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I had always wanted to rock climb, even though I grew up in Louisiana, the flattest state in America- literally, even Kansas has a local crag. As a teenager, I often went camping in Arkansas and overheard climbers talking up the latest equipment and sojourns up the Ozarks’ tallest peaks. Their steely-cool confidence and hunger for adventure enticed me and left me wanting to trade in my old-school external frame backpack for their sleek climbing shoes and vertical aspirations. What was the point of pitching a tent and sitting around a campfire when I could be climbing high and seeing the world from a whole new perspective?

Eventually, I found myself climbing rocks just outside Denali National Park in Alaska. The thrill of climbing didn’t disappoint. I was hooked immediately and until my son was born, climbing preoccupied my daily life. Where could I climb next? How could I get stronger? Which anchors would be the most bomb-proof? Oh, those days still make me smile. The physical tests, mental gymnastics, friends I made, and pristine landscapes, I soaked them all in with enduring passion. Every week I climbed four days outside. My goal was to see how far I could push myself, and at night I exhaled the sweet exhaustion of the day. I found liberation from my thoughts, worries, and daily grind in rock climbing. Everything else seemed so simple when I was climbing. The cool-headed mentality I gained through the sport carried over into my personal and professional life. Climbing taught me persistence and the joy of seeing my goals come to fruition. Climbing also gave me my husband, Eric. A good climbing friend of mine introduced us after they returned from a climbing trip to Peru. Eric and I started climbing together, and after a few fun-filled day trips, we hit the road for a summer in Colorado. We developed an easy partnership, one filled with trust and laughter. During that summer, we experienced cold temperatures, two scary bear encounters, and an irreparable, broken-down car. Looking back, we always say if we survived those tests, we should have figured we were in the relationship for the long-haul.

My climbing adventures with my husband continued, but I always made room for climbing with my women friends. The women climbers I met were tenacious, smart, and surprisingly non-competitive. We always pushed each other and celebrated our feats with genuine support and deep friendships. Even though climbing seems to require the brute strength of a man, it complements women too. Here’s my theory. First, what we lack in upper strength, we make up for in strategy and technique. Second, climbing is really a selfish sport. When climbing, you are completely focusing on yourself in the present moment, an unfamiliar feeling to lots of women. We are always nurturing someone other than ourselves. So climbing gives us a break from worrying about other people, and we just really let go and temporarily consume ourselves in the present moment. Finally, and hopefully of no offense, lots of male climbers use climbing as an escape from reality. They become climbing bums, giving up their jobs, living out of their cars, and cutting loose from their obligations to others. I’ve found that women, on the other hand, use climbing as a tool to strengthen their realities. Most women climbers don’t check out of society. On the contrary, they harness the confidence they gain from climbing to the responsibilities in their lives, making them more resolute toward achieving their goals. It’s not that I DON’T know any remarkable male climbers because I do, but the women I’ve met blew me away with their success on and off the rocks.

As I’ve settled down in Austin, got married, and had a son, I’ve kept up with most of my climbing girlfriends. Now most of us have kiddos, and we find ourselves calling each other more for parenting advice then for planning climbing trips. Even though we certainly do not climb as often as we used to, we still love to climb and have incorporated our kiddos into the sport. Infants and toddlers definitely add a slew of logistical issues to getting outside for some climbing, and that reality does dampen the fun a bit. All climbing is now squeezed in between feedings, naps, colds, temper tantrums, weather conditions, oh the list goes on… However, fortunately, Austin offers many local rock climbing opportunities with easy, short hikes to walls- perfect for mammas and kids.

Austin’s 7.9 mile long Barton Creek Greenbelt offers both bouldering and sport climbing at all levels. Here’s how to access three of the most popular walls:

Seismic Wall- Take Mopac to 360. Take 360 south and go under Mopac to a stoplight. Turn left at the light and park at the Barton Creek access trail. To reach the wall, walk down the trail about half mile and cross the creek. This wall is great for beginners, and it has shade along with flat ground for children to play.

Gus Fruh- From Barton Springs Rd, head south on Lamar and turn right on Barton Skyway. Continue to the stop sign at Barton Hills and turn left. Continue for about half mile. You’ll see the signs for the “Gus Fruh” parking on the right. Follow the trail downhill and cross the creek. After crossing take the trail to the right and you’ll see the bolted wall. Gus Fruh has fun climbs for beginners and intermediates. I also really like bouldering around this area. My son loves to march up and down this trail.

New Wall- From Mopac take the Barton Skyway Exit and head east down to the greenbelt. Park at the bottom of the hill where the road T’s. There is a small corner store and a great taco place right there. Take the trail down hill and then turn right at the T. This hiker is slightly longer than the other areas, about 1 mile. You’ll see the bolted wall on your right. New Wall has really fun and forearm pumping climbs for those of you wanting to push your difficulty level. There are some beginner climbs there, but the rock is a bit more polished so they seem a bit harder. Bull Creek-Take Mopac to 2222. Exit and head west towards the hills. Continue for several miles and turn right onto Lakewood. (It is the last right before you hit 360.) Follow Lakewood until your reach the park. You’ll see some big chunky boulders to the right. Bring your crash pads and enjoy the bouldering at this “hike-free” spot. On one side of the boulders there is a perfect flat area for kids to sit and play.

Sunken Gardens- From Lamar turn right onto Barton Springs. Turn left at Robert E. Lee and park at the first parking lot. Sunken Gardens, just outside the doggie zone of Barton Springs, is a triple ringed, enclosed stone structure, built between 1935-38 by the National Youth Administration. The bottom circle is fenced off to protect the Barton Springs salamanders, but the top two circles are great for bouldering. The walls are short and the ground is level dirt and grass. I rarely even bring a crash pad to this area.

You can also try climbing indoors. Austin Rock Gym has two locations. Climbing indoors is especially nice during inclement weather. The gym has a safe and relaxed environment for the kiddos. ARG also hosts two Ladies Nights per week. No, Ladies Nights do not feature free drinks, but free climbing instruction by local women climbers!

Posted by livemom on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 10:19 am | 2 Comments » You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.