This weekend my family and I hit the snowy highways to visit some family in Kelowna B.C. It’s got to be done, this family visiting, and doing it before the roads get even worse is paramount.
We rolled into Kelowna in the road-grime encased Ford E250 Van and immediately the warm feeling of family enveloped our days. We sledded, had fires in the snow, ate incredible dinners and drank beer by the fire. We went on morning runs and helped fix water pumps and built ridiculous snowmen wearing overalls.
One of our tick list items, urged on by the family we were visiting, was to visit the new Kelowna climbing gym, Gneiss Climbing. Pronounced “nice,” Gneiss Climbing is Kelowna’s newest bouldering gym.
Honestly, it was refreshing to have someone else piping up about going to the climbing gym for once, and taking my little nephews, my daughter, and my sister and brother-in-laws there was a dream come true. Why? Usually, it’s me who’s pining away for a break from family visiting so I can climb a bit, stretch the bones and train a little but it falls on scoffing ears who call me selfish. I’m the Uncle who does nothing but climb. Therefore, I was ecstatic to be asked to take the extended family to a new gym in their own town. My little girl Anik is no stranger to climbing in a gym but my nephews Nico and Luca had never been, and their father, my brother in law Jeff, was a complete first timer. As we entered, their eyes opened wider and wider. This was going to be fun. Immediately Jeff picked up on the unique blend of physical and mental problem solving involved in bouldering. The facility had just held a competition the day before so the “comp problems” were still up. This meant more creative, wacky and mind-bending climbing than is normally found in a gym. The kids instantly understood what to do — it is just so instinctive an activity. At every problem I tried, I chatted with, exchanged beta and encouraged the climbers around me and they did the same for me.
While we all boulder individually, it’s the social connections that really impress me and leave me loving the activity more. Jeff picked up on this too, remarking that you’d never really be alone in a gym like this even though he didn’t know a soul there. Watching and spotting my little girl on a problem while a host of adults cheered her on; a stranger giving beta and encouragement to my brother in law Jeff while he grappled with indoor bouldering for the very first time, or fist bumping a congrats to my wife as she succeeds on a problem while our daughter cheers her on a little too loudly —indoor bouldering can really showcase the best in climbing in a single moment.
We left with smiles on our faces and tired arms at our sides. I may not ever convert the whole family to climbing, but it’s worth a try.
