As a clutzy and uncoordinated kid, I hated gym. I couldn’t run fast, throw a ball straight, or make a basket. Ever. One thing I could do, though, was shimmy up the ropes to the top of the gym and touch the ceiling. It felt great to master an activity that some more physically gifted kids found challenging.

As a clutzy and uncoordinated adult, I wasn’t sure I wanted to try rock climbing. My flying-up-the-ropes days lived in the nether regions of my memory, and the thought of scaling walls up to 50 feet high seemed intimidating.

Still, this adventure quest beckoned, so there I stood at Brooklyn Boulders in Somerville, MA, harness on, ropes attached, staring straight up and repeating silently to myself, “You can do this, you can do this …”