Page 101 - 914INC - Q2 - 2013

DOWNTIME
ROCK CLIMB
The Rock Club, New Rochelle
By far the most-adrenaline-per-square-
maybe some tight-gripping shoes). But then our instructor added in a diagonal plane and rounded holds that are not so easy to hold. Though we made it to the top each time, we may have sat in our rope-made cradle once or twice. To be specific, the club offers top roping—what we did; lead climb- ing—similar, but with the added obligation to hook yourself on to various points in the wall; and bouldering—short, vicious, overhang climbing without a rope (i.e., climbing where your back is to the ground). When we were finished, we could barely close our hands, but, man, did we want another moment of heart-pounding, one- grasp-away-from-success fun as soon as we
could grab those holds again.
PAINTBALL
(various locations)
hat’s the most inspiring part of
every war movie? It’s the scene in the foxhole where the soldiers share how much they mean to one another before the charge the enemy. Well, we’re not expect- ing an invasion any time soon (though it
still concerns us that the Athens Georgia City Hall keeps a double-barreled cannon pointed north “just in case”). The next best opportunity is paintball. Picture yourself
with your best buddy, a timpani of splatter surrounding you, paintball marker (“gun” in paintball slang) in hand, and one... two...three...charge! Yeah, it’s just like in the movies. Generally, each team starts on either side of a forest, field with inflat-
We left saying: “These welts look really cool, right?”
Bring a friend: Yes, it’s a great bonding experience if you’re on the same team; and a great stress relief if you’re not.
Fear factor: High. But you’ll get over it fast.
Just do it: libertypaintball-ny.com, (845) 878- 6300; paintballsportsny.com, (845) 691-1979; crazypaint.net, (914) 526-0806
able barriers, or mock town with wood- en houses, walls, etc. The team members then run (or hide), shooting one another until time runs or or someone captures the other team’s flag. You’re hit; you’re out until the next game. Local fields are thinly placed, and therefore sometimes get crowded on weekends, but they are worth the trip. We recommend Liberty Paintball in Patterson, New York; Paintball Sports, Inc., in Plattekill, New York, and Crazy Paint in Mohegan Lake.
inch award goes to The Rock Club. When you enter its New Rochelle ware- house, you might think, “Well, that doesn’t look so high.” Boy, are you in for a surprise. The curving, overhanging, jutting walls are dotted by thousands of “holds”—i.e., the colorful little gizmos you try to grip while climbing—that make up constantly changing, multi-difficulty courses that are re-routed every three months. What do we mean by multi-difficulty? To understand that, you need to understand the “Yosemitie Scale.” That’s a
gauge of how
hard it is to strap
on a rope, find a
friend or instruc-
tor to hold one
side of it, and
summit a rock
or wall. It ranges
from 5.5 to 5.13
(the lower the
second number,
the easier the course). We started with a 5.5 on the scale and made it up pretty eas- ily, our torsos and rears wrapped up in the only uniform you need—a rope (and
We left saying: “I’m going to rock that wall’s world...next time.”
Bring a friend: Yes, and after some training he or she can belay for you.
W
Fear factor: Low. If you fall, you don’t really fall.
Just do it: climbrockclub. com, (914) 633-7625
100
Q2 2013