Today’s free events at the Rock Wall and the Ropes Course
commemorate the John Wooden Center’s 20th anniversary and
expose an often unrecognized group of athletes that grace the UCLA
campus.
Although these athletes may not carry the typical 6-foot-2,
250-pound frames many are used to seeing, they nonetheless play
with just as much heart.
They are UCLA’s climbers: athletes who attack the Rock
Wall with the same intensity as a running back hitting the
defense’s front line. These athletes, however, trade in
shoulder pads for harnesses, ropes and belay devices.
According to Tony Friscia, an Outdoor Adventures guide and
graduate student, the Rock Wall not only hosts annual climbing
competitions, but attracts some of the top climbers in the
world.
Ken Ito, a second-year computer science major, is a living
example of one of these athletes. He began climbing a little over a
year ago, and now it is his passion.
Ito dedicates 10 hours a week to the Rock Wall and spends most
of his weekends on outdoor climbing excursions. It may seem like a
lot of dedication, but Ito is nonchalant about it.
“It doesn’t feel like it, its just fun,” he
said. “It’s everything I like all rolled into one
““ backpacking, camping, being with friends, and in the most
beautiful places.”
Ito aspires to climb Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.
Although it takes the average climber five days to scale it, Ito
plans to do it in three, part of his dream to live out his favorite
maxim that “gravity is a myth.”
While Ito talked about the strength, endurance and determination
he has gained from climbing, he focused on the importance of the
relationships he has developed.
Accepting Ito’s claim that “I never met a climber I
didn’t like” may be difficult at first, but considering
the amount of trust necessary between climbers, its truth soon
becomes clear. The fact that one’s life is in another’s
hands at all times helps forge friendships, according to Ito.
Today’s events, chosen to foster the value of
“friendship,” are run by members of the UCLA Outdoor
Adventures Team, skilled outdoor leaders who promote safety and
community-building.
The Rock Wall is open from 5 to 7 p.m. and is located in the
John Wooden Center. It offers 15 ropes for climbing in a relaxed,
music-filled environment. Rock Wall supervisor Danny Sedivec
encourages curious students to give rock climbing a try.
“Students should come in instead of looking at it through
the glass wall,” he said. “It’s a great place to
meet people.”
The Ropes Course is open from 3 to 6 p.m. and is located at the
Sunset Recreation Center. The course will feature a 100 foot
tightrope walk and a trapeze jump, as well as a few events that
have yet to be determined. According to Ropes Course supervisor
Dave Eisenberg, the course caters to anybody ““ regardless of
fitness level.
“The course is designed to challenge what you have on the
inside, more than what you’ve got physically,”
Eisenberg said.