What is Arno's Place? Well, you may think it's a bar...but it's certainly not. Arno is Fred's friend - he's a biologist who works with Fred and lives nearby in Rio. And in his apartment, he has a climbing wall. Yes, in his apartment. It's not a fancy place at all, mind you, but Arno has successfully built an 8-foot by 12-foot climbing wall contraption that KICKS MY ASS EVERY TIME.
The wall is angled so that you are always hanging off - 100% negative all the time. For you climbers, the easiest route (the "warm-up" for everyone but me) is a 5.10b. The goal at Arno's Place is to do as many climbing moves as you can - because the wall is short, you move up, then to the left, then to the right, then down, then back up, etc. Arno has developed about 20 routes that range in difficulty from said "warm-up" to 5.14's.
So, as I said, we go to Arno's Place on Mondays and Wednesdays. So far, I'm very much enjoying it (though my hands are becoming quite calloused and I need to keep in mind that I use them for my JOB). But, I have to confess, there is a part of it that I REALLY love! You see, I'm the only girl there. They've tried to recruit women, but apparently nobody is comfortable enough to climb with the boys, and the few that have tried have given up. Sad, sad, sad, ladies! Do you know what you are missing??? 7 rock climber men with AMAZING backs all climbing with no shirts on while I sit behind them and watch for 2 hours!! I'm serious - this is what I get to do 2x per week and my boyfriend encourages it!
I'm going to bring my camera next week so I can post some pics of the back -er, the wall. It's really cool...ok, off to ice my fingers. You think I'm kidding?
2 comments:
There is nothing sexier than a chisled back. Definitely post pictures!
pics please!
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