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Ball State's rock climbing club creates its own unique culture

When Drew Morden came to Ball State he had the idea of creating a rock climbing club.

Already an agile rock climber in high school, he went to a gym in Indianapolis to practice for leisure. With a few friends during his freshman year at Ball State, Morden made a club of about 20 members, seven of them active.

At the time, the now junior biochemistry major had no idea the university's renovated Student Recreation and Wellness Center would include a climbing wall.

"I just started it because I was big into rock climbing when I was in high school and they didn't have a rock climbing facility here," he said. "So I basically started the club to get a group of people together that would want to drive and carpool an hour down to Indianapolis to go climbing."

One of the newest and most popular features from the Outdoors Pursuits Program is the rock climbing wall. The 36-foot tall rock wall, located on the east entrance, has been the center of attention for students that want to practice or are simply curious about trying it out, with about 300 people walking in during the first three weeks.

Brian Kostelnik, graduate assistant who works at Outdoor Pursuits, said the rock wall adds a new activity for students to engage in, as well as uniqueness to Ball State as one of few Indiana universities with a rock wall.

"We're a leader for other institutions for what we are doing," he said.

Since the opening of the rock wall, the number of students interested in being a part of the club has tripled, with more than 60 members.

Morden said the rock wall has had a big effect on the numbers of students that visited the SRWC.

"It's awesome, it's more than anything we could have imagined," he said.

While the hype for the rock wall has died down, with the wall hosting 50 to 75 students a day, a new community has formed.

"It's kind of a novelty at first, and everyone is like ‘rock wall, it's so cool, I want to do it,'" he said. "However, to keep a rock climbing gym open you need a certain community there, and I think that's what we're kinda getting down to now. Most of the people that keep coming back are the ones that actually love the sport."

With a rock climbing community, Morden said he enjoys his job as a climbing wall attendant a lot more.

"While I'm working, I get to hang out with people that really care about the sport," he said. "It's great to see new people get on the wall, but it's even better when those new people try it and stick to it and like it."

 

A new learning community

Along with the rock wall, Outdoors Pursuits offers courses for students to be belay qualified, which are various rope and climbing techniques used in rock climbing. Students that climb the wall for the first time will be belayed by someone from the staff working at the rock wall or someone that is certified, Avery Hall, junior health science major, said.

To be certified, the staff holds scheduled clinics, where beginners learn the basics. Once they become beginner belayers, they are expected to go to the rock wall six times, where they will practice under a staff member's supervision. After six sessions they become certified belayers.

The rock wall in the SRWC can have up to 60 to 80 routes at one time, with some being aimed at beginners while other are for more advanced climbers.

Outdoor Pursuits offers climbing shoes and chalk bag rentals for the safety of students. Beginners also sign a waiver, agreeing with rules and safety procedures, and the staff is first aid and belay certified, Hall said.

"If you follow what we tell you to do, there's really no danger to it," she said. "And the knot tightens the more you climb, so if you slip you will just sit there, instead of falling."

However, while students have to go through a belay qualification test, the climbing rock community also helps students with less experience. The club meets at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, where they practice and teach some of the beginner belayers.

"Rock climbing is all about learning," Morden said. "It's a competitive sport, but it's more competitive with yourself than other people. You're not really measuring yourself by what other people are doing, you measure yourself by how much you can accomplish. It's very rewarding. It doesn't separate people out."

Taking the sport outdoors

Morden remembers the first time he went climbing outdoors. It is memorable for him, not because of the adrenaline associated with climbing, but because he forgot his sleeping bag.

"It was the middle of the summer, so I was like, ‘Oh I'll be fine,' and I layered up my clothes," he said. "It drops pretty cold at night and I had to sleep on my chest with my arms crossed, just bundled up. And then Alicia [another club member], who actually brought a sleeping bag was curled up inside the sleeping bag just laying on my back, just like trying to give me a little bit of warmth."

Morden said while the rock wall at Ball State is good for training and staying in shape, climbers seek the outdoors for a bigger challenge. The club goes out the most during the spring, taking on the opportunity of the weather.

"I started out climbing in the gym, and then I went out climbing with a group of people that knew a lot about the sport and what they were doing," he said. "I'm not exactly a daredevil, but I realize something is safe, then I do it. I wasn't too scared about it, I felt comfortable."

Even before the rock wall in the SRWC, the rock climbing club would make trips to rock climbing gyms and outdoor climbing areas.

"We would go to Climb Time Towers in Indianapolis, like three times a month, which would take a five-hour chuck from your day. It was rather time consuming," he said. "And then on some weekends we would go to Red River Gorge, which is an outdoor rock-climbing area in Kentucky."

The club will organize some trips in the fall and next semester as well.

"We just use the rock to practice mostly, but we like to go out for the real experience," Morden said. "It's very rewarding."

Climbing Wall Fun Facts:

-36 Feet Tall & 42 Feet Wide & Over 1500 sq ft

-16" top rope

-2 Lead Routes & Overhung Arch feature

-60 to 80 routes available

Hours:

Sunday-Friday from 2 p.m. 11 p.m.

Saturdays 2-7 p.m.

Shoe rentals $2

Chalk bag rental $1


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