“We’re all bald monkeys,” says Paul Dief, owner and founder of the Phoenix Rock Gym. “All kids climb, they try to get to the cookie jar on the top shelf. We’re all natural climbers. People forget how fun it is — that vertical movement.”
The vertical movement he touts is rock climbing, a sport that lets you scurry up organized walls or bona fide mountains with nothing more than a harness and a few ropes. And it’s easier than you think.
“People think you have to be able to do one-armed pull-ups, or be an amazing athlete, but no,” Dief says. “All they have to do is walk through the door. No experience necessary.”
For anyone itching to try something new and active, indoor rock climbing is a great place to start. The Phoenix Rock Gym, ClimbMax Gym, Ape Index and AZ On The Rocks all offer indoor (and air-conditioned) adventure across the Valley.
Brent Blaylock, president of the ASU-based Arizona Outing Club and a computer information systems senior, agrees that “top-roping” at an indoor gym is a good introduction, but it's only one of many types of rock climbing available to adventure seekers.
“That’s definitely the safest way to climb, I would say, and probably that’s a great way to learn how to do outdoor rock climbing,” Blaylock says. “Go to the indoor gym first, see if you like it, and then you can kind of move your way out.”
Blaylock first encountered the great unknown five years ago on a pit-stop in Zion, Utah, where he hiked a flat canyon and discovered canyoneering, “a combination of repelling, hiking, route finding, rock climbing, down climbing” and more. Today, he leads the Arizona Outing Club through all varieties of outdoor adventures.
Among the varieties of rock climbing, he says, is bouldering, a sport that involves climbing small heights with no ropes. There's also free climbing, which is also ropeless but works at larger heights, and sport climbing, which involves the climber clipping into permanent bolts every 10 feet up. Traditional climbing requires the climber to bring these bolts along, installing and removing them.
But rock climbing is only one facet of the AOC, which prides itself on offering a wide swath of outdoor activities for the ASU community, from beginner’s hiking to advanced mountain biking and skydiving.
“Essentially, it’s a community of members where people come up with ideas to do things,” Blaylock says. “So if somebody wants to go hiking this weekend, they’re like ‘I’m interested in going to Camelback Mountain on Saturday and leaving at 8 o’clock, who else wants to come with me?’... It’s really for all levels, too, so if you’ve never been hiking before, you know that trip to Camelback is going to be perfect for you.”
The club consists of almost 200 members who typically plan one to six outdoor trips a week, both in the Phoenix area and around Arizona. Many trips involve hiking, which Blaylock says is the easiest activity for those looking to get outdoors. South Mountain, Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak and the Superstition Mountains are all within a 45-minute drive, and the only equipment needed is plenty of water, he says.
Also, the club frequently plans beginner-level rock-climbing or canyoneering trips, which allow expert members to show newbies the ropes. A recent trip to Jack’s Canyon in northern Arizona took members on three days of introductory rock climbing.
For anyone interested in learning the serious nitty gritty about outdoor activity, both Blaylock and Dief suggest taking a formal class. While trips can be a great experience, classes through organizations such as the Arizona Mountaineering Club teach beginners how to set up ropes, tie knots and other essential steps to personal practice.
No matter the entry method, Dief hopes everyone will try rock climbing and experience its dual peacefulness and challenge.
“When you’re climbing, it’s all you can focus on, and that’s a great feeling,” Dief says. “It’s an outlet to energy — a sort of active, focused meditation. Your world is boiled down to a few square feet.”
“People have all these excuses, but it doesn’t matter if you make it to the top, as long as you’re having fun.”
For more information, visit azoutingclub.com or phoenixrockgym.com.
Reach the reporter at kaila.white@asu.edu
