Lynn at IU: Climbing Wall Debuts at Eigenmann Hall

Looking for a new hold.

In a typical residence hall you'll find a dining hall, a library, and student lounges. Well, Eigenmann has just begun offering a bit more. This res hall, which houses IU Outdoor Adventures (IUOA), recently opened its own climbing wall!

IUOA is a program on campus that supports outdoor recreation by providing students access to HPER-credited skills courses, nature trips, and equipment to rent or buy. The program is currently offering day trips to a "local crag," weekend trips to Kentucky's Red River Gorge, or a two-hour, Thursday evening Introduction to Outdoor Photography. (Check here for general info on IUOA or info on these trips: www.imu.indiana.edu/iuoa/)

IUOA's new bouldering wall in Eigenmann has been open to the public since September 20, but its grand opening was just last Wednesday. Bouldering is a dramatic form of climbing in which participants engage in difficult, dynamic moves for short periods of time, supporting themselves with no rope or belaying clips. In other words, the climber moves from hold to hold—small holds are "chips" and large holds are "jugs," yes, really—supported by only his or her own bare hands!

Watching the winner in the men's
advanced category of the
dyno competition scale the wall.

During the grand opening, IUOA held a dyno competition between the climbers who attended the event. (A dyno is a big movement from a climber, leaping and grabbing a high-placed jug from the ground, for example.) First- and second-place winners in the mens' and womens' amateur and advanced categories got their choice of tents, sleeping bags, and backpacks from IUOA's store for prizes. The grand opening also featured free food and activities and demonstrations such as "How to Pack a Sea Kayak." If attendants visited three of the six stations that were set up, they received either a free pack of socks or hat. Exciting stuff!

I came away from this event looking forward to coming back to visit the bouldering wall for myself. Not to mention a brand-new vocabulary of climbing terms! The only problem: I think I may be allergic to climbing chalk!