If you live in a city – then a good activity during the weekday evenings is indoor climbing. I am fortunate to live close to the Sydney Indoor Climbing Gym at St Peters. It is an excellent place to go for some exercise, some bouldering and also of course some climbing. It is also a good place to catch up with friends to see what they have been doing and a place to make plans for trips on the coming weekend.
Most of the climbs are set up with top ropes. One person climbs and your climbing partner belays. If you bring your own ripe along then then you can lead climbs. These normally go up the steeper walls of the gym. When you lead, you need to thread your rope through quick-draws that are fixed to the gym walls. Your partner has to provide their own belaying gear and have undergone a lead belay test.
There is a wide range of different climbs that you can do. The shortest climbs in the main room are slabs. These require careful balance using often very crispy holds. There are also much higher climbs that go up walls, arêtes, corners etc. There is even one place with a stalactite that you climb.
The Sydney Indoor Climbing Gym has a relatively new sister facility at Villawood. I have only been there twice. It is about the same size as the one at St Peters – and it also has an excellent range of quality climbs.
