new gyms

Ahoy,

I went for a visit to the up and coming Touchstone gym, LA.B, near downtown. The walls are so, so, so very tall. It's going to be so, so, so big. I'm pretty excited, as I'm sure everyone else in LA who climbs is, because it's about time something quality came around here. Hangar 18 has become known for not having water fountains, though novel, that is not a good thing to be known for. Nor is it impressive that they only change the sets once a year. I'm just growing ever more loyal to this gym with each passing day.

I first climbed at a Touchstone gym. They taught me how to top rope, and my climbing arsenal grew from there. Though I didn't climb many times there before I left the Bay Area, I'll always regard Touchstone gyms with a certain degree of nostalgia for where it all began, and the first time I climbed with A. For the following years, I would only occasionally go climbing, mostly when I went to visit A in LA. I didn't really get into climbing until NYC. In a moment of boredom and loneliness, I made the rash decision of joining the climbing club at school, and got a membership to the Manhattan Plaza Health Club. I tried to go 2 or 3, sometimes 4 times a week. It was really convenient because I could stop there after work on the way home. It was a small gym, but they had a new wall up every week and the staff and climbers were always nice. With the club, I'd sometimes go out to Brooklyn Boulders or the Gunks for day trips.

We recently learned how to lead climb, which is a new frontier I'm happy to pursue. Though we boulder a lot, I've always enjoyed the ropes more and am eager to do new things.

grippingly dangled,
jt