Rock Climbing at Petra Cliffs

Yoga instructor and event producer Jane Jarecki (www.liberatevt.com, www.janeyoga.com, www.burlingtonyogaconference.com) and I (Taraleigh) decided that we wanted to try rock climbing for the first time together. We went to Burlington's best rock climbing gym, Petra Cliffs. When we arrived we met our instructor, Eli. He set us up with shoes (tip...if they look too small and are really tight, that is the correct size), a harness, and some chalk. Jane and I were confident that we would be rock stars because we are so athletic. I forgot that I'm not as athletic as I used to be when I was a cheerleader. I'm still strong, but I'm not flipping twenty times across a basketball court strong anymore. Now I'm regular person who runs, walks everywhere, takes yoga classes, and dances at shows.

Eli explained all the basics and at first he held the rope for us as we climbed up the wall. We conquered the first track with ease, but I think that is the one that five year olds can tackle with ease as well, but we felt cool anyways. Here we are rockin out and up!

Since we were so awesome, Eli let us hold the ropes for each other. We didn't drop each other and we were ready to move on to a harder track. This one was much harder. It was rated a 5.7 which means that your grandmother would have trouble getting to the top...we did too. My arms were tired. They weren't burning, but they just stopped working. I wanted to reach up to grap the next peg, but my arm just wouldn't go. I felt wimpy, but realized that it was my first time. I got much further than I ever would have if is wasn't for Eli and Jane. They were cheering me on and they yelled things such as, "You can do it! You are a rockstar! Push push! Yay!" Here are some pics of Jane and I tackling a much harder track.

Now we can go together whenever we want thanks to Eli's expertise! Watch out rock climbing world. http://www.petracliffs.com