711165de N0Vember52013 I TechNews campus@technewsiit.com UTSAV GANDHI

Rock Climbing Club rocks fall semes

Dan Zweig
STAFF WRITER

Under new leadership, the IIT Rock
Climbing Club has been up to a lot this semester,
with events every week and bigger events
planned for the future.

The group started the semester with
weekly in door trips to local gyms, Climb On in
Homewood, Vertical Endeavors in Warrenville,
and Hidden Peak in Chicago’s West Loop. In
September they brought the rock climbing wall
to campus, letting all IIT students get a taste of
rock climbing, and encouraging students to get
more involved with the club and they hosted a
BBQ social on the quad which offered students
a chance to meet other club members, enjoy the
beautiful weather, and even try out slack—lining.

This semester the club offered
“beginners only” trips an opportunity for
people with no rock climbing experience to learn
about basic techniques from more experienced
club members. Beginners and climbers of all
levels are welcome and encouraged to attend
every trip, but these beginners trips aimed
to reduce any intimidation or nervousness
experienced by those new to climbing. More
beginners only trips will be happening next
semester as well. The first alumni trip in which
the Rock Climbing Club teamed up with
Alumni Relations to offer current students a
chance to meet some alumni while climbing
also occurred in September. The event was a
fun, new way to interact with alumni.

Once the semester was underway, the
group started climbing outdoors every other
weekend, in addition to the regular indoor
trips. In September they went to Barn Bluff,
Minnesota, and Devils Lake, Wisconsin, to
camp and climb for weekends away from the
city. In October the group went to Red River
Gorge, Kentucky, and Missi Palisades
State Park in Illinois for weekends, mostly with
beginners who had never climbed outdot s,
to teach them about outdoor etiquette and
technique. As the weather cools, the group
plans for more exc' 'ng climbing adventures.
In the beginning of November a Climbing Lock
In will be held at a local gym for IIT students
only, letting them climb and hang out all night,
courtesy of UB and the Rock Climbing Club.
Contact the club if you’re interested.

Another solution for cold weather is
to go further south. Over the long Thanksgiving
break 12 students will be traveling to New
River Gorge, West Virginia, to climb in slightly
warmer weather. Immediately following finals,
the club will be traveling even further south
to climb, in Arizona, California and Nevada.
Twenty students who are brave enough to travel
this far by car have already signed up and will
be climbing across the country this winter
break. Next semester holds even more exciting
events, with budget prt als being submitted
for a camping only trip, ice climbing, multiple
indoor and outdoor rock climbing events, and
maybe even some more extreme outdoor trips
if Finance Board and the school approve these
events.

Photos by Dan Zweig