Social climbing: How outdoor activities can help a new city feel like home

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Outdoor Community in a new city

This week we bring you a personal essay from contributor and Sorta Outdoorsy pal Allie Lee. If you have a Sorta Outdoorsy story you’d like to share, email us at hi@sortaoutdoorsy.com.

When I made the New Year’s resolution to “be more spontaneous,” I had no idea that I would actually keep it. But soon, I found myself, with just a few weeks’ notice, moving from New York to London. Although I was excited to move to a new city and get out of my comfort zone, I was nervous about leaving the close-knit climbing community that was a big part of my life in New York. Continue reading Social climbing: How outdoor activities can help a new city feel like home

This video about urban climbing will inspire you to go to the gym

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We find it’s hard to not talk about climbing as much as we’d like to (we don’t want to be just a newsletter about climbing after all) and this video, produced by the activewear company Prana, helped us to understand why. Of all the outdoor inspired activities available in cities, urban climbing seems to have become one of the most popular thanks in part to the explosion of climbing gyms (at least three new gyms have opened in NYC in the last five years). Continue reading This video about urban climbing will inspire you to go to the gym

Snow day: Another chance to enjoy the best winter activities in the city

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Snow day NYC

We didn’t check the weather last night before we went to bed so we were pretty surprised this morning when we woke up to what looked like at least an inch of snow collected on our fire escape. While we were excited to start planning for our spring adventures, we’re psyched about getting at least one more day of winter. We’ve rounded up our favorite ways to enjoy snow in the city (indoors and out) below. Let us know how you’ll be spending one more snow day.

Continue reading Snow day: Another chance to enjoy the best winter activities in the city

Indoor activities for outdoorsy people: Rock climbing gyms in New York City

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Rock Climbing NYC

A few years ago, we stepped into a climbing gym for the first time as third wheel on a friend’s date. Since then, we’ve become obsessed with the sport, dedicating multiple evenings, weekends and vacations to it. There’s something about the combination of physical strength and mental challenge that makes climbing the perfect workout.

Climbing outdoors can be a little intimidating, even if you already know how to tie a figure eight knot. Luckily, New York is home to multiple climbing gyms where you can learn the ropes. They all offer intro classes that cover basics like how to tie into roped climbs, how to belay (i.e. hold the rope for your climbing partner) and how to safely drop down. Plus, you’ll meet climbing partners who become essential if you get as stoked on the sport as we have.

But even if you’re not into the idea of performing gymnastics 40 feet off the ground, climbing gyms offer fitness classes like yoga, capoeira and core workouts, not to mention weight rooms and cardio equipment. Often built in converted warehouses, the gyms also serve as a hubs for social events like film screenings and breakfast clubs.

Use our guide to find a gym near you and climb on! Continue reading Indoor activities for outdoorsy people: Rock climbing gyms in New York City