Jim Stiehl

Scaling a wall lets you turn the clock back

By Desmond Bieler
I’m not sure if Jimmy Galindo, my rock-climbing instructor, meant to be funny when he told me that the sport involved “a steep learning curve,” but that line’s so good, I’m swiping it.

Indoor rock climbing: It’s a lot of fun, but you might say there’s a steep learning curve.

How steep? Well, Galindo’s Sportrock in Alexandria, Virginia, has walls as high as 40 feet, similar to the other two gyms I visited, Earth Treks in Columbia, Maryland, (44 feet) and Results on Capitol Hill (38 feet).