Rocks, Rope and Red Bull (via Chloe Steepe/Connected in Motion)

The Connected in Motion crew headed to Joe Rockheads climbing gym in Toronto, Ontario this past weekend for an afternoon of rocks, rope and apparently, sugar-free Red Bull.






Video shot and edited by Mike Last



As a group, we had climbed before, but we were by no means pros. That being said, a few of us did have the great privilege of climbing with and learning from a Type 1 climbing expert, Geoff, this summer while in Alberta - check out some pics (below) from our Outdoor Climbing Experience in Lake Louise, AB this August.



Good thing for us, climbing is not always about getting to the top or being the fastest. It’s about setting personal goals, facing personal challenges and working with friends to problem solve in creative ways…and that, we had dialed.



After getting geared up and passing our belay tests at Joe Rockheads (belaying is the act of taking in the slack of the rope as your partner climbs), we headed into the gym - a giant cavern of colourful holds, overhangs and caves - to explore and pick our first attempts. Even with our past climbing experience, we were finding the route challenging…the walls were looking a little, er, sparse? Where were all the rocks at?!



Turns out, a competition was starting later that afternoon. Just as our arms began to shake and burn and our legs were turning to jello (aka. we were done) the competitive climbers started to filter in (along with the Red Bull sponsors!). As we wrapped up the last of our climbs we watched as pros swung, grabbed, hoisted, reached, jumped, shimmied, slid, raised and effortlessly elevated themselves to new heights.



There are three scenarios in a case like this:


  1. Get totally bummed that these sinewy sleek guys and gals scampered up routes we tried to master all day.


  2. Watch the masters carefully, learn their moves, conjure dreams of being a climbing pro and hang off every door jam and window ledge in your house until the next climbing session.


  3. Drink some Sugar-Free Red Bull and be totally happy with your accomplishments for the day.



The Facebook posts were flying on Sunday:
'arms unable to operate mouse...' 'Hahaha Definitely hurting today!!' 'How are your arms today, Laura? haha I'm struggling even typing this!'

Although there was a lot of complaining and groaning going on, I think we can still chalk it up* as another successful CIM event.

*Chalk it up...get it? Like the chalk climbers use on their hands...

Oh, and what about diabetes?? Well, this was one of those times that aside from a few pumps adjustments, BG tests and Dex tabs between climbs, we were just a bunch of climbers hanging out at the gym on a Saturday afternoon. Wasn't that the ultimate goal afterall?


Check out the photos (and the original blog post) from the event!

Photos: Mike Last and Chloe Steepe