The Palouse Climbing Festival, hosted by the UI Student Recreation Center from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, was a resounding success among the Northwest climbing community. The festival welcomed climbers of all ages and skill levels for a friendly competition to showcase their climbing skills and abilities.
All registered clubs, groups and individuals were permitted to engage in climbing and scoring activities with one another. This opened the opportunity for all to connect with new people and bond over the joy of climbing. The festival featured numerous colleges, including University of Idaho, Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University and Whitman College.
Each climbing wall was designated with a distinct color scheme, comprising of vibrant hues of pink, green, yellow and blue. These walls presented a diverse array of challenging courses. Each course was assigned a corresponding point value, ranging from 100 to 700, based on their level of difficulty. All courses held boulder climbing, which involves ascending to a predetermined height without the use of a harness.
Emilia Anders, a freshman at UI and social media manager of the climbing club, has been climbing since her junior year of high school. Anders’ favorite thing about climbing is the community.
“[The community] gets me really excited about doing fun physical activity outside. I really love my friends that I climb with,” Anders said.
Climbing, like many sports, comes with mental blocks and fears. Climbers of all ages and levels endure mental challenges sometime in their careers. Anders’ technique to avoid these mental blocks is to listen to music.
Anders recommends that anyone who loves climbing or is interested in the sport join UI’s Climbing Club. They are open to everyone and meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 to 10 p.m. in the SRC.
“Find people to climb with. They will mentor you. That’s how you get into it,” Anders said.
