Every Sunday night from 8-10, Yoder Arena fills with students ready to climb. Whether interested in baleting, climbing, bouldering, or just hanging out, the space is a welcoming atmosphere that invites students of all ability levels to challenge themselves. 

The range of options at the climbing wall provides opportunities to progress one’s skills in multiple activities. Regular climbing is in a harness, allowing students to climb all the way to the top of the wall by differing routes that vary in difficulty. Students can also be trained to belay, which involves holding the tension for the person climbing on the wall. Bouldering, climbing along the bottom of the wall without a harness, is also a great option. Each of these activities always provide levels of difficulty appropriate for experience level. 

Climbing is a unique activity because it works a completely different set of muscles than most sports. “We get people who are well trained athletes who come in and are like ‘this is insane!’” one of EMU’s climbing wall facilitators, Sarah Regan, explained. “It’s fun because it puts everyone on the same level, and it makes it feel adventurous.” This level playing field is most fun, Regan went on to say, when lots of people join in. 

Senior Jessie Landis began climbing during her first year at college. She loves the aspect of having an end goal. “It’s most satisfying when [the goal] is just beyond my ability and so I have to work on it a couple of times over the course of a month and eventually get better and get it.” Landis appreciates that with these end goals, the competition within the climbing community is not among each other, but instead with oneself to improve. 

The climbing wall at EMU provides not only a perfect outlet from homework on a stressful Sunday night, but also a great community that is challenging itself to be better all the time. Between climbs, conversation abounds and words of support for climbers are constantly in the air. As Landis puts it, “Come try it! It’s so exciting to see people grow and challenge themselves.”