Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 13, 2004|Volume 32, Number 18

Yale Climbing Club members Sherman Wang '07, Alistair Anagnostou '05, Heyman Oo '07, Vishal Gupta '04 and Danni Catambay '06 regularly train on the Silliman College climbing wall.

Yale climbers find serenity in high places

On days when he feels the need for some "simplicity" in his life, Yale senior Vishal Gupta often heads to a basement room in Silliman College, where --after entering through a Hobbit-sized doorway -- he can begin to unwind.

This time away from his studies, his responsibilities as a freshman counselor and his other extracurricular pursuits is not without its mental and physical challenges, however. Gupta goes to the Silliman site for a bit of "bouldering" -- that is, scaling, without ropes or a harness, the short, man-made rock-climbing walls that make up the Silliman Climbing Gym, which is run by members of the Yale Climbing Club.

The exercise requires concentration, balance, strength and the ability to problem-solve as Gupta figures out where to place his hands and feet on "rocks" of various shapes and sizes while moving -- vertically, horizontally or in both directions -- along a chosen route. His route is designated by small strips of colored tape, and is one of dozens that have been set by Yale climbers who frequent the space. The routes, classified according to their degree of difficulty, bear such names as "Rebirth," "Golden Showers," "Get High," "Buddha Add-On," "Fishstix," "Low Life" and "The Ladder."

For Gupta -- one of approximately 50 undergraduate and graduate students who are members of the Yale Climbing Club -- rock climbing is an activity that temporarily frees him from the other cares of his life.

"I go down [to the gym] to climb when life becomes really complicated," he says. "Bouldering routes is infinitely simpler than Yale life. ... Climbing gives me an opportunity to slow the pace of my day. Life gets broken down into smaller steps: Reach for that jug, heel hook the corner, step up, et cetera. The simplicity I cultivate through bouldering helps me reflect on my own driven, and often too ambitious, nature. It is so helpful to shed away all the other baggage now and then."

The Yale Climbing Club has existed in various forms at Yale since the University's earliest days, according to club president Alistair Anagnostou '05. Once called the Yale Mountaineering Club, the organization boasts alumni who have scaled (and in some cases were among the first to climb) some of the globe's highest peaks, including K2, the world's second-highest mountain and, arguably, the most difficult to summit. In fact, says Anagnostou, various noted rock-climbing routes around the world have been named after the Yale Mountaineering Club or after the Yale students or alumni who "set" the route for the ascent.

Over the years, the club has periodically become defunct until someone with a passion for the sport of rock climbing revives it, Anagnostou says. Such was the case over a decade ago when several Yale students got permission from campus officials to build the rock climbing wall in Silliman College. The climbing gym became even more popular several years ago when Anagnostou and his brother, Anthony Anagnostou '03 (the former president of the club), took on the task of doubling the climbing area of the gym with some help from other interested students. The gym -- which is open round-the-clock to all Yale students and faculty -- now serves as the principal training space for members of the Yale Climbing Club.

For the faint of heart, rock climbing might seem to be a particularly daring activity. One aim of the Yale Climbing Club, says Alistair Anagnostou, is to teach novices of the sport the proper techniques for rock climbing, including those that ensure safety. Professional gym mats and other rubber padding are used in the climbing gym, and outdoor excursions are undertaken only under the direction of experienced climbers.

Among the fundamental techniques taught in clinics or workshops offered by the club are belaying (managing the rope for a climber to prevent him or her from falling to the ground), making knots, setting anchors and leading a climb. More experienced club members also educate novices about how to use their bodies to climb most efficiently and inform them about some of the tools of the sport, including the proper footwear. This semester, the club expects to offer a clinic about self-rescue techniques for more experienced climbers. In addition to offering clinics, the club also hosts talks and workshops by noted climbers and loans an assortment of climbing gear to its members.

"Our goal is to teach people how to climb in a way that's really safe," says Anagnostou. "The Yale Climbing Club is not about doing things that are extreme or risky. But we are here to have fun."

The fun of the sport, adds the Yale student, lies in its combination of physical challenges and its mental exercise: Climbers reach their destination only after sorting out a physical and mental "puzzle," he notes.

