rock climbing on a budget - cont

I described the costs of indoor climbing in my previous post. (That's me, climbing at the indoor gym.)

There are ways to offset this cost, such as getting a membership to the climbing gym, or using a punch card if it is available. The gym I climb at offers a punch card with 20 punches for $220, $10/climb.

It also helps to own the necessary equipment. I have a harness that was given to me when I was in high school, as well as a belay device. I also have a pair of climbing shoes that I purchased a couple years ago.

When I moved to Colorado (2 years ago!) I bought one of the 20-climb punch cards. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I just used the last punch....

Anyway, I need a new one. Alex and I had a bit of an issue figuring out where the $220 for the card would come from in the budget, since we are really trying not to spend any extra money.

Here is the breakdown of where that money is going to come from:

$120 - Sara's slush fund

$50  - extra food budget

$50  - entertainment budget

We have also decided that I will cut down to climbing once every other week instead of once every week, to make the punch card last longer.

rock climbing on a budget - basics

Indoor rock climbing has been a hobby of mine for awhile now, on and off depending on location, climbing partners, etc.

One major con of climbing – it’s kind of expensive. Most places charge $12-$15 to climb, then about $4 for each piece of equipment you rent. (If you need/want all the equipment listed below, most places have a package price for less than the $16 it would cost to rent it all separately.)

Equipment:

Harness – This is absolutely necessary. You tie the ropes into the harness to ensure your safety.

Shoes – Shoes help a lot when you climb, but are not a necessity. You can climb in tennis shoes.

Chalk Bag – Chalk is kind of nice to have when you climb, but Alex has a chalk bag and I never use it.

Belay Device – You need one belay device, to feed the ropes through as you climb, per pair of people.

If you’re doing the math, you can see that each climbing trip could cost you as much as $30.