ROCK-JOCKS

Student rock climbers improve skills, embrace challenges of unique sport

elena alaniz & atticus johnson section editors

While they do not scale the most dangerous and daring rock faces that experts encounter due to the majority of Texas being flat land, the local climbers of Stone Co. Climbing have faced the extremes that come with climbing in the wild by conquering the challenges of their own in the facility’s gyms.

Rock climbing is not a typical high school sport, making climbers scarce. Like many others who rock climb, senior Ryan Topf began his climbing journey through connections from his family.

“Before [I began rock climbing as a hobby] I had done it four or five times with family, then my brother started doing it,” Topf said. “I had always wanted to do [rock climbing] but there was never a good place in town, and then we found Stone Co.”

The major types of climbing are mountaineering, traditional, sport, free solo, and bouldering, the version Topf most frequently climbs.

“In bouldering, there are no ropes,” Topf said. “It is just a 15 to 30-foot tall wall that you climb up and down, then [you] fall into the padded mats.”

The difficulty in the routes varies based on the individual climber’s level of skill.

“There's a grading system that starts at zero, [the easiest], and then goes up to 17, which is the hardest,” senior Evan White said. “When I first started, I would start at V-two or V-three and then slowly build up to higher grades.”

Rock climbing isn’t a totally solo sport, however. Sophomore Eliana Voelkel is a member of the advanced climbing team, the Texas Ibexas, at Stone Co. During the peak of climbing season, she and her teammates frequently attend and compete in state and national competitions.

“When it's peak season, I'd say competitions are around every other week,” Voelkel said.

In most high school sports, competition season is governed by universal rules and regulations; however, in rock climbing, the scene can be quite different.

“It depends on if it's regionals or a different [large-scale] competition,” Voelkel said. “The average [competition] would be you getting there, you get the routes you need to climb, judges give you a certain amount of attempts, and whoever gets the climb in the [least] amount of attempts or whoever climbs it the fastest [wins].”

Rock climbing is a sport that seemingly requires great physical strength to succeed. However, some climbers see this as a myth.

“It requires a base level of strength, but past that point, it really is a skill sport,” Topf said. “If you can do a pull-up, you can progress super fast. There's so much [that goes into] your footwork and how you move your body on the wall and your positioning.”

Although the risk of injury can potentially be intimidating for climbers, junior Mike Koym feels no fear.

“I don't really get stressed from it,” Koym said. “For me, it kind of relieves stress rather than builds it.”

That being said, if climbers don’t have practice and experience, they can end up with various injuries ranging from torn fingers to broken bones.

“I haven't had a big injury yet, other than bruises, scrapes, and I lost a fingernail,” Voelkel said. “But honestly, I think things like that are minor. They happen all the time.

But there have been people in my gym who have broken legs before.”

The supportive community can also be a major relief from the fear that comes with climbing. Whether it is brainstorming ideas on how to climb a route or just having small talk with a fellow climber, the sport is one of the friendliest many climbers have experienced.

“The community is so welcoming and helpful towards one another,” Topf said. “There are so many interactions that I've had with strangers that are like, we'll both be working on the same route and talk and we spitball ideas and I would’ve never even learned their name [otherwise].”

Rock climbing can look very intimidating and hard to get into for various reasons. Instead of promoting these assumptions, Stone Co. and its climbers are trying to open the door for new climbers to discover the sport.

"I think more people should know that it's really fun and easy to get into,” Koym said. “Anyone can do it.”