climbing wall update
William N. Dilla (sdilla@UMSLVMA.UMSL.EDU)
Tue, 16 Dec 1997 13:14:59 -0500
This is an update on Isaac Michalowski's mid-Nov. post about "horizontal
Climbing walls" and the subsequent exchange with me and a couple of other
people.
Isaac--
Our troop did its visit to the nearby school with climbing walls last Fri.
night and I finally got to see the sort of thing that you were talking
about. They called their "horizontal wall" a "bouldering wall." (They had
vertical walls, too.)
I now can see where the sort of wall you were talking about would be
suitable for one-time use at a Camporee or similar event. The climber is
never more than a couple feet off the ground, so you don't have to worry
about ropes and harnesses and can run people through the event pretty
quickly. Also, since the bouldering wall is not that high off the ground,
it could be (safely) permanently left in place at a camp for others to use,
once the event was over. The wall I saw was bolted into the concrete blocks
of the gym wall, so I'm not going to be able to help you on plans. But, you
should be able to find someone with construction talent that could put this
sort of thing together.
At the same time, I'd definitely still say the best way to go vertical wall
climbing is to use an established facility. After seeing the facility, it
looks like the $$$ involved in the equipment (helmets, harnesses, ropes,
etc.) are probably greater than those needed for the wall itself.
p.s. The Scouts had a great time at the climbing gym. We took our 2nd yr.
Webelos along, and they had a ball! Certainly one of the best and easiest
recruiting events we've done.
YiS,
Bill Dilla
Scoutmaster, Troop 310
Webelos Den Leader, Pack 310
New Horizons District--Greater St. Louis Area Council
Ballwin, MO
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City |
