Climb Your Heart Out

Everyone knows Colorado is home to the Rocky Mountains. In fact, I suspect that if I interviewed 10 random Americans and asked them to say the first three things that came to mind when they thought of Colorado, at least seven of them would mention the mountains. In my mind, there is no better way to experience the mountains than to go rock climbing.

I have to admit that I am certainly no rock climbing expert. To be honest, aside from the occasional bouldering while on a hike, I have never climbed outdoors. Even so, my passion for climbing has been ignited over the past two weeks as my husband and I have begun climbing indoors at Miramont gym.

I have always been interested in climbing, but the price tags on most of the gear and the costly gym memberships have always put it out of reach. Those misconceptions ended last week when I discovered REI's membership discounts, and Miramont's student membership special.

For a one time fee of $15, you can buy a lifetime REI membership that scores you coupons for 15% or more, and lets you participate in member garage sales where you can purchase gently used gear at deep discounts. I also got a sweet deal on climbing shoes that were on sale. (They might still be available if you hurry!) The bottom line is you need about $150 to $200 to get your gear, which is significantly less than I was expecting.

The Miramont membership was also a pleasant surprise. Although their climbing wall membership is normally $40 a month, they are currently running a student gym membership special that gets you access to the entire facility, including group classes, for $35 a month. They do require a nine-month commitment, but you can "freeze" your membership as many times as you want and instead of paying for January when you might be away on break, extend it to June.

Just to give you an idea of how sweet this deal is, I compared Miramont's rates to its rival, Inner Strength's. Inner Strength offers a six-month membership for $45 a month, and thats just for the climbing wall.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if you've ever considered getting into climbing, now is the time. Getting started this fall will be the perfect way to stay in shape during the winter, and by the time spring hits, you'll be a pro out on the real stuff.