Imagine a rainy day on a lake in Maine and the joy of finding Salt Pump Climbing in Portland, Maine (http://www.saltpumpclimbing.com) just a half-hour drive away. Salt Pump is a colourful, spacious place populated by friendly enthusiasts. It sits beside an unnamed pond, with huge windows overlooking the water and surrounding woods. Staff were welcoming and especially encouraging to the first-time climbers in our group. I visited with family and friends who were nervous about trying the sport, and I'm pleased to say that they are now hooked and searching for climbing gyms where they live in North Carolina and Connecticut.
In keeping with the theme of 'first climbs' that I intend to explore at The Reach, I plan to ask my cohorts to write a little something about their experiences that day to get things started. Look for them here in the days to come; a little taste of things to come.
This is me on an 5.6-grade auto-belay route (comparison chart here:http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/comptable.html). It was so good to get back on the wall!
