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The climbing wall is housed within the Health and Wellness Center. It is an Entre-Prises Imprint wall with over 1600 square feet of climbing surface. The wall stands at 40 feet high and 40 feet wide, containing both top-rope routes and bouldering problems for climbers of all skill levels. An additional bouldering rock and hang board are available.

Top-roped Climbing

Top-roping is the most common style used at indoor climbing walls. A climber attaches their harness to one end of a rope, which then passes up through an anchor at the top of the wall, and then down to a partner who belays the climber. As the climber ascends the wall, the belayer pulls in the slack rope, such that if a climber were to let go, they would be held in place on the wall. Top-roping is the ideal way to start climbing for beginners since it is psychologically easier and less physically demanding than lead climbing.

Bouldering

Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. One advantage of bouldering indoors with crash pads is that it can be practiced alone without a partner.

Bouldering is a style of climbing emphasizing power, strength, and dynamics. Its focus is on individual moves or short sequences of moves, unlike other forms of climbing, which generally demand more endurance over longer stretches where the difficulty of individual moves is not as great.

To reduce the risk of injury from a fall, climbers rarely go higher than 12 feet above the ground. One of the major appeals of bouldering is its relatively small equipment requirements, just climbing shoes and a chalk bag.

Lead Climbing

Lead climbing is a climbing technique used to ascend a route where the climber attaches themselves to a length of dynamic (slightly stretchy) climbing rope and ascends whilst periodically attaching themselves to fixed protection on the face of the route and”clipping in” to it. At WOU’s Climbing Wall the quickdraws have already been attached on the wall, and the climber only needs to “clip in” the rope.

Lead climbing differs from Top-Roping in that the climber does not have an anchor point above them whilst climbing, but clips their rope onto the wall as they ascend. This does give the potential for larger falls and presents a greater mental challenge. A climber must have passed the Campus Recreation Department’s Lead Climbing class before they are allowed to lead climbing.

Like top-roping, the lead climber must have another person acting as a belayer. However, the belayer’s job is more complex than for top-roping, since they not only hold the rope in the event of a fall but also must give out rope or taking up slack as the climber moves up and progressively clips the rope into the quickdraws.

We, the Campus Recreation Department, pride ourselves on teaching the necessary skills needed to explore climbing as a lifelong fitness and recreational opportunity. Our philosophy is to always reward climbers with praise and positive reinforcement for a job well done. Climbers are never forced to perform. We wait until each climber is ready to progress. We believe that with patience, encouragement, and practice, our students will make the most of their time on the wall.

• Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday classes during the fall, winter, and spring are four weeks long consisting of eight lessons; each lesson lasts 60 minutes
• Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday classes during summer are two weeks long consisting of 4 lessons; each lesson lasts 60 minutes
• Our preferred instructor to climber ratio is 1 instructor per 6 climbers
• Classes may be combined to accommodate instructors/classes
• Included in the class fee are the equipment rentals for the harness, belay device, locking carabiner, and climbing shoes

Registration

We will be hosting a climbing camp this summer on the rock wall for ages 12 and up! July 11-15th from 1pm to 4pm we will be in action. We will be covering everything from safety standards to climbing technique and skill advancement. Our PCIA climbing wall certified instructors will take a deeper dive into the beginner to intermediate climbers abilities.  

Register for Summer Climbing Camp HERE.

We understand that this is a newer process and a new process takes time to figure out, especially if this is your first time with us for climbing lessons. We have provided some registration hints for signing-up multiple climbers for spring lessons below.

Steps for filling out the Google Form with multiple Climbers one time:

• Fill out the first section with your (Parent/Guardian) information
• The more information you provide us the better we can place your climber
• The final question on the page is the climber’s information. Remember to put both climbers’ information. Select, “Next”. Answer the final question and select “Submit”. You are finished.

Steps for filling out the Google Form for multiple Climbers multiple times:

• If the above information is not clear or your selections may be a little more specific then it may be easier to fill out the Google form for each Climber instead of trying to submit it all in one form.
• Again, if you find it easier to understand you can follow the steps above just signing up one Climber per time. This way you do have to fill out your contact information twice.

Please reach out to us if you have any questions hammerlez@wou.edu.

Registration

Registration is completed at the front desk of the Health and Wellness Center (Map) using cash/check during operational hours. Class is now open to WOU students and community members.

To expedite your registration process, please fill out the Activity Registration form prior to your arrival at the HWC.

PCIA Climbing Wall Instructor course

The PCIA Climbing Wall Instructor Course provides instructors and potential instructors with an in-depth and standardized understanding of the skills essential to teaching climbing in an indoor setting. It is the first step in a sequential approach to professional climbing instructor development. The course reinforces the importance of teaching technically accurate information and debunks many common climbing myths.

The course emphasizes the presentation of sound fundamental skills to climbing gym participants, the formation of risk assessment and risk management skills, and basic problem-solving skills such as belay transitions and on wall coaching and assist techniques. Participants will be assessed on both their core knowledge and their ability to effectively teach and coach related skills.

Prerequisites:

• The candidate must show an adequate experience level to the course provider illustrating that he/she is ready for the course. Examples include periodic climbing for 2-3 years, high intensity of climbing in the past few months, etc.
• Able to easily put on a harness and tie in appropriately.
• Able to belay with an aperture belay device and an assisted locking device in a competent, comfortable, and confident manner.
• Equipment necessary for the course may be checked out for class; inquire at time of registration.
• Capable of comfortably top-roping 5.8 on an artificial climbing wall.

Cost: $80 for WOU students and $120 for non-WOU students (cash or check payments) which includes all classroom materials (CWI Course Manual, pre-course study and lesson preparation materials, and written and practical exams).

Winter term class