Watching Brian Doyle gracefully go up and then down climb a wall made it seem easy. Fifteen feet off the ground clinging viscously to small fake rock holds, my arms are painfully tensed, each finger clenched so hard I could poke through concrete; my stomach begins doing flips, and my mouth fills with that awful extra saliva that signals impending vomit. I'm screaming inside my head, "You cannot die; it's only 15 feet!" Yet I cannot climb down, and I had stopped breathing. I push away from the wall into the briefest of free falls before landing with an audible breath expelling whoosh on a safety mat.

Wicked black recedes from my eyes as I swallow compulsively and suck air. Doyle, a 20-year climbing veteran and lead climbing coach/instructor at Vertical World in downtown Tacoma, comes over, smiling.

"Great job, Jenn. That's what you want to do - learn how to fall if you can't down climb."

I blink rapidly and smile, too, for I am not dead. Completing my first planned fall during the climbing club's Introduction to Bouldering class was a big deal for this secret acrophobic.

Even though I've climbed up and jumped off cliffs in Eastern Washington and on Maui, and bridges on the Key Peninsula, Oregon and Tennessee, and rock climbed in Nevada, California, Texas and Tacoma's own Point Defiance Park, as far as using any proper technique, I'm still a Gumby and therefore a perfect candidate for beginner instruction at the indoor climbing gym.

The point of the intro class at Vertical World is to provide basic information on bouldering - as this type of rock climbing is known. Skills taught include spotting technique, body positioning and basic handhold types, footwork, shoe fitting, climbing thought process, and what's called quiet feet. 

On a Tuesday evening the small group of five of us listened intently as Doyle gave a brief introduction on bouldering. The difference between bouldering and belaying is essentially ropes, harness and height.  Bouldering is done to averages of 15 to 20 feet indoors with protective mat flooring. Outdoor climbs vary with the individual, skill level and amount of "crazy" in the bloodstream.

A few things I knew immediately: I had to cut my fingernails off, and I was very weak in the arms, shoulders and back; they ached like I'd been pulling in gigantic fishing nets all day.

WHAT'S TECHNIQUE 1?

I had Doyle to myself for the entire four-week Tech 1 series, and the sessions of intentional movement literally flew by. The Vertical World Circuit System grading system rates route difficulty by color on mapped out walls. Climbers call a difficult route a project, and Doyle put me on quite a few that tested my personal frustration level and what I was learning. Quickly I understood bouldering as very cerebral; much preplanning is required.

After a couple of weeks, I realized it's not so much the getting up as the getting down that was my issue, and I became quite comfortable with bailing or falling. I asked what exercises would put me in better shape for climbing. A grinning Doyle shared, "Just climb more."  While he's certainly correct, anything that strengthens the body's core - yoga, Pilates, planks, and push-ups - and increases flexibility will improve climbing ability.  Women, in general, have less upper body strength than men. However, women I saw at Vertical World were strong, had lean, long upper body muscle tone, and a vibe of health emanated from them.  As Doyle predicted, I was surprised at how greatly my range of motion was affected by subtle hip shifts that refocused my center of gravity and at how much easier certain moves were with straightened arms. At the end of the Tech 1 series, my working knowledge and ability to apply it in actual outdoor climbs had drastically eased my fear of heights - at least 15 feet of it.

WHAT YOU NEED

Bouldering requires the least amount of gear of all rock climbing types, but you still need a few things. Shoes are number one and are oddly compared to ballet toe-shoes, but without the torture devise aspect. Tightly laced up or snugly Velcro bound, specialized foot gear is designed as a protective skintight layer between fragile human foot and hard, unforgiving rock. Terral Morgan, a 53-year-old Utah climber with kids in the Pacific Northwest, shares that when his whole body is tensed and it seems three fingers and part of his heel are supporting his entire body weight, the last thing he thinks about is "Are my shoes a little too tight?" Once you're in action, the discomfort becomes irrelevant.  Loose, breathable clothing allowing clear view of ankles and feet and leaving hands unencumbered is a must. Magnesium carbonate used for cheap climbing chalk increases grip and hand comfort; it's a climber's best friend. If outdoors, a climbing buddy with a charged cell phone, a spotter and a bouldering crash pad (falling hurts) are obvious safety needs.

Vertical World

Monday-Friday noon to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
102 S. 24th St., Tacoma
253.683.4791, www.verticalworld.com