Photos by jpearl

Yes, I am a Gym Rat indeed. Outdoors, that translates to "Rope Bitch". It was only fitting that I honor those esteemed titles with a hand-crafted tee shirt for a day of TR climbing at Peterskill.

After a brutal New York winter (i.e. way too much indoor climbing!), this late April weekend was a pleasant relief. The temps hit near summer warmth as we visited Peterskill for some top-rope climbing. Taino did a brilliant job setting anchors as we worked seven different routes that day. Ryan used my one megapixel camera to grab a shot of me working the 5.7 Cuba Libra on the Little Havana wall. Here I'm exiting the crack and going into the final sections of the climb.

Taino is a master route setter. When he is not setting friendly routes for beginners, he's setting evil routes for more experienced climbers. Here he self-belayed to get a shot of me sending the umpteenth crux on his brilliant "Across Tic" at the City Climbers Club 59th Street gym in NYC. This crux consists of two crimps, a foot chip, and nothing else. Lots of fun for everyone except your fingers!

We've seen face shots and we've seen too many "butt-shots", but I think this may be the first ever "hands and feet" shot. Taino self-belayed to grab some shots of me climbing his "Uncle Jumar" route. Taking full advantage of wall space and a keen sense of outdoor climbing, Tai included a great hand-smear sequence as the only way out of the corner and over the roof. Definetly some Gunks thinking there!

First and foremost, GoVertical in Stamford, Connecticut is an awesome indoor climbing centre. The facility is expansive and creative, and the staff is super-friendly. I handed Adam my camera as I worked the cave under the freestanding boulder in the middle of the gym. As a maxim, I don't climb competivelly, but I still had a great time working the routes left over from a recent bouldering comp. I think I scored 200 points for this one!

Who says indoor gyms can't be beautiful? Adam snapped this shot of me finishing up a cave route at Go Vertical in Stamford, Connecticut. Since I don't get outdoors too much, I have to let my climbing imagination run wild sometimes. I looked at this picture of me surrounded by wood, plastic, and air (and coloured tape) and imagined it all to be alpine in nature, though I really was only about 10 feet above sea level and less than a quarter-mile from Long Island Sound at the time. Go Vertical is an awesome indoor climbing centre and totally worth a visit.

On an icy Sunday in February 2003, Alpine Endeavors led a group of intrepid members from the New York City-based Jewish Outdoors Club (JOC) for a day of Ice Climbing at Deep Notch in the High Catskills. Mike from Alpine Endeavors, a fine climber, expert guide, and all-around great person, snapped this shot of me scaling one of the three easy topropes he and his assistant Cody set that day. This was my first experience on ice which was a nice way to break up the monotany of winter gym climbing in NYC.

Climbers are a wonderful lot indeed. Sophie, a very experienced climber and friendly soul met me while climbing at the 59th street City Climbers Club in NYC. She was dismayed to hear that 99% of my three years of climbing was spent in a gym and boulders in Central Park (and all of one day at the Gunks). She insisted that I join her for three days of "real" climbing at Rumney where she taught me about the ins and outs of sport climbing. This shot was taken by a spectator as I climbed clean-up on a 5.8, though I don't remember which crag or route it was. Climbing was great at Rumney as was the 4th of July weather, and thank your guidance and friendliness Sophie!