Going Higher

Six years ago, Josh Thurston was a 21-year-old repo man working for American Rental in rural Washington, Ind. His father, an employee at the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center near Bloomington, was a seasoned rock climber with nowhere nearby to hone his skills scaling rocks. \nHis vision? To open an indoor gym where climbers of all ages and abilities could receive instruction, feedback and time on walls of varying difficulty. He found his go-to guy in Josh, who moved to Bloomington the day before construction commenced on the facility at 5100 S. Rogers St. For four months, Josh lived out of a suitcase at an extended-stay hotel while his father commuted from Washington to oversee the process. In May 1998, one month after the junior Thurston had competed in his first bouldering competition, the indoor rock-climbing gym, Hoosier Heights, officially opened to the public.\nThe first year was tough, Thurston says, and the second summer was the "worst ever," as the mass exodus of IU students returning home for the break virtually drained Bloomington. He worked seven days a week for 10 to 12 hours at a time, and though summer camps and year-long memberships offered some sort of guaranteed cash flow, the going was tough for the first few seasons. \nYet word of mouth travels quickly, and soon Hoosier Heights was offering discounts to college groups, fraternities and sororities and youth groups in the Bloomington area. Thurston himself teaches R100 in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and IU Outdoor Adventures tends to direct business his way in preparation for annual trips to Red River Gorge in Kentucky. \nIndeed, the facility bustles, especially during the winter months, when inclimate weather forces many climbers and athletes away from outdoor sports. And while "insurance is indeed an issue," as general manager Dave Adkins attests, all climbers must sign a waiver and those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.\nOn this particular day, however, the climbers range from very small (imagine four-year-old tykes toddling precariously across the foam-covered flooring, running promptly into the grip-covered walls and begging parents to belay them up one more time) to college-age (scores of Indiana T-shirts, Hoosier basketball sweatpants and the occasional Greek letter), as well as seasoned older climbers, their weathered faces and custom climbing shoes indicative of their passion for the sport.\nFor Belinda Meyers, this is only her second foray into indoor climbing. The dark-haired IU junior participated in IUOA's trip to Red River Gorge last year, somehow overcoming a self-professed fear of heights and "constant fear of dying" to scale the rocks in the Kentucky backcountry. She was lured to Hoosier Heights by her boyfriend, himself an experienced climber both indoors and out.\n"Once you realize you're fine, you're not scared," she says. "(My boyfriend) loves it, so me and my roommate thought we'd try it, too."\nShe's been twice in the last week, acknowledging that it's definitely a different sort of workout -- "you use muscles you didn't know you had," she says.\nThurston concedes. Climbing burns approximately 600 calories per hour, more than biking, stair climbing, or swimming, and it "barely feels like a workout" at the time, he says.\n"If I really wanted to market this place, all I'd need to do is say what a great workout it is," he says. "You don't have to think or focus on what muscle you're working like you would in the weight room. With climbing, you have no choice when you're on the wall. You're using everything and using energy, but it doesn't feel like it."\nThe logistics of climbing are relatively easy, even to this newcomer. First-time visitors must go through the facility's introductory climbing module, which familiarizes them with all equipment and gear and teaches fundamentals of top rope climbing, a method in which the climber is clipped to a rope held by a belayer (partner) by a locking carabiner and belay device attached to the climber's harness. The belayer controls the top rope for the climber, thus ensuring the climber's safety should he lose footing or grip on the wall. \nThe harnesses climbers wear meet all standard certifications for climbing accessories, and Thurston says the belay loop alone, which attaches the climber to the top rope, can hold 9,000 pounds. The human body alone can only withstand 2,300 pounds, thus attesting to the precise engineering of the product. \nLead rope climbers are usually the more experienced lot and are able to climb without a partner. In lead rope climbing, individuals trail the lead rope as they ascend the wall, clipping quick draws to certain checkpoints along the wall. If the climber fell, he would only descend past his last piece of protection.\nThurston says he never considered running his own business, but considered the venture a "great opportunity that I basically had handed to me, so I ran with it." In fact, he met his wife, general manager Adkins's first cousin, at the facility. She came in with Adkins when the business was still in its infancy -- "we literally had a cigar box as the register," Thurston says -- and Thurston erroneously believed the pair to be a couple. Within two years, however, he married Erin, and the two continue to coddle their mutual passion for climbing. \nEighteen thousand customers later, Hoosier Heights is still growing. A second gym is currently in the works at the Old Woolery Mill off Tapp Road in Bloomington, and the one-on-one instruction offered by Thurston and his team keeps climbers coming back. \n"Everyone here has the same relationship with one another," Thurston says, his fellow climbers and employees nodding in agreement. "We all cut jokes... it doesn't feel like a weight room, where you're intimidated by the mirrors and the big guy lifting the barbell behind you."\nHoosier Heights features climbing walls in excess of 30 feet tall, and seven lead climbing walls that overhang at 10, 20, 29, 33 and 38 degrees. A rappelling platform and leadable ceilings allow experienced climbers to polish technique. First time climbers must pay a $20 fee, which includes gear and climbing class, and day passes range from $11 to $17. Membership packages and monthly passes are also available at a discounted rate. IU students can obtain a semester membership for $110, which essentially pays for itself in eight visits.