CREDIT: MELISSA NOVACASKA

Fanshawe’s Wellness and Fitness Centre welcomes students and staff to scale their new 36 foot tall, three-story rock wall.

Karen Nixon-Carroll, Fanshawe’s Wellness and Fitness program manager of fi tness, student wellness centre described her fi rst experience with a rock wall. “There’s a certain level of fear, but once you get used to it you’re good to go. The fi rst time I went to climb I could only get half way up. People will come in to use the rock wall for training, inspiration, or for conquering a fear,” Nixon- Carroll said.

There was scrupulous safety training for the staff that led up to the grand opening. Jodi Anderson, Fanshawe’s Wellness and Fitness Centre program director explained the meticulous processes preparing for the rock wall in the Wellness Centre. “Our ‘i’s’ are dotted and our ‘t’s’ are crossed to make sure we have it all perfect,” Anderson said. In anticipation, and eager to climb, the Wellness Centre staff took fthe initiative to begin practicing.

“We went on our own to The Junction Climbing Centre and started doing some climbing,” said Anderson. The Junction Climbing Centre is located at 1030 Elias St. Rockwerx, Inc. Climbing Wall Professionals, the company that built and manufactured the wall, also trained the Wellness and Fitness Centre staff.

“Rockwerx came in to train us on our rock wall. [They] gave us more specifi c information for our wall,” Anderson explained. There will also be a training course offered to students. “To [learn] how to belay someone, knowing all the safety rules, how to function on the wall, and how to climb,” said Anderson. There are different grabs on the wall called holds, and the paths up the wall are called routes; these routes have to be changed on a regular basis to keep things interesting. According to Anderson, the routes will be changed every two months and Fanshawe is working on a partnership with The Junction Climbing Centre to do the route setting. Harnesses must be worn for obvious safety reasons and will be provided in exchange for a student card. As well, all climbers must wear clean, in-door only running shoes.

Fanshawe student and rock climbing enthusiast, Carlie Forsythe, described the different types of rock wall climbing methods. According to Forsythe, auto belaying is the best way to start. “The auto belay will help pull you up the wall and then you’ll let go and you’ll come down nice and slow. It’s really hard to trust [the device] the fi rst couple of times you try it, but people get used to it,” Forsythe said. “People also climb down, which is also a good exercise using different muscles; it’s a good endurance workout.” “Top roping is incredibly easy, you can take breaks while you’re up the wall, and you don’t have to worry about coming down right away,” Forsythe said. Top rope is the method of rock climbing where a belayer keeps tension on the rope, and guides the climber’s descent.

There are eight ropes and 16 different routes, four yellow automatic belays and four blue top ropes. There are two different routes you can take for each of the eight ropes. Each route will have varying diffi culties ranging from 5.7 (easy) to 5.11 (hard).“What makes the routes easier is the holds are larger and closer together. The smaller and further away the holds are the higher the diffi culty,” Anderson said. The idea of challenges, competitions, and prizes is also being discussed. “Part of the programming for the wall is creating that sense of climbing community. There’re other colleges in Ontario that have rock walls; and [we’re] working on some sort of competition amongst the colleges,” said Anderson.

Rock wall climbing is an exciting thrill providing for an interesting challenge, more than just an exercise, the rock wall at Fanshawe’s Wellness and Fitness Centre promises to offer an unforgettable experience.