Climbing Around Town

The entire week has been gorgeous. The sun is shining, there are birds, and the bugs are still frozen from winter. You can go for a walk in the mountains, or bike through town. It's nearly warm enough to go floating without a wetsuit. Last week I said I would do something inside, and so naturally it was gorgeous and pretty. So we decided to do two different things. By we, I mean my roommate Rachel and I.

She was less excited by the prospect of a field trip, because she had to work until midnight the night before. So when I threw open the blinds, turned on all the lights, and calmly explained that we were going on an adventure, she was less than excited. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have used silly string. Or decided that we needed to leave before eight in the morning.

Amid Rachel's protests of "But I don't like heights!", and "I want to go back to bed." We walked the two or so miles to the coolest place ever. Spire Climbing Center. It's 6,000 feet of pure fun. It's a climbing center with a 38 foot roof, and 2200 extra feet of bouldering. They have great routes, and everyone is super friendly. There was just one tiny flaw in our plan. It was nine. The rock climbing gym opens at noon.

After a few minutes of not entirely unjustified yelling on Rachel's part, I decided we were going somewhere else. Sticking with the theme of the morning, we wandered over to Pete's hill. It's got this gorgeous network of paths through the woods, and over the hills. Somewhere, on one of those paths through meadows, and trees, and up hills, there is a big plastic rock.

It's about seven feet tall, and there's a little tunnel to crawl through. The nice thing about it, is that it is meant for bouldering. For people who don't know what that is, it's climbing a shorter wall but without a rope or harness. The rock is easier to climb on some sides than others, making it perfect for basically anyone.

So Rachel and I messed around for a while, went to get ice cream and by the time we were back at the Spire climbing center it was open. We rented shoes, climbed, and then walked home all sweaty and exhausted. All in all, it was a good adventure. Even Rachel admitted she had fun.

Montana is a great place to visit, but an even better place to live. To learn more about becoming a part of the Montana Experience, contact Tom Clark (406) 581 2829, drop me an e-mail at tom@realestator.net, or visit my site: http://tomsclark.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/HomePageGetAction.do