By Sarah Burns
By the end of March, Ryerson will be one of two universities in Ontario with an indoor rock-climbing wall.
The Ryerson Athletic Centre has contracted Joe Rockheads Climbing Gym to install a traverse climbing wall. The wall will be eight feet high by 20 feet wide and will be built opposite RAC gym 1, below the table tennis rotunda.
Jean Kennedy, assistant director of the RAC, said the wall will cost $500 to install. Students with a RAC card will have to pay about $3 for an hour of climbing.
The wall will be a bouldering wall, which means if you fall you won’t hurt yourself. The wall has fifty to sixty hand holds positioned at various levels all over the surface. As the wall is only eight feet tall, climbers won’t need any special equipment.
“Beginners can try it to see whether or not they like the sport before buying the equipment,” Kennedy said. “We are going to make an arrangement with Joe Rockheads to get lowered fees for Ryerson students who want to try something more difficult.
Brian Franke, who works and climbs at Joe Rockheads, said bouldering walls are good for beginners but are also important practice for advanced climbers.
“The more you boulder, the greater repertoire of moves your brain records,” Franke said. “Eventually your body automatically goes to those positions when you climb outside.”
There is growing interest in rock climbing on the Ryerson campus. The Oakham House Naturalist Society organized climbing lessons at Joe Rockheads and an outdoor trip to climb Rattlesnake Point in Milton on March 25. Co-ordinator Cara Scott McCron was surprised by the enthusiastic response from students.
“Rock climbing is very popular,” McCron said. “I had to run 3 separate training sessions because over 50 students wanted to try it last semester.”
Ami Ganguli, a computer science student and steward of the Naturalist Society, was impressed when he first tried climbing.
“People might think that it sounds boring but it’s great exercise and there are all types of different levels which make it quite challenging,” Ganguli said.
Diane Roylance, a fourth-year physiotherapy student at U of T who has climbed in British Columbia, also enjoys the mental challenge.
“I like the focus,” Roylance said. “When you’re climbing, nothing else in the world matters except your next move.”
She thinks an indoor wall is ideal for practicing technique but warns that it’s not the same as the real thing.
“Indoors, people get really good, really fast because they can anticipate every move,” Roylance said. “But once they get outside on a real rock…they get into trouble.”
“Outside, there are slippery conditions, bad weather and you do’nt know what’s coming up. This can be dangerous.”
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