| UI climbing festival scales SRC |
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| Written by Alisa Hart -Argonaut | ||||||
| Friday, 21 April 2006 | ||||||
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It’s a big weekend for climbing enthusiasts in the area. The
University of Idaho Climbing Club and Outdoor Program are combining
efforts to put on the fourth annual Palouse Climbing Festival. “It’s a great opportunity for people to enjoy the sport,” said Mike Beiser, Outdoor Program coordinator. “There’s been a huge growth in indoor climbing as an activity in the last couple of years. The U of I’s climbing population has gone from a handful of people to thousands of people.” The weekend will kick off Friday with a free clinic taught by professional rock climber Ivan Greene. Greene will work one on one with students and teach them bouldering techniques, as well as give insight as to how he got involved with climbing. The clinic will be from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Student Recreation Center. Greene, 35, was born and raised in New York City and has proven that it’s possible to combine an urban lifestyle with an outdoor hobby such as climbing. In addition to conquering some of the most challenging routes, Greene published a book, “Bouldering in the Shawangunks,” and has his own clothing line. Red Bull energy drink, a sponsor of Greene, paid the way for the climber to come across country including travel and hotel costs. Matt Erlandson, coordinator of the climbing center, works for Red Bull and said they’ve been a major asset in helping send up climbers in the last couple of years. “They help us out in a huge way,” Erlandson said. “It’s cool because it gives the community an opportunity to see what the climbing world is all about it. Having someone that big come out is a big deal.” Saturday’s events begin at 10 a.m. and include a bouldering competition. The competition is open to all ages and there are three categories: beginner, novice, and expert. It’s open to men, women and youth. Last year, there were 52 registered competitors. “Last year, we had a large population of women and youth show up, which is cool,” Erlandson said. “Those are the categories we’ve really been trying to get into our center.” During the competition, there will be an outdoor barbecue for all the contestants. Slacklining demonstrations will also be set up to encourage people to try the increasingly popular outdoor activity. Saturday night Greene will be showing a free multi-media presentation at 7:30pm in the UI Law Building Courtroom. He will take the audience through his life as an extreme athlete and discuss the influence climbing has had on him. The purpose of the event is to create an opportunity for people to climb and have a fun spring weekend. “Our goal is to hold a festival which attracts all sorts of people,” Beiser said. “We don’t want to be super competitive, but have it be more of a recreational event.” According to Beiser, one reason the UI promotes the event is to attract the best regional climbers. The event is publicized regionally and climbers are expected to come from places such as Spokane, Montana, and the Tri-Cities area. “We want it to attract everyone from beginners to hardcore climbers,” Beiser said. “Bringing people together allows beginners to learn from expert climbers and gives them the opportunity to mingle with more advanced climbers.” The Climbing Club hopes the festival will get more people interested and involved in the sport but climbing is already increasing in popularity at the UI. Before the climbing wall opened, there were only 30-40 regular climbers who used the facility in Memorial Gym. That number has grown tremendously in the last few years. Beiser estimates that there are now between 1,200 and 1,500 registered climbers and the wall is used up to 30,000 times a week. Of the large amount of registered climbers, 30-40 percent use the facility three or more times a week. The UI climbing facility at the University of Idaho is one of the best in the country. The highest point on the wall is 55 feet tall and there’s a total of 6,000 square feet of climbing surface. It’s the tallest climbing wall of any college or university in the country. “Climbing is a great sport,” Beiser said. “It’s as holistic and all encompassing of an activity as you can get. When you climb you exercise every muscle group and it has the tendency to be a very mental activity.”  Add as favorites (61) | Views: 1376
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