Chapman rock climbing club: conquering the fear of heights

Jack Connolly (left) and Alex Balfe (right) are part of Chapman’s rock climbing club, a place for students of all physical backgrounds to try a new and challenging sport. Photos by LISA WONG, video & podcast editor

Typically when it comes to sports, there’s the perception that the most physically gifted individuals become the best at their sports.

But rock climbing changes this perception. Take Robert Kelman for example, an 87-year-old man who back in 2017 became the oldest man to climb Devil’s Tower in 90 degree or higher temperatures.

Sophomore electrical engineering major Michael Cheng talked about the diversity in the rock climbing community and how people of all ages and physical abilities can learn to pick up the sport. That’s what drew Cheng into rock climbing and also the support from his peers that go rock climbing.

“My dad, he’s 58, but he started climbing last year but he’s climbing just as good as my friend who’s 19, and he started a year ago too,” Cheng said. “When you go (climbing) it’s not people competing against each other. Everyone is trying to help each other get better. And I think that’s one of the things that drew me in, is just how supportive the community is.”

Sophomore screenwriting major Will Buffaloe said that rock climbing is an activity that requires more mental strength rather than physical strength. This is what opens up the sport for anyone to give it a go.

“It’s not so much a physically demanding sport as much as it is a mentally challenging one,” Buffalo said. “A lot of it involves developing technique over time, getting familiar with a climb and how to position your body to a wall. A lot of that more nuanced, technical stuff is what makes (rock climbing) more accessible because anyone can essentially learn that, you don’t have to be a prime athlete.”

While the sport welcomes people of all backgrounds, one of the biggest obstacles with rock climbing is conquering the fear of heights.

While the sport welcomes people of all backgrounds, one of the biggest obstacles with rock climbing is conquering the fear of heights.

But there are ways to get comfortable with this fear.

Buffaloe said that he typically does bouldering which involves climbing 12 to 15 feet in the air, which may seem daunting for beginners, but Buffaloe said that at these heights the conditions are safe enough to avoid any injury from falling.

Others might not be intimidated by these heights, but Buffaloe adds that the way that the climbing paths are designed makes for a challenging but great workout.

“What’s nice about Hangar 18 is that they design routes and the actual makeup of (it),” Buffaloe said. “(The routes) are vertical, horizontal and then vertical (again) so you’re covering as much as 25 feet of actual surface area when you climb. So it feels like you’re getting more of a workout and you’re going higher because of how you’re meandering up the wall.” 

Club president Matthew Pool, a junior business administration major, said that the rock climbing club has around 40 active members, and many members go to Hangar 18 to climb throughout the week. A couple weeks ago they had an outing at the Doti Struppa Rock Wall and this past weekend they organized a group climb at Hangar 18.

Pool said that he works at the Doti-Struppa Rock Wall, and even with about eight months of climbing experience it was intimidating being high above the ground. But with multiple climbs and experiences this was something he got used to.

“That was honestly pretty scary being 51 feet up, never having top-roped myself,” Pool said. “When you get to 50 feet that can be scary at first, but now you do it over 10 times or something and you’re like, ‘Okay, I trust the equipment, I trust the people belaying me.’”

Cheng was in agreement with Pool, and for Cheng it was a matter of putting himself into situations where he confronted the fear of heights.

“I used to be really scared of heights, but I forced myself to keep climbing (heights) and trusting that the equipment is safe,” Cheng said. “It’s kind of like exposure therapy. It’s like the more you do it, the less taxing it is on your mind.”

Pool said that he welcomes all Chapman students to give rock climbing a go, and speaking from personal experience, he said that he didn’t expect how much fun he had going into rock climbing, but is absolutely thrilled that he gave it a go.

“It’s an amazing workout and it’s fun and challenging,” Pool said. “You’re getting to climb something — you feel like you have achieved something, and it’s also a little bit of a puzzle of learning, ‘Okay, what moves do I have to make in order to climb this successfully?’ So it mentally engages you too, which has been really fun.”