Indoor rock climbing

Indoor rock climbing, an activity for all

BY MOSS BRENNAN

When the weather isn’t cooperating and the mountain rocks are too slippery to climb, people can turn to indoor rock climbing.

Enter Center 45 Climbing and Fitness, located at 200 Den Mac Drive just off of Hwy. 421 on the eastern edge of Boone. Center 45 has several indoor climbing walls that are on several different angles that climbers with several different abilities can attempt.

“(There’s) not a limit to how much you can learn

PHOTO BY MOSS BRENNAN Finan Kiser climbs one of the bouldering walls at Center 45. There are multiple routes for people to climb that are varying in difficulties.

in here,” said Finan Kiser, an employee of Center 45. “You can start in the gym and take it to the national level without even ever having to step outside on rock.”

Kiser has worked at Center 45 for about five months, but has been climbing rocks for about five years. There are multiple benefits to climbing indoors, Kiser said. He said starting in a climbing gym is a good way to start.

In a climbing gym, people have the benefit of having color coded climbing routes that vary in difficulty. There’s also thick pads to protect people if they fall off the wall.

According to Center 45, the walls at the climbing center are all 14-feet at the apex with varied rock sizes. Center 45 does bouldering, which is a popular form of ropeless climbing — typically done on a wall or rock formation at 20ft or less in height, according to the climbing center.

Kiser said climbing to him isn’t about the sport or about the exercise, it’s about the process.

“I love the process of trying something really hard, something that you can’t do at first or second try, then doing all the moves and then eventually linking them together and then completing the entire route,” Kiser said. “It’s not getting to the top, it’s how you get to the top.”

A lot of times, Kiser said beginners will forget to use their feet. Kiser said he also forgets to use his feet at times.

“It’s very, very easy to come in and just step on the sides of your feet or just neglect using your feet at all,” Kiser said. “Learning to use your feet is probably the mark of a really, truly good climber.”

Climbing is not just for the young and athletic, Kiser said anyone can do it.

“I’ve seen so many different types of people, so many different walks of life,” Kiser said. “Toddlers enjoy it. I’ve seen their grandparents enjoy it. There’s a lot of people who like it. It’s not just one dimensional here.”

More information on Center 45 and how to get into indoor rock climbing can be found at www. center45.com.