On Mar. 23, Michigan Tech’s climbing club, the Ridge Roamers, held their spring climbing competition on the climbing wall in the multipurpose room of the SDC. The competition started at 9 a.m. with participants attempting the routes until 3 p.m. on the same day. The field had been divided into four divisions for both men and women depending on the climber’s skill level (beginner, novice, intermediate, and advanced). Scoring was determined by how far the climber had advanced along the route, with each hold counting as one point. The climber with the most points accumulated across three routes and two attempts at each route won their division. Winners from each division were announced shortly after the event wrapped up, with the winners getting to choose from an assortment of climbing gear prizes.
When asked what the climbing competition meant to him, former Vice President of the club, Thomas Draper, said, “The climbing competition is always a good time of the year. Everyone gets to come here and try their hardest at a sport that they love. There’s always friendly competition, you know, we have different difficulty categories so even the people that are climbing, say, easier routes are still having a great time because they are trying their hardest.” The competition was open to all participants. Draper said, “It’s something that we started a couple of years ago, opening it up to some of the more youth divisions. And obviously, if you look around you can see all the kids are having a blast, so yeah, it’s open to anyone who wants to come and try their hardest.”
The Michigan Tech climbing wall is managed through the cooperation of both the Ridge Roamers club and the Outdoor Adventure Program. The climbing wall is located in the SDC’s multipurpose room. It consists of both a high-wall and a bouldering section, with routes spanning a wide range of difficulties for all to enjoy.The club hosts open climbs in the SDC multipurpose room Monday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. with rental gear available for anyone interested in getting started. For more information on the Ridge Roamers check out their Instagram page @mtu_ridgeroamers.
