CLIMBING CENTER
When UConn’s new recreation center was first unveiled in the fall of 2019, its four floors were packed with shiny new features, from the aquatic center to the indoor track to the rows of untouched treadmills and stair machines. One of the rec center’s most impressive boasts — at the opening, and to this day — is the new climbing center, visible through a tall glass window that stretches from the ground floor to the top of the building. At 58 feet, the climbing center’s rock wall has the unique honor of being the tallest collegiate climbing wall in New England. However, its stomach-dropping heights aren’t all the climbing center has to offer. There is also an area for bouldering, a type of climbing that is performed on smaller walls without ropes or harnesses. In total, the climbing center boasts over 5,000 square feet of climbing space.
At the entrance of the climbing center is the front desk, where students can borrow climbing shoes, harnesses, and bags of chalk. Past the front desk is the bouldering area, a smaller wall pockmarked with rainbow-colored holds. To complete a climb, a climber needs to follow the holds of a certain color until they get to the end — which sounds like a simple enough task, except for the holds that wind around doorways and mark the undersides of steep inclines. After traversing through the bouldering area — taking care not to walk directly under anyone, for fear of being landed on — one can view the top roping area, home to the famous 58-foot wall. The wall has different climbing paths of varying difficulties and features a station with six belay ropes and four auto-belay stations. Belaying involves one person climbing while another person holds their rope from the ground, whereas the wall holds the rope for climbers with auto-belay stations.
For the average person, staring up a 58-foot rope or watching someone dangle upside down at the bouldering area can make the climbing center seem more than a little intimidating. However, students don’t have to be seasoned mountain climbers to enjoy what the center has to offer. The climbing center is beginner-friendly: All climbers, regardless of prior experience, must complete a basic orientation in order to climb. Students interested in top-roping must complete an additional course about safety, technique, and proper use of equipment. The climbing center has plenty of different climbing tracks in each area, marked with different colors that correspond to different levels of ability. Whether you want to challenge yourself with a tougher climb or stick to what you know, there is space to do whatever feels right.
In addition to the orientation courses, the climbing center offers frequent classes for climbers of all skill levels. For beginners, there are movement clinics, which teach techniques in footwork, balance, and body positioning. More ambitious climbers can take a course in lead climbing, a style of climbing where the climber has to clip their own rope into bolts on the wall. This class is not for the faint of heart, as climbers are recommended to have approximately six months of climbing experience and comfort with more difficult climbing routes.
The climbing center also hosts plenty of competitive and noncompetitive events. One of these is a bouldering competition open to all skill levels in which climbers can challenge each other. However, the event is not solely competitive — though top climbers win prizes, the climbing center stresses that the point of the bouldering event is creativity and self-improvement. Around the time of Halloween, the center also hosts a “costume climb”: costumed climbers take to the walls and enjoy a night of spooky revelry. For the climbing center’s costume climb, prizes are given not to the best climbers, but to the best costumes — after all, it’s one thing to put together a wild Halloween costume, but to wear it while climbing a 58-foot wall is something else altogether.
For UConn students who have peered through the rec center’s tall window and seen tiny climbers clinging to the top of the wall, the climbing center can seem like an intimidating place. Although scaling the climbing center’s tall wall may not be an everyday event for most, students don’t need to be daredevils in order to enjoy what the center has to offer. With multiple difficulty levels, free orientation courses, and supplies to borrow, the climbing center is more than willing to help you defy gravity in whichever way you find the most comfortable.
Written By Mary Lasley Photos By Haley Kozlowski and Tyler Pereira