"You have to figure out where to put your body exactly so that your balance is in the right place, your center of mass is in the right place, and you have to learn how to use your legs as muscles, and to do it quietly and gracefully," Anagnostou explains. "For most people, the moves involved are not intuitive: you approach the climb as a problem to be solved."

Thus, when he initiates a beginning climber, Anagnostou is quick to point out that "rock climbing is less about strength and more about balance and grace," he says.

An avid rock climber and mountaineer who has done climbs in the Cascades in Washington state, on the steep cliffs at Red Rocks Park outside of Las Vegas, on the rocky ledges of New York's Shawanagunk Mountains and other places, Anagnostou says that patience is a plus when climbing.

"There are times when it can be very difficult to figure out a climbing move," he admits. "I sometimes 'work' a move for 15 minutes with a friend, where both of us are considering as many options as possible, thinking: 'Maybe if I cross my leg in this way or just lean a little farther in this direction, I'll get it.' It's always a challenge to come up with the most efficient way to do it."

Those challenges -- as well as having the opportunity to see the world from high heights -- are the attraction for most rock climbers, Anagnostou says.

"It's pure adrenaline," he comments. "Some people compare it to drugs, and there are certainly a lot of climbers who become climbing addicts. For me, it's an activity that just makes me feel exceedingly happy."

Freshman Heyman Oo, a newcomer to the sport, enjoys her rock-climbing adventures in the Silliman gym because it tests both her physical and mental skills. Like Gupta, she says that while she is climbing the indoor rock wall, she's able to shut out the rest of the world.

"I can be here climbing for two hours and not realize that two hours have gone by," she says. "It's exercise without feeling exactly like exercise, which is a good thing."

Danni Catambay '06, a more experienced climber, goes to the climbing gym three or four times a week, and has enjoyed setting new routes along the wall.

"I'm an adrenaline junkie and I like climbing because it is both a physical and mental activity," she says. "You can be strong but still not be able to do a move because your hands and feet are not in the right place. There's always a puzzle to it, and it's also a great feeling to feel my weight moving around on a wall instead of on the ground."

For those who are comfortable moving to outdoor climbs, the Yale Climbing Club also hosts trips to various local climbing sites, including Sleeping Giant Park in Hamden, West Rock in New Haven and Ragged Mountain in Southington, Connecticut. The Yale club has ties to -- and occasionally co-sponsors events with -- the Ragged Mountain Foundation (RMF). John Peterson, a research scientist in computer science at Yale, is the president of the RMF. A veteran rock climber, Peterson also serves as an unofficial adviser to the club and has been an "indispensable" supporter of the group, Anagnostou says.

Outdoor climbs are an entirely different experience from bouldering at the Yale indoor climbing gym, notes Anagnostou. For many club members, he says, it requires a bit more bravery.

"It's completely natural to stare over the edge of a cliff and feel afraid," he admits. "But on the other hand, being in the gym is not like being on a rock, hugging a cliff and looking out over a beautiful lake. That kind of experience is awesome."

In addition to its other activities, the Yale Climbing Club also co-hosts with the RMF an annual screening on campus of the winning films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival. The event, which takes place this year on March 1, features mountain and adventure films from around the world, and draws a large audience to the Mary S. Harkness Auditorium on the medical school campus.

Another annual club activity is a climb up Durfee Hall, which also attracts hundreds of onlookers. Club members work out the details of this event with campus officials to ensure the safety of participants and attendees.

Whether its members solely use the climbing wall or brave more daring climbs in the natural world, the club plays an important role in joining together like-minded people from across the campus.

"The Yale Climbing Club is wonderful in the way it integrates undergraduates and graduate/professional students," says Gupta. "I have gotten to meet people I otherwise would never have known."

Anagnostou adds, "The club is a social catalyst for people from all parts of campus who share an interest. We have fun. We tell the uninitiated that there is really no one quality you have to have to be a climber: You just have to want to do it. And we encourage people not to give up on their first try."

-- By Susan Gonzalez

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