So I visited Valley Crag Indoor Climbing Centre and it was not just because I like the smoothies next door.

See I had been chatting with the owner Ian Clifford (That’s his real name, by the way, so apt) and we decided that it might not be a bad idea to go check out what they are about in person…So I piled my nerves and my boys into the car and this is what happened…

I did not die! Guys I was sooo scared, if you follow me on Instagram you would know that I was legitimately nervous about the whole thing. But I’m also me, I don’t back out easily, regardless of how scared I am (I complain alot but I give it a go). I like to try new things. I always figure that at worst I will get an experience and an interesting story out of it. “Do it for the memoir”, I say.

Valley Crag is an indoor climbing centre where you can learn about the art of climbing. They do group events, parties, and real training sessions. The pricing is affordable with a day pass setting you back a mere R60, equipment hire is around R50 and they even have half price evenings. Oh and yoga and climbing on Tuesday morning with my buddy Marilize from Little Lotus. For the littlies like Aidan they have a fun climbing cave, but Ian let Aidan give the main wall a try and he loved it so much, he spoke about it for ages afterward.

Basically, when we got there we were kitted out with special climbing shoes and harnesses. Ian showed us the correct way to tie the rope and gave us a crash course in not dying while suspended off the ground.

I told him my fears of dying and he assured me that there would be “no expiring only perspiring”. And boy was he right, climbing up the wall works up quite a sweat. It was as scary as I thought but also way-way more fun than I thought. I had a blast. The kind of blast that has me planning on going back.

It’s all in the legs and planning your route, says Ian. He is super knowledgeable and obviously very passionate about the world of climbing.

Check out our Family Vlog below for the full experience.

Side Bar: I have a soft spot for any place where they treat Aidan well. Where they speak to him like a person and don’t dismiss his quirky nature as just “naughty annoying kid” stuff. He has all these questions and I really appreciate when people answer him, which is what Ian did. For instance, Aidan wanted to know why we needed harnesses at Valley Crag while he could go up walls without a rope at places like Spur. Ian explained that if walls got higher than a certain height or were built at a certain angle you would need extra safety precautions.

Have you been indoor climbing before? would you be keen to try it out?