IOU Climbing at Sportsplex West...

By, Sara Hollerich

We were supposed to go up to Camp Mitigwa to climb on the climbing wall. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating with us that day. It was the day that the tornadoes struck Woodward, Stratford and Ames. So we decided to go climbing in Des Moines instead and headed over to Sportsplex West.

It is always amazing to watch the people who go there and are good at climbing. Rob, one of the staff members, showed up when we were getting ready to head home. He scaled the wall like it was no big deal. Then there is me who can only make it about half way up the wall before I slip off.

I think the wall there is challenging for most climbers. You can almost pick the level you want to climb at. There are enough foot and hand holds for beginners to have plenty to grab onto and use, but you can also make the course more challenging by only using one color of holds.

The one thing that I don’t like about climbing there is that I don’t think they have ever cleaned the hand and foot holds. They feel almost slimy and chalk doesn’t seem to help. Maybe I am just a wimp but I think that is sort of disgusting. I think that climbing on real rock is much more fun but we do live in central Iowa and there really isn’t any place to go round here. It is a good place to practice your climbing and help get you in shape!

Members in attendance: Sara, Mike, Melissa, Scott, Jared and Lee.