If the climber falls, the person holding the rope is holding them aloft. She says the indoor gym is safer for beginners because of the padded floor and the shorter distances climbers can fall. Rubbing the excess chalk from her hands, Naidu starts her climb from a sitting position. Using both hands and feet she makes her way with deliberation from handhold to handhold, foothold to foothold until she is hanging upside-down five feet off the ground. Happy with this first warm-up climb of the night, Naidu drops to the padded ground, and moves to a new spot on the wall.
Someone puts on music with a dance beat as more climbers start trickling in.
With Donahoe's socks in his mouth, Autumn, the dog, saunters past Richard LaPaix who is sitting to put on his climbing shoes. He partners up with Naidu to act as her spotter when she moves to a route that will require her to climb eight or nine feet off the ground. Climbers love the friendly, casual atmosphere of Rock Works that includes Sagar's sock-stealing dog, Autumn. Sagar agrees the mental aspects of climbing are just as rewarding as the physical ones, especially indoors. People went out and tried to conquer a mountain.