Spacekatdude and I are married, so we're always tooking for fun new things to do. Recently, we decided to give indoor rock climbing a shot! We totally loved it! We wanted to post a bit about what it's like for newbies.
 
We signed up for a $160 class for both of us, which also let us come to the gym as much as we wanted for two weeks. We got free equipment rental, and a really great instructor named Nate that taught us the basics, focusing on safety. We were taught to tie our own knots, and how to "belay" your partner safely, meaning how to catch them if they fall off the wall.
 
I would be honest and say it's a real trust building exercise. I love my husband dearly, but I also know his distractible nature very well. It was a little hard for me to put my life into his hands and trust him to catch me if I fell. Throwing myself off the wall for the first time was very scary - but I quickly learned that I could count on him for this. Working as a team to guide the other person up the wall is both fun and good for your relationship!
 
It's also a great workout. Within a few weeks of rock climbing, I've greatly increased my upper body strength. If you have moxie, I would definitely say it's a sport you should try!
 
A guy's perspective - Spacekatdude here.  Rock climbing is awesome.  It's not just a physical thing - it's very mental, as you try to figure out a path up the wall, touching only rock outcroppings of a particular color.  Very challenging.  Whenever we go to the gym, there are a lot of women there, but they seem to sort into two categories.  One is those who just look bored and disinterested.  And the other is the women who love the challenge, who love to push themselves.  I think that's awesome.  (There was one woman of the first category staring sadly at Bri as she ascended the wall, as if hoping that one day she'd get the chutzpah to do that herself.)  Our instructor Nate also told us that it was great for kids - one of the best rockclimbers he knew was an eight-year-old girl, who showed him some excellent routes up a mountain (outdoors).
 
I mentioned that rockclimbing is a mental exercise.  This is because you have to constantly concentrate on what you're doing.  If you go in mentally weak or lazy, bad things can happen.  (I read of some climbers who went to Half Dome at Yosemite, all ready to hammer in their own ropes to descend from the top.  But there were ropes already there, embedded in the rock, and they just used those.  As they climbed down, the ropes gave way, and they fell to their deaths.  So laziness has no place in rock climbing.)  Also, as you climb, it's important to remember to use your feet for power, and not to try to pull yourself up by your arms.  So the mental challenge is to keep concentrating the entire time you're roping yourself in, climbing and belaying.