Rock Climbing - Eldorado Canyon

What an amazing Sunday! The weather couldn't have been nicer and we got to spend a good portion of the day at Eldorado Canyon in Boulder. It was absolutely beautiful! We got to take the boys rock climbing with six other kids though an outing arranged by Children's Hospital stroke clinic and the Boulder Climbing Gym.

While both the boys have done quite a bit of climbing inside on man-made rock walls, neither of them have had the opportunity to actually climb using harnesses and ropes on real rocks. It's a completely different experience. Instead of having strategically placed "rocks" like inside, they had to figure out how to get up a fairly slippery rock face using what nature created. I was so impressed with both of them. Luke often stops part way up the inside walls because he gets freaked out by how high he is. He didn't have that problem today at all. (That's him to the left.) He climbed route after route all the way to the top. It was so great to see the look of satisfaction on his face when he'd get to the top, I was so proud of him.

Then of course there is our determined Jake. When he first started out, he was really struggling and I was questioning if coming was such a good idea. He was having such a hard time finding places that felt stable enough to hold his feet as well as trusting if his left leg could support him. As he was taking his first few "steps," Todd was helping place his feet until he got the feel for it.  Seeing how hard it was for him, I honestly expected him to go a short way up and come back down. I should have known better, he just kept going. Once again, I stood there watching him with tears literally running down my face. He was having to work so much harder than everyone else but he just didn't give up. I hate that things are so much more difficult for him, but at the same time, I am so incredibly proud of his sheer will and determination. I stood there and watched as he got all the way to the top of his first course. His smile as he looked down at us showed every bit of pride he felt having made it to the top.

He was wiped out after that, so spent about an hour resting. He decided he wanted to go once more before we left but "just a little way up". This time, he was putting significant weight on his left leg and was reaching with his left arm. It was very slow going, but it was so incredible to watch. He would get to the place he wanted and then would decide to go a little further. I took some video and am so happy I have this in addition to the pictures. Watching him just fills my heart and makes me so thankful that he is even able to do this. (Sorry about the background chatter, the lady behind me didn't realize I was filming.)  http://youtu.be/0U28AkrF3Ms