I love being outside, even in the winter.  There are some days, however, when Mother Nature throws a hissy fit and starts blowing everything all over the place, as witnessed by the pages of yesterday's newspaper swirling around and accumulating in my front yard.  These wind-chilled days where the perceived temperature is like -50 F (okay, I'm exaggerating) often dissuades me from going for a run or -- worse -- go for a bike ride, lest I get blown off the road and my fingers and toes go numb from near-frostbite.

So what to do on those days -- stay inside, lay on the couch and watch reruns of Grey's Anatomy?  Yesss!  I mean, sometimes.  Other times I prefer to be a little more active (keeps me warmer. :)) 

There are several sports one can do inside, of course, if you can stand the snooze-inducing monotony of some of them.  Take pedaling on a stationary bike, for example.  I think my personal record for being on one of those is about 8.5 minutes.  After that I was dripping sweat all over the machine and instead of feeling inspired like Lance Armstrong, I felt more like Roberto Duran in his second match against Sugar Ray Leonard, screaming, "¡No mas!  ¡No mas!"

There are other indoor activities which are more fun, of course, such as bowling.  Then again, bowling isn't exactly a sport, at least if you've seen me play.  The strength and skill required for me to gutter the ball every few minutes is little to none.

My nomination, then, for best indoor sport is this: indoor rock climbing.

Rock climbing requires balance, strength, flexibility, and a little bit of guts.  Unlike many repetitive sports (e.g., running), it also requires some brain cells.  I've heard of climbing being compared to chess in some circles because it often requires thinking a little bit in advance -- looking for the next holds, plotting one's next moves, etc.  Sequence is often important.

Unlike, say, bowling, one is actually accomplishing something useful: getting to the top of a wall.  Ok, so it is little bit of a stretch to call this "useful," unless you are Spiderman and have to rescue people from the side of the 100th floor along a skyscraper.  But in theory, it is!  I mean, what if you locked yourself out of your house and the only way in was through a sliding door on the second floor?  (Call a locksmith.)  Or your cat was stuck on the top of a tree and refused to come down?  (Call a fireman.)  Ok, ok...

From a practical standpoint, indoor climbing has a number of advantages over outdoor climbing, including not having to set up anchors, being able to do a lot more climbs in a limited amount of time, arguably being safer, etc.  Not to mention not freezing off your digits on those -50 degree days.

Finally, indoor rock climbing can be a very social sport.  Between tying in and taking a breather between routes, there is ample opportunity to talk to others.  Unlike in, say, cycling, where one has to shout above the wind to another rider behind between gasps of air, one can converse at a perfectly normal and comfortable volume and pace inside a gym.

Now if I had a few more regular rock climbing partners.  I have monthly membership at the Gym of the Rockies, with a few free guest passes.  If you are interested in climbing or having someone show you the ropes, drop me a line at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or sign the comment form below.  Have fun!

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