Climbing the wall: Life in the bouldering cave
Climbing in the cave at GMC
by Nate Higgs
For months I struggled with writing this story. No matter what I typed, it never seemed to come out the way I wanted it to. Then tonight, I remembered the words of an old friend, and I could think of no better way to begin.
During my freshman year I spent a great deal of time in the bouldering cave on the Adventure Recreation Floor in North Pit. I would often find myself there long after much of the campus was asleep. On one such night, I was working on setting a new route when Alex Ziko, the tall and lanky president of the Rec. Floor, came home late from an ultimate frisbee tournament.
He and I stood and talked for a few minutes, and he asked why on earth I would be up so late in the bouldering cave. In his mind, the night would have been much better spent trolling the freshman class for young, attractive women to sleep with. It was then that he bestowed to me one of his brightest moments of wisdom, explaining, “You know, Nate, a bouldering cave is like a woman. You get in there and you start screwing around, and before you know it its one in the morning and you’re like, dude, I gotta go home!”
While it might seem a vile and inappropriate comparison at first, Ziko probably had no idea how true and wise his words would turn out to be. For the last four years, much of my life has revolved around the bouldering cave as if she (the cave) and I were truly in a relationship. The comparison might seem rude (probably to my girlfriend more than anyone, but she’s okay with it, I promise), but the similarities are definitely there.
First of all, as I mentioned before, I have spent many a long night with the cave—climbing, of course. Beyond that, I have also put a great deal of time into working on our “relationship,” constantly trying to make improvements for the good of the community. Three years ago it appeared that the cave was going to get shut down, and I was devastated. Apparently, according to the insurance company, old mattresses were not adequate padding for such a facility. They demanded more permanent padding be obtained. What they did not do was give us a budget to perform the necessary modifications.
The project to install new padding in the cave lasted almost an entire year, and for that year the GMC community—a community that is made up of a great deal of Adventure Education majors—was without any active climbing facility. During that year, many a petition was drawn up and many a school club or agency was begged for the funds to put padding in our bouldering cave and give the community a fun way to exercise and stay in shape. Finally, near the end of spring semester my sophomore year, we got the money, got the padding (memory foam used as padding under carpets), and installed it.
All was well with the world for a while, and the cave enjoyed plenty of visitors at all times of the day and night. Even the occasional staff member from the school could be found there, working out climbing muscles during the off-season. But another problem was lurking just beyond the horizon: with all of its new, increasing popularity, the cave was just too small and unvaried to attract the kind of attention she deserved.
It was my turn to give the ol’ girl the overhaul she had been waiting for. In fall of ‘08 work began on adding well over one hundred square feet of climbing surface to the cave, including a new, steep roof section that allows for a great deal of additional variety in climbing possibilities. She got a new paint job and almost a hundred new climbing holds. This semester we ordered a hundred and twenty more holds, so the climbing possibilities are constantly growing. Please, come down to North Pit and check her out. She is a beauty, and a fun way to stay fit!
Yeah, the cave and I have been through a lot together. I’ve known her for years, and over that time we have both made improvements on each other. She makes me stronger and I try to make her better whenever I get the opportunity. I’ve even bled for her on more than one occasion. So, I’m sure at this point you’re all wondering, do I love the bouldering cave? I’ll never tell, but at a school this small… well, word gets around….
Short URL: http://www.themountaineer.org/?p=1182
Posted by Nate Higgs
on Jan 26, 2010 Filed under Adventure, Featured.
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