Reaching for new heights

Some kids will run for miles to find new trees to climb, and after they master that tree, they go out farther for another. When they grow up, they might go to the other side of the world -- to climb mountains, not trees. For those people who can't make it that far, an indoor climbing facility might bring the mountain feel closer to home. For those who can, destinations in United States or around the world await the intrepid climber.\nAt Hoosier Heights, an indoor climbing facility at 5100 S. Rogers St., colorful handholds dot the painted walls and chalky hands decorate the spaces between, offering a great alternative to outdoor climbing.\n"It's a great climbing facility," freshman Josh Spencer says. "There are lots of different types of climbing."\nAt Hoosier Heights, climbers can do everything from belaying, in which one partner acts as an anchor for the one climbing, to boldering, which is sidling around the holds close to the ground without the aid of a climbing harness.\nHoosier Heights has many skill levels from beginner to expert and has instructional courses for those new to the sport. The facility also offers semester-long passes for students and full equipment rental.\nHoosier Heights opened in May of 1998, much to the surprise of owner Mike Thurston.\n"When I first saw (the facility), it was a dirt floor with stacks of hay everywhere," Thurston says.\nIt developed into an indoor climbing facility with more than 7,000 square feet of climbing surface with 33-foot high walls and a 33-degree overhang.\nThe result is a climbing facility that attracts many regular climbers as well as new members. \n"Most of the same people are always here, and the new people always seem happy when they leave," senior Jenn Swab says. "It's about reaching goals."\nThough indoor climbing can be fun, many people brave the outdoors to climb to bigger and better places.\nJeff Sikori, assistant manager to Upper Limits indoor rock climbing facility in Bloomington, Ill., is one of many people who have climbed Arizona's Mount McDowell, which rises to a 1,000-foot summit. \n"It's a great workout, and the level of personal achievement is unbelievable," Sikori says. "It's just you and the rock."\nTo climb Mount McDowell, Sikori used a climbing method called Multi-Pitch, where one person climbs to a given point and then helps the partner climb on ahead. The partner then acts as anchor and lets the first person climb ahead again, which ends up looking like a game of mountainside leap frog. \nAt the summit is an old army storage bin that is bolted to the top and contains the journal where climbers can sign their names as those who have reached the top. \n"It felt awesome to make it to the summit and sign my name in the journal," Sikori says.\nIndianapolis resident Dave Carter went even farther when he took three and a half months of 1997 to climb Mount Everest. He says he took with him about a lot of gear, most of which was dehydrated food. At night, he would rest his tent on a ledge dug into the side of the mountain. After months of climbing through unbearable cold, he reached the summit and says he was just glad to be done with it. \n"I didn't think I was a badass or anything," Carter says. "I was too busy worrying about dying on the way down."\nNinety-five percent of climbing deaths occur on descent, and Carter warns that one should go while still single instead of having to worry about a family. Although he now has a wife and kids, Carter recently returned from a two-week climbing trip to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.\nIndoor or outdoor, hot or cold, many say rock climbing is one of the best ways to reach new heights on both a physical and mental level.\n"You're challenging yourself," says Zack Patton, 17, a volunteer at Hoosier Heights.\nPatton, a Bloomington resident, volunteers at Hoosier Heights two days each week in exchange for free climbing privileges. He also deals with many newcomers and has never seen a negative response to the sport.\n"I've never had anyone say they wouldn't come back," Patton says.