Climbing the Walls

A new business is banking on your kid’s passion for climbing.

Climb Lawrence, a new climbing gym in downtown Lawrence, is taking that plea and adding crags, crimps, and heel hooks to help challenge your child. Oh, and they are providing dozens of walls to climb and an abundance of padding and safety measures.

“This is absolutely a place for kids,” Climb Lawrence general manager DeAnna Mylander says enthusiastically. “Having kids learn how to climb was always a consideration when we were putting this together. When we were designing the walls and the routes we always kept in mind how kids and kid classes would work with the plans.”

While the gym is usually full of climbers twenty years old and older, Climb Lawrence hosts classes catered to younger climbers every weekday. Classes, called camps, range from simple bouldering to more advance repelling and holds and are available for children as young as five years old. The camps introduce kids to the sport and teach them terms and techniques while letting them get a little wild (supervised, of course).

“My girls absolutely love it,” explains Casey Wallace, a mother of eight and nine-year-old daughters. “I’m always looking for new and interesting experiences for my kids and this was certainly not something they had done before. I wasn’t sure they’d enjoy it because they’ve never done any climbing, but after their first class they were beaming. They wouldn’t stop talking Mylander says that reaction is pretty typical.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had a kid try climbing and not want to come back,” she says with a laugh. “That’s important to us. We want kids to love this. If we can get them moving and keep them motivated, climbing can be a long-term passion. No two climbing sessions are alike so I think that helps keep kids interested.”

Wallace says her girls are hooked.

“I’m really happy they love it,” she says with a laugh. “Climbing around the gym certainly helps them burn off some of the energy they have stored.”

Eventually, Mylander says, Climb Lawrence would like to form and support a competitive climbing team. There are two seasons of competitive climbing: bouldering and sport climbing, and kids of all ages compete.

“We think we’ll be able to develop enough interest and talent to support a competitive team,” she says.

All youth programs run in eight-week sessions. Class costs include instruction, gear rentals during class, membership during session, and two guest passes. LK

Kimberly Williams, M.S. CCC-SLP

Pediatric Speech & Language Services, Birth-18 Years

More than 16 years experience:

•Receptive & Expressive Language •Speech-Sound Production •Fluency & Voice •Social Skills •Telehealth

•Cognition •ESL

3200 Mesa Way Suite D, Lawrence KS 66049 talk@soundspeechks.com 785-766-3217 www.soundspeechks.com “We’ve been working with Kim for a little over a year. My son has made huge strides in his speech and communication... and it’s very much thanks to Kim’s work.” - Whit