Bliss Climbing and Fitness

The Family Fun Series is sponsored by
TJ Lawson with Insurance Solutions of South Central Kansas
As a local Independent Insurance Agent, TJ seeks to find the best deal for clients by providing great coverage at highly competitive rates specializing in auto, home, business, and life insurance. For more, you can also check out his Facebook or Instagram page

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With the ongoing family fun series, I wanted to take the kids to do something different. I searched far and low for an activity that was unique and something I haven’t seen talked about much online. I came across Bliss Climbing and Fitness.

If you’ve never heard of it, they are Wichita’s first full-service indoor rock climbing, bouldering, and training center. It immediately piqued my interest. One of the coolest documentaries I’ve seen was Free Solo which was about a rock climber named Alex Honnold and his quest to perform a free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Basically, he was attempting it without ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment. Crazy documentary and highly recommended. But back to Bliss….

The rock climbing center offers people of all ages and safe place to learn about rock climbing and practice doing it.

They offer a 40ft high climbing wall, 15ft bouldering wall, training rooms, cardio equipment, classes, climbing equipment and everything you need to get started.

I took two of the kids, both 13 to Bliss to give it a try. After seeing how tired people were walking out, I opted to sit back and take pictures. I filled out waivers for the kids and then they were given specific shoes to wear along with a harness. The price per kid was $26 for all the equipment and access to Bliss for the entire day.

Once they had all the proper equipment on, one of the staff double-checked to make sure it was on right. We then walked into the climbing facility where we went over all the tips, rules, and safety regulations.

We spent the most time with the staff member at the 40-ft high climbing wall. Since the kids were underage, I was required to be there with them at all times and make sure all the ropes were fastened properly when climbing. They were big on safety. After going through everything, the kids did a couple of sample climbs about 10-ft high to get used to it.  Then they were off to the races.

The first time climbing by themselves, they struggled finding the right paths to get to the tip. The walls have different paths on them and each have a difficulty rating. But after a couple of failed attempts, they figured it out and even reached the top of the wall.

The kids also thoroughly enjoyed the bouldering walls which required no ropes. There was a big padded mat to fall on just in case, though.

There was even a wall for kids ages 4 and under. I struggled on this one.

After an hour, the kids were EXHAUSTED. They were beat. Their fingers and arms were sore. They were both surprised how much of a workout it was. But most importantly, they loved it.

They were presented with a challenge and both set out to do the best they could. What’s even better is the other climbers in the facility were cheering the kids on and giving tips to them. It was cool to see the sense of community and camaraderie there.

My goal is to present anybody in my family and my circle of friends new experiences and opportunities to see what’s out there in Wichita. This one was definitely a winner.

Bliss Climbing and Fitness is located at 11114 E 28th St. N which is near 29th and Greenwich Road just north of Greenwich Place. To learn more about Bliss, visit their webpage or Facebook page.

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