Climbing Back
If I had to classify rock climbing, I would call it both a passion and a lifestyle. It is hard to say that rock climbing is a sport, since the only person you are competing against is yourself and the only rules are the ones you accept as important. Sure, it is an intense activity that involves both mental and physical training, but it is more than that. When many people are asked the standard "what do you do" question, they answer with the title they hold 40 hours a week or the product they produce in exchange for money. If I am asked the standard "what do you do" question, my primary response is: "I climb." Me, before surgery, climbing in Shelf Road, CO. Photo by Michelle Christiance When climbing is such a major part of your identity, it is hard to have an impending surgical procedure on the horizon that is going to put you out of commission. I did not realize this until last year. After an initial check-up, where my cardiologist insisted