The Front

The air was a thick haze like you used to see in a bar.  The guy in front of me in line bought a good sized zip-loc bag filled with pure white powder.  Was this some strange druggie hangout I had just walked in to?  No, the haze in the air, and the contents of the bag were one and the same, climber's chalk.  I found a nearby bouldering gym online.  As it turns out it's located just behind the Wal-Mart that I went to for my school supplies.  I bought a day pass to "The Front" which gave me access to the weight room, the tread mills, the yoga room, and of course the bouldering wall; all for $15.00.  I did have to rent shoes for an additional $5.00, but I'd say it was money well spent. 
The wall was about 15 feet high and a couple hundred feet long.  There were enough people there to confirm that this wasn't some shady fly-by-night operation, but it was by no means overcrowded.  there were no top-ropes like I was used to at the rock climbing gyms I had been to in Arizona, but those had 45 foot walls, and I preferred this.  I didn't need anyone to belay me, and there were ample amounts of padding on the floor to save me even if I completely fell flat on my back. 
It only took a few ascents for me to realize that I do not have the forearm strength required for this kind of climbing.  there were only a few very small sections that were not inclined to some degree, and thus I needed to have a very strong grip to keep my body on the wall.  On my first climb I got near the top and tried a dynamic move (where you swing to reach a handhold and aren't necessarily holding onto anything while you're moving) and scraped my arm.  I had to keep caking chalk onto it to keep it from bleeding.  I tried a few of the more difficult climbs, and kept going back again and again to the wall.  Each attempt (even on the easy routes) took a huge toll on my wrists and forearms.  After about an hour I couldn't support my own body weight from one hand, which made climbing nearly impossible.  I guess I just need to keep going back frequently to strengthen my arms and get those muscle groups to wake up and get to work. 
I had a blast though.  There was a nice variety of people.  A couple of kids (who must have barely started high school) were fairly proficient at kicking my butt on every route I tried.  I guess I'm really not that good at climbing after all, but then again it has been more than a year since I've been to a climbing gym.  There was also a cute toddler who was there climbing with his dad; he even had his own tiny chalk bag clipped to his belt.  I wanna have one of those when I grow up (a kid who can climb that is).
I think I stayed at it for almost two hours,then determined that I had inhaled enough chalk dust and that my hands could no longer grip enough to make this fun.  I'm looking forward to having more endurance so I can keep at it, and then I might be ready for some real climbs this summer in Moab, or Zion.  But for now my hands won't do the simplest tasks I tell them to.  Tying shoes, opening the car door, starting the car, and texting is all very challenging.  Heck, I've been working at this pop-tart wrapper for five minutes now!