Climbing tests your mind and body, creates trust in your partners and yourself, is easy to learn, and it's fun. Plus if you're serious about it, you'll score that hardened physique we all secretly desire. "It's a physical chess game," said Charlie Sturgis owner of White Pine Touring in Utah. "Skiing is right-left. In biking, the pedals go 'round. But climbing is different every time."

If you're a little intimidated by all the ropes, hardware, harnesses and tiny rubber shoes, don't worry. Every climber had to start somewhere, and you're no different from the rest of us. Now more than ever, there's plenty of climbing gyms around the country, and they'll be more than happy to show you the ropes, so to speak. Indoor climbing gyms not only provide a safe environment to learn the skills and hone technique, they're a great place to meet other climbers. Since you can rent shoes, a harness and belay devices at a gym, you also have the chance to see if you really want to invest in this sport.

Once you decide you love it (and you will), you'll need to buy a harness, shoes, chalk bag, belay device, and locking carabiner. The grand total runs about $200. Check out the package deals at Backcountry.com, they've got women's and men's. After you've got all that, you can start looking at ropes. Soon enough, you'll be drooling over cams, nuts, biners, slings, and quickdraws. Then, you may find yourself stealing guilty glances at aid gear, like pitons, ascenders, pulleys, haul bags... A gear addiction isn't required to enjoy the sport, but it sure makes things a lot more fun!

The basics of climbing, like tying knots, belaying, and top-roping can usually be learned in a day. But don't try to push it: "A lot of climbers expect to rush out on the first warm day and go balls to the wall, but they need to acquire or reacquire the necessary skills," said Doug Hunter, former climbing coach at Rockreation in SLC. "In two or three sessions indoors, you'll know what you need to do to reach your goals."

When you're ready to go outside, get ready for the real adventure. Leaving the controlled environment of the gym lets you really start experiencing climbing the way it was intended. Let's get one thing straight here: climbing is dangerous. There's no two ways about it. Even the professionals make mistakes, and the consequences can be severe. But it's a calculated risk, and you can stack the odds pretty well in your favor with a little education and attention.

Here's a safety trick I learned long ago: when you're putting on your harness, tying into the rope, or setting up a rappel, get into a routine and do it exactly the same every time. One famous climber was distracted half way through tying in to the rope, and began climbing without finishing her knot. She fell 70 feet, and luckily a tree broke her fall. Miraculously, she suffered only a dislocated elbow. But lesson learned: don't break your routine. That's when accidents happen.

Second safety tip: check it, then double check it. As we just saw, even seasoned climbers goof up. Climbing safety is all about redundancy. You wouldn't trust your life to just one carabiner, so why would you trust it to just one safety check?

If you're just learning, find someone to lead you to the routes you can fearlessly climb on top rope. This is probably how you're used to climbing at a gym, where the rope is already run through the anchors above you on the rock so you never climb above it. The other method is called "leading," where you take the rope up with you as you climb, clipping it into bolts periodically to catch your fall. This is a more advanced technique, but don't worry. Soon enough, you too will have the experience of being 20 feet out from your last piece of protection, sweating profusely, slowly losing your grip on the rock. Then, you'll take your first big whipper, and while you're sailing through the air, you'll thank me for introducing you to this amazing sport. Once you're ready to start leading with your own gear, check out Backcounty's sport climbing packages.

Signing up for weekend outings organized by your local gear shop or climbing gym or offered through a University extension program is another great way to get outside and socialize with other climbers. Most of us enjoy just hanging around outside almost as much as we enjoy actually climbing, so you'll find yourself in good company.

If you're serious about the sport, don't wait for someone to call you to get out to the crag. Keep a list of climbers and call them. You have to be aggressive, you have to get off your off-season butt, and you have to be ready to have a good time. It's all part of a summer outdoors. So stop crying over melted snow, and go climb something!