It's no longer a sport for only the adventurous. Get rid of the thoughts of bearded mountain men or perfectly chiseled women scaling vertical rock masses hundreds of feet in the air. With the advent of rock climbing gyms, a world opened - one previously unknown to many.

"[The sport] really started to come around in the late '80s," said Mindy Shulak, 47, an instructor at Rockreation. "It ballooned from there."

Shulak began climbing when she was 17, and at that time she didn't know of any children who climbed. It was perceived as a mature person's sport, she said.

Thirty years later, the tune has changed.

Two local climbing gyms, The Front Climbing Club in Salt Lake City and Rockreation Sport Climbing Center in Holladay, cater to all age levels and abilities. Families are welcome. Both gyms offer bouldering, which is climbing without ropes, and rope climbing with different routes that cater to various abilities.

Most children boulder, according to Shulak.

"Especially starting out," she said. "And a good percentage move on to rope climbing."

For some families, like the Joneses of Bountiful, joining the rock climbing craze was a natural progression in an outdoor lifestyle enjoyed while childless and now is a way to tire out five children, ages 3-13.

"My kids have always been physically active and I realized it was either going to be our furniture or their's," said Rachel Jones, 38, whose family typically spends three days a week at The Front.

When not climbing at the gym, the Jones children might be spotted scaling the rock fireplace at home, which is littered with stickers marking routes to the top. Or, Rachel said, they climb the walls of the school.

And the Jones children make the sport look easy. Though they usually boulder, on a recent Saturday trip Nikki, 5, opted for a change and donned the adjustable harness like a pro, flying to the top of her favorite rope climbing route. Chandler, 3, wouldn't be outdone. He bouldered a route in the same area with ease.

Mitchell, 11, was hanging with the older kids in an area where bouldering nearly upside down seemed to be the preferred way to go, provided on this particular day, you were under a certain age and part monkey. Parents, Rachel and Dane, 43, struggled at the bottom never reaching that upside down position.

Mitchell summed it up perfectly.

"It's kind of cool because my mom said most of the adults think only adults can do it," he said.

Not only is rock climbing a way to release excess energy but it builds inner strength and self-esteem.

"I haven't really been that talented in football," Mitchell said. "This is a whole new sport. This sport makes me feel like I can be proud of myself."

And something about being upside down helps as well.

"I got to try new walls and I got to do the upside-down wall," said Anna Hatzipolakis, a 7-year old from Holladay who climbs at Rockreation.

Using the ropes has never been a problem for Anna, according to her mother, Lexi. Anna was born without a left hand.

"She was ecstatic when she reached the top [the first time]. It really gave her a high," Lexi said. "How can it not boost her confidence?"

But it does take patience and dedication to become proficient, said Christina Durtschi, 20, an instructor at The Front.

A minimum of two to three days a week is necessary and the biggest hurdle to overcome is "not getting frustrated in the beginning," Durtschi said.

"I hear women come in and say they don't have the upper body strength," she said.

Durtschi said learning how to use the legs more coupled with different techniques to utilize the whole body is important.

"There are definitely a few tricks you can learn to make it easier," she said.

And if you're not in tip-top condition?

"You can gradually become fit," Durtschi said. "I don't feel like you need a basic level of fitness to get started."

Once you've mastered the gym, you can head outdoors to try your skills. Both Shulak and Durtschi estimate between 75-80 percent of indoor climbers also climb outdoors.

And when you do venture outdoors, look for the Joneses. Not only do the children climb at the The Front, up the fireplace and up the school walls, they also travel to Lake Powell and Moab to ply their skills.

"As a family, it's brought us closer together," Rachel said.