Cimbing Rocks By Erin McCarthy

Ohio University?s Ping Center boasts a pretty impressive rock wall. At 36-feet tall, the wall serves as a centerpiece for the recreation center. It is the first thing anyone sees when they walk into the building, and when it?s open, it is always filled with climbers of all different levels.

Experienced climbers Shay Rosser and Corey Zukie work Ping?s rock wall, but they both most enjoy getting outside and climbing the real rocks.

Junior Shay Rosser has been climbing for nearly five years. He started at Hocking College, where he studied Eco tourism and adventure travel so he could be a guide and take people on different kinds of adventure trips. Shay has led climbing trips extending up to fifteen days from Southeast Ohio to Kentucky.

?One of the most memorable trips would be the tour of the dirty south, where I took about ten people from Southeast Ohio to the Red River Gorge Kentucky to bouldering in Southern Illinois to Rock Town, Georgia to Arkanas all for climbing.?

Junior Corey Zukie started climbing at a young age. He got really into it his freshman year, when his best friend invited him to a belay clinic. Zukie was really into fitness and weight training, so he first saw climbing as a new way to train.

?I just fell in love with it and started climbing all the time,? he said. ?I found it really addicting. Anyone who starts goes through a little honeymoon phase where they are really into it, and that?s all you want to do.?

Zukie has been on climbing trips all over the US. He has climbed in Arkansas, California, Washington, Colorado, Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and other states.

?It is a good way to measure yourself mentally and physically,? Zukie said. ?If you have a route and you can get on it the first time and be scared out of your mind, but then after going on it multiple times, then the fear goes away and you kinda know the moves. Each and every route you try to do is its own little battle.?

Athens County is filled with great climbing spots.

?There is a lot of local climbing around here?a lot of really good bouldering and sport climbing?that people don?t really know about. There has actually been a relatively recent rebirth of Athens climbing,? Rosser said.

Athens has been featured in Rockclimbing Magazine for a couple locations. Some of these include climbing spots in Sells Park, near Bong Hill and Witches Hill, and in the Lions Head area.

?The climbing community is actually one of the best parts of climbing, not necessarily climbing, just the cool people that you meet,? Rosser said.

Both Rosser and Zukie encourage people to get involved in the sport.

?Just start hanging out with someone who climbs. Go to any gym and take a belay class,? Zukie said. A belay class is a workshop where one is taught basic climbing safety and how to properly use the ropes to hold a climber.

People are often held back from climbing because of the risk associated, but it can be very safe when the right steps are taken.

?One thing that people don?t really know about climbing is how safe it is. It?s a really low risk sport once you know what you?re doing. I think that more people would be into if they knew that,? Rosser said.

Ohio University?s rock wall is run by Outdoor Pursuits. Those who want to get into climbing can visit the rock wall during regular hours, sign up for a belay clinic, or visit http://www.ohio.edu/recreation/outdoorpursuits/ for more information.

Source: http://www.theessaymag.com/2012/03/cimbing-rocks-by-erin-mccarthy/

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