When most people think of summer camps, rock climbing is probably not the first thing that comes to mind.
For novice and advanced climbers, Dalplex is offering day camps this summer and the camps won’t be devoted solely to rock climbing either.
“You can’t climb for the entire five days, eight hours a day,” says Heather Reynolds, the camp’s coordinator.
Because of its physical nature, the activities are mixed up and students also work on hand-eye coordination, navigation skills and knot tying.
Reynolds says this gives participants the chance to rest, but also gives them the opportunity to learn and appreciate new activities.
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about rock climbing is safety.
“Climbing is always perceived as a high-risk activity for crazy, extreme people only,” says Sean Therien, owner of Ground Zero Climbing Gym in Burnside. “But in reality, if you do everything the way you’re supposed to, then it’s an extremely safe sport.”
Besides climbing, kids learn skills such as planning and visualization.
“You’re going to look at a climb and you’re going to sort of plan and try to figure out how you’re going to get up to that climb,” says Therien. “You have to plan your moves in advance sometimes.”
