Starting Dec. 19 and continuing through the end of the year, we’re suspending our normal programming to help those of you with kids on winter break find stuff to do. Every day through year’s end we’ll throw out an idea to get you and the kids out of the house and, most importantly, have the kids exhausted upon your return. Consider it GetGoingNC.com’s gift to you.

Today: Climbing the walls

Climbing the walls? Isn’t that what we’re trying to avoid? Indeed, but sometimes the answer lies in the question, grasshopper. Enough naval gazing: the walls we’re talking about are climbing walls, as in the climbing walls you’ll find in a climbing gym. First, let’s dispell a myth: You have to be an uber athlete with 0.4 percent body fat to be a climber. As Joel Graybeal with the Triangle Rock Club in Morrisville puts it, “If you can climb a ladder, you can climb.” Can your kids climb a ladder? Good, you’re in. And it’s not a pricey proposition, even if you don’t have equipment (gyms rent the basics: shoes, harness, chalk to keep your sweaty fingers from sweating): You can get by for $20 or less at most gyms — and that’s for a full day of climbing.

Find out more about the indoor climbing experience here;  go here for our list of 15 climbing gyms in North Carolina.