February 13, 2002

Climbers driven up the wall

Rock climbers tackle, learn the ropes at competition

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
How do you measure a trophy when compared to an afternoon of quality time?
For Paula Strait and her daughter, Brigid, 11, spending Saturday afternoon at the New Campus School Rock Climbing Competition was a winner no matter how you sliced it. The two enjoyed their mutual passion for rock climbing, hung out with fellow climbers of all ages and brought home a winning trophy in their respective age categories.
"Climbing is just fun, fun to do, and maybe eventually I'll get really good at it," said Brigid, a fifth-grade student at Interlochen Pathfinder School who also talked two of her friends into coming along. "I just like to do the walls for fun."
The Straits discovered climbing while visiting an Eastern Mountain Store in Minneapolis, which features large indoor climbing walls. Their imaginations were sparked by the sport and they began climbing as a shared family adventure, both indoors during the winter and outdoors during the summer at various state parks.
"We got hooked on it at that store," said Paula Strait, who sees many benefits to the rock climbing in addition to shared fun. "If you look at early childhood development, children need to climb. They also need something they can master. My daughter has a tremendous mind, I wanted something to use her body and rock climbing is like a giant three-dimensional puzzle."
A total of 23 climbers, ages 10-43, tried their luck at all-new routes during the Climbing Competition, angling for prizes in six age and gender categories. With four ropes accessing a total of 20 routes, plus bouldering routes on a smaller wall, climbers accumulated points for each successful climb. The points for each route were based on their difficulty, with easier routes counting for 60 points and more challenging ones over 100 points.
Climbers could try a route as many times as they wanted but received points only if they reached the top. One slip or touch of a hold from a different route and it was back to the floor to wait for another try.
The competition featured all new routes, leveling the playing field for everyone. Organizers Ben Kiessel and Dave Poinsett spent hours Friday evening and Saturday morning creating and labeling the new routes for the competition.
"We tried to make the routes accessible to climbers of all ages," said Poinsett, who has been climbing for six years. "Ben is really good at making routes because he is easily the best climber in town. You have to have insight as to what's required to climb at each level of difficulty."
A devoted climber and a senior at Traverse City West High School, Kiessel wanted to hold the climbing competition because he fondly recalled ones he participated in when he was a new climber. He wanted other younger climbers to have a chance to compete and also be mentored by more experienced climbers. Not to mention the fun involved for everyone.
"We hadn't had a competition in four or five years and I wanted to have one to have fun," said Kiessel, who helped judge the competition.
The ongoing mentoring of younger or newer climbers, both at the climbing wall's weekly climbs and the climbing competition, impressed Paula Strait.
"The mentoring is really neat," she said. "Where else can you start out knowing nothing? There's not shame about it here."
Meryl Estes participated in the competition despite her earlier entry in the VASA races. After placing in the top six in the 12K women's category, she came by for some vertical challenges before heading back to the VASA awards dinner Saturday evening.
"This is not too similar to skiing, but it works the same muscle groups but it's just a totally different process," said Estes, 18, a student at Northwestern Michigan College who has been climbing for approximately six years. "These new routes are fun, there's a lot of challenging ones - especially since I have no strength left after the VASA."

Herald photos by Garret Leiva

With outstretched fingertips, Jenifer MacArthur of Traverse City attempts to grab a hold on the bouldering wall Saturday during the New Campus School Rock Climbing Competition. The competition featured awards for the top finishers in a variety of men’s and women’s age categories.

Nik Seeley of Traverse City carefully picks his next hand hold as he makes his way across the bouldering wall white route.

An unidentified climber glances up the climbing wall. Competitors could only use holds on the marked route they were climbing.

Above: Holding on for dear life, Tim Jenema makes his way across the bouldering wall, which presents a more horizontal climbing challenge.

Below: Standing at ground level, two competitors watch a fellow climber tackle a route on the climbing wall.

An unidentified climber searches for a place to put his foot down while ascending the climbing wall. Climbers earned points for successfully completing a route without falling or putting a hand or foot on a non-route hold.