Spokane, Wash. – The Paris Olympics are just 100 days away, and local climbing gyms are hoping the exposure brings more people to the climbing wall.
Why should people climb? According to Mikko Delgado with Wild Walls, there are a lot of reasons.
“I think that climbing is amazing,” said Delgado. “It has been great for my mental and physical health. It is a full-body workout requiring technique, coordination, and balance. It’s like a puzzle, trying to figure out the best way to move your body up the wall.”
Delgado says the benefits of climbing are more than just physical.
“The best thing I have gotten out of climbing is the community of people that I have met,” said Delgado. “It’s been wonderful building meaningful relationships with the people I have met through climbing. I hope people get into climbing so that they may also feel the same sense of joy that I get from it.”
But how easy is it to get started? Skyler Gobble with Wild Walls says it is not hard.
“Just show up,” said Gobble. “The beauty of climbing in a gym is you can walk in, rent some gear, and get right on a wall.”
There are different types of climbing; some require harnesses and a small amount of training, others take no training at all, just a willingness to try.
But how do weight and height factor into the ability to climb?
“Climbing is for all body types,” said Gobble. “People tend to think that for climbing, you need a very strong upper body, but as you get into climbing, you see that footwork is actually more important; you should let your legs do the work. People of different heights might climb the same route completely differently; part of the joy of climbing is solving the puzzle of how to climb a route most efficiently for your body type.
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