17 Feb Rock Climbing at Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona

Clinging on with all my strength, my legs started shaking and I could tell I was about to fall. As I slid off and went smashing into the rocks, I could feel the harness catch me, and I bounced into the side of the wall. Thankfully, I wasn’t very high and because I was harnessed in I couldn’t do too much damage.

Rock climbing has always been something that interested me, but I didn’t think I’d be very good at it, to be honest. My arms are pretty wimpy to say the least. That being said, I love challenging myself and trying new things, so I was excited when we finally had the chance to give it a go.

We were in Arizona and filming a video for Best Western, and Bobby, our agency contact who happens to be an avid rock climber, took us out for some morning climbing. With an early wake up call, we ended up going rock climbing at Camelback Mountain, and we reached our destination right around sunrise.

Camelback Mountain has multiple climbing routes, but it isn’t necessarily a highly regarded site. It’s not very challenging as far as rock climbing goes, but we all ended up enjoying it nonetheless. I was especially happy that we were the only ones along the climbing routes–there were plenty of hikers, but we had peace and quiet back in our little area.

There is a brand new parking lot open at the base of the mountain, and since we arrived so early it was still pretty empty. The hike up to the climbing routes took us about 10-15 minutes, and while it was fairly easy, it still wore me out.

Once we arrived, Bobby and his friend got the ropes and equipment all set up, while Micah and I got the camera gear ready for some filming. I couldn’t help but get distracted by the sun that was starting to spill over the city below us–it created a beautiful view from where we were standing.

Soon enough, it was time to get climbing. Neither Micah nor I have been climbing outside, but we’ve both tried the indoor rock climbing walls. Even though we were climbing roughly the same grade, I found the outdoor climbing to be much easier–I think it was because I had more options for hand and foot placement. When we were on the indoor wall, I couldn’t reach my next handles and unfortunately, I just gave up! When we were outside, I would say I got about halfway up the 70 ft. wall. Right when I reached a spot that started to get a bit more challenging, Bobby’s friend who was belaying me had to get going, so I decided to make my way back down. It was a rather convenient excuse anyways because I didn’t really feel like challenging myself too much that morning (I am not a morning person at all)–plus, my arms were already pretty sore! On my second attempt, I didn’t make it quite as far, and that’s when I fell. After smashing into the rocks, I was pretty bruised up and knew I was done for the day.

Micah on the other hand was pretty awesome at climbing! He made it all the way to the top of both climbs with what looked like no problem at all, and for being his first time, I have to say I was impressed!

It was really fun to get a quick peek into a new sport–I was so surprised how we were able to climb on what looked like such small holds. I absolutely loved it and really want to get out to try it again sometime soon. Even the little bit of climbing I did felt like such an amazing accomplishment. Now, all I have to do in the meantime is start lifting some weights so my arms aren’t quite so wimpy!