducting research, teaching, being nerdy and academic. But there was something that I was interested in taking up with my friends Jon and Edd that we never got around to. That hobby, my friends, is…rock climbing.
My friend Jon went once over the summer and was raving about it. And Edd did it over the summer in Seattle, from what I recall. I was the loser who had never done but was interested in trying. However, time passed and it is now 2013 and I’m still here, not yet having experienced the forearm soreness and hand blisters.
I do know someone who has had a lot of experience with rock climbing, and that is my roommate and friend, Jeremy Trombley (you should check out his blog here!). Since I have never experienced rock climbing myself, I thought I would take this post to ask him some questions about what motivated him to take up this very physical hobby.
Why did you start rock climbing in the first place?
A friend introduced me to it about two years ago. It’s just a really good exercise, it’s really fun, but it’s also mentally challenging, because it’s doing problems/puzzles. You have to think about how you’re going to move through the routes.
What is your favorite aspect about rock climbing?
Again, it’s the mental aspect. Also it’s always different. If you’re in a gym and you’re lifting weights or running on a treadmill, it can get kind of boring. It’s the same thing over and over again. But with rock climbing, it’s always different. I enjoy that. And also it gets me outside. I don’t do it outside a lot, but it’s a good outdoorsy thing to do.
What is your least favorite aspect about rock climbing?
It can be really frustrating when you’ve been working on a certain level of routes for a while and suddenly you can’t do those for whatever reason. So it can be frustrating.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start rock climbing?
Find a good gym in the area. They usually have beginners classes and days when beginners can go where there’s someone who can help them get started. Try some routes and see how you like it. It’s also good to have friends to go with you.
If there were a dream location where you could climb, where would that be?
Somewhere out West, or Utah. Utah is an amazing state in general and I love the landscape in Utah so there might be good places to climb there.
So there you go – I small snapshot into the mind of a seasoned rock climber. Perhaps I will take up this hobby in 2013. After all, the sky (and routes apparently) are the limit!
Go Jeremy Go!!
