Outdoors

JACKSONVILLE — Josh Reyes' tricked-out garage has everything a boulder climber could need to keep those bone-preserving skills sharp.

He makes the most of 12-foot ceilings with adjacent climbing walls. He threw in overhanging features for inverted and side-to-side climbing, and so he can do what he calls "crazy jumping moves."

But for all of the equipment that's helped the 31-year-old New Mexico native gain professional status, he wouldn't trade his 4X5-foot, 5-inch-thick foam landing pad.

It comes in handy when a 25- to 30-foot boulder wins the day.

"That was the best $300 I ever spent, let me tell you," Reyes said.

Reyes normally wins, which is why he carries "open" or professional status. This on a circuit that includes a Triple Crown event at Horse Pins 40, just off I-59 near Oneonta.

He climbs for prize money ranging from $300 to $1,000 for first place, depending on the event. He's good enough to draw sponsorship from Voodoo Climbing, which makes holds for climbing walls … not to mention those wonderful foam pads.

He makes his full-time living with General Physics, training control-room operators for the Anniston Army Depot's chemical weapons incinerator.

But he'd rather be training at home on weeknights or on Horse Pins 40 on the weekends, staying sharp for the competition season that runs from October to March.

"The sport itself is very rewarding," he said. "It's not as much a hobby any more as it is a way of life for me."

Reyes's adventurous dad took him on hikes in the Land of Enchantment, but he discovered climbing while in the U.S. Navy. A former nuclear machinist's mate and instructor during his 10 years in submarines, he popped the hatch one day and navigated from his New Hampshire base to nearby Manchester.

He had seen a newspaper ad touting a rock-climbing gym.

Once there, this Navy man went overboard. He worked his forearms and hands so hard that it hurt to push the button on his automatic shift on the drive back to base.

Next day on the sub, he hurt worse. He was the new guy, which meant he had valve duty during a reactor cool-down practice.

The valves were large, and Reyes got an education on the muscles involved in gripping and pulling.

"I thought I was going to straight die that day," he said.

And he was hooked.

Eventually, other muscles got sore — which meant his technique improved — and he gravitated toward the bouldering discipline. The boulders aren't so tall, usually up to 30 feet, but it's all free climbing.

"The boulders we climb, there's a sequence you have to figure out," Reyes said. "It's problem solving."

Since Reyes competes in the top division, he solves problems that rate between nine and 15 on what's called the V-scale. On occasion, he'll have to jump from one part of the rock to another and catch his holds perfectly on the other side.

"It's hugely a mental sport," he said. "When you're outside and there's a potential for injury in a climb, that's when you've got to buckle down.

"If you get scared, there's the quote that I kind of operate by when I climb: 'Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation causes your worst fears to come true.' That's very true in climbing."

When those worst fears come true, Reyes hopes to land on his foam pad … which is no guarantee of an injury-free mishap. On one occasion, he didn't bend his knees enough on the landing, and the shock partially tore a back muscle.

"I highly recommend not getting a back injury," he said. "That is the absolute worst pain I've ever been in in my life."

He was out for "a few months."

Sometimes, injuries occur before the fall. A foot slip caused tendon sheathes in Reyes right ring finger to rip away and pop, and he lost his hold.

"That kept me out for a while," he said. "… It was more of a scare factor when I fell. It was like, 'Oh my God,' and I just immediately let go.

"I didn't know what happened. I just know my body made a bunch of popping noises."

When Reyes makes it to the top, one might hear chest thumping or a primal yell.

"It's challenging physically, mentally, just constantly pushing your own barriers," he said. "That's what's drawn me to it and kept me hooked on it.

"There's those times when you're up high, you're exposed, you have a chance of getting hurt, and you can either turn back and play it safe or take that chance and go for it. When you go for it and make it, there's no better feeling."

Note: Reyes is part of the Southeast Climbers Coalition, which maintains and purchases land for climbing activities. For more information, visit seclimbers.org.