UW-La Crosse offers a unique experience for all of its students that many either do not know about, or have been too intimidated to try. Located inside the UWL Recreational Eagle Center is an indoor rock climbing gym. Although the space features many amenities and seems as if it would be an extra charge to students, the space is free. Signing a waver, renting shoes and a harness are the only steps you need to take before enjoying the space. The area has multiple paths to follow with both free climbing and harnessed areas for users to traverse.

Rock climbing is definitely not your average sport, whether you are attempting it in hopes of a quick and strenuous workout or feel like enjoying the freedom of utilizing your body to climb massive structures. Hannah Cowan, a climbing wall supervisor, was originally like many UWL students in the sense that she had never been rock climbing before college. “Last year I came to climb to find out what it was like and everybody was super relaxed and very friendly so I decided I wanted to work in an environment like that.” One of the common themes everyone involved with the climbing gym reiterated was the sense of community among those involved with climbing. “It’s a super awesome community, everyone is so open with each other, there is always plenty of encouragement.” From trading tips and stories, to simultaneously sharing the experience on the wall, rock climbing is a skill that seemed to draw people closer to each other simply through involvement with the sport.

Many people wonder why UWL integrated a rock climbing gym in the facility in the first place, Hannah reminded me that “climbing incorporates all of the muscles in your body, and I think they realized how good of an exercise it can be, how relaxing it can be, it is a total stress reliever while incorporating creativity.” Another reason plenty of students are deterred from trying the sport is due to the challenging and unique strength you need to succeed at it. Allison, an avid climber and climbing wall supervisor, reminded me of the multitude of challenging aspects the sport creates: “When you first start out you have to carry your own strength, and it is tough. As you climb more the hardest thing is trying to figure out new things to do, or new training to get better, and how to think critically to work around you strengths to find the best routes for yourself.” Both Hannah and Allison agreed that it was not something they initially expected to enjoy, and that they both had their reasons for starting. Allison started because her sister got involved indoor climbing at a place near her hometown and it went from there. Some participants in the climbing gym had even traveled as far as Red River Gorge in Kentucky to experience outdoors climbing.

Most of the students utilized the gym as an opportunity to practice the sport and relax in their free time, with the most physically demanding involvement coming during the outdoors experiences. Rock climbing gives someone an opportunity to push him or herself while continually altering their experience every time they begin the climb at the bottom. Each climb is a new challenge that poses different physical and mental obstacles, combined with the overwhelming sense of community promoted by those involved with the sport and it is easy to see why people can fall in love with it so easily.