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Chalk, with a hint of sweat. Not a familiar smell to me. The last time I had been rock climbing I was about 9 years old, so safe to say I am no rock climbing expert. Having no prior experience, I was a bit nervous to try it out. But hey, my motto is “try everything once,” so I decided to give it a go. 

When I walked into Climb Iowa in Grimes, I was immediately greeted with a warm, inviting approach by the assistant manager, Logan Dirksen. He had me fill out a waiver to ensure my safety while climbing, then guided me through the process of finding the right shoe size to rent and helped me find the appropriate fitting harness. To gain confidence and feel safe while climbing, the workers run you through a short orientation. 

I walked into the room filled with over 50 climbing apparatuses. I was a bit overwhelmed but continued out into the climbing room and set my belongings in a small cubby. I felt as though I was a bit out of place, but the leader of the orientation was awesome about making me feel comfortable by reassuring me that we all have to start somewhere. The orientation only lasted around five minutes and ended with the instructor having us climb halfway up a wall to ensure we knew the gist of what we were doing. 

After finishing the orientation, I had no clue what I was doing but just decided to go for it. The orientation was helpful, but I still felt a bit lost and had a huge pit in my stomach. I started with a decently easy wall that was on auto belay, meaning there wasn’t another person holding onto you at the end of the rope. The rocks on the walls were all different shapes, sizes and colors. Some were about the size of a cantaloupe, while others were as small as a grape. I climbed up with confidence and little hesitation due to the fact that the rocks had different levels starting from 5.5, which are the bigger rocks to hold onto and go up to about 5.13 for the more experienced climbers. The climbing walls were about 38 feet tall. Once I decided to venture out to the different walls, the staff members and the other climbers were happy to help me with any questions, as well as holding the other end of the rope. They have so many different walls, but the bouldering was my favorite. 

On the bouldering walls you are not attached to any rope and get to free climb. The area is covered in soft mats in case you fall, but something about this wall made me feel more adventurous and bold than any other. 

Although this was my favorite wall, each of them provided a unique experience. This place had such a good atmosphere, and everyone was extremely nice. I climbed for about an hour and would have climbed even longer if I was in better shape. It is definitely a better workout than I would ever expect, and I have a different respect for the people who do it all the time. 

Rock climbing is something that I would love to do again, and after this experience, I would even be interested in getting a membership. Climb Iowa offers more than just climbing with the membership including free yoga classes, rockwall access to both the Grimes location as well as the downtown Des Moines location, workshops, instructional classes and much more. For students to gain unlimited access, it is $51 each month. Although I am a college student and am balling on a budget, I do think it is something that would be worth paying for each month. Not only was it a great workout, but it was a blast to do. The energy of this place is amazing, and I have nothing but positive things to say about Climb Iowa. 

I didn’t think I was going to enjoy rock climbing here as much as I did. I didn’t feel like I would fit in, or even thought I had an interest in rock climbing. I was extremely surprised and I believe that my perspective and views have changed when it comes to rock climbing. If I had to rate Climb Iowa, I would give it five stars, due to the personable staff, the thorough orientation, and the overall amazing time that I had while being here.