Whitman’s Climbing Community Brings Students to New Heights

Whitman College’s Climbing Center offers students of all experience levels the opportunity to experience rock climbing for themselves and grow in the sport.

Whether your goal is to learn, teach, compete or just have fun, the climbing scene at Whitman has something for everyone—from Adaptive Climbing Nights to volunteer and leadership opportunities to a club climbing team.

Building an Accessible Space

Megan Caldwell ’27, a History major from Mukilteo, Washington, is the Accessibility Outreach Coordinator for the Climbing Center at Whitman. She collaborates with DISCO, Whitman’s Disability and Difference Community, to organize adaptive climbing events on campus. 

“What I am trying to do with the climbing gym is create a space where everyone feels like they are welcome and able to climb,” Caldwell says. 

Access to the Climbing Center—and gear—is free for students during open sessions. And Whitman’s Climbing Center currently has three pieces of adaptive equipment, with four staff members specially trained to operate it. As an avid climber, Caldwell is grateful that the adaptive equipment gives people access to a sport she loves.

“I’ve been rock climbing since I was 10, and this is such a huge part of my life,” she says. “I really want everyone to feel like the climbing gym is inclusive for them.”

Caldwell highlights that the Adaptive Climbing Nights are not just for people in DISCO or people who identify as disabled. 

“We want to make climbing a community where everyone can be together, not separating climbers,” Caldwell says. “The Adaptive Climbing Nights are no different than any other climbing event, except that we have the adaptive climbing equipment set up.” 

In addition to Adaptive Climbing Nights, the Climbing Center hosts open climb hours and events that cater to femme and nonbinary climbers.

Caldwell’s work as Outreach Coordinator extends even further, supporting members of the Walla Walla community. 

“We work with the Walla Walla Valley Disability Network, which has a pretty extensive program of kids and adults who want to enjoy climbing, so they reach out to me, and I plan events and hire staff specifically who are trained on our adaptive equipment,” she says. 

Caldwell and other staff members at the Climbing Center are also available to teach adaptive private lessons, as well as answer questions about how to make climbing events more accessible.

Learning the Ropes

For students who want to develop their skills in a structured way, Whitman offers a variety of beginning and advanced climbing courses through the Sports Studies, Recreation and Athletics (SSRA) program.

Before working at the Climbing Center, students are required to take a Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) course (SSRA-248), which helps them become certified instructors for the American Mountain Guides Association, as well as earn certifications in CPR and first aid. 

Student Climbing Center Manager Owen Buckley ’27 is an Environmental Humanities major from Athens, Ohio. His experience with the CWI course was fun and fast-paced.

“It’s an all-encompassing course of getting you dialed on your skills in climbing and also everything you need to know about teaching a climbing course,” he says. “You get hit with a lot of information, but it’s also really fun because you get to be alongside people who are going through the same process.” 

Buckley explains that the goal of the CWI course is to become good teachers, not just good climbers. 

“Most of us, even though we’re proficient in climbing, maybe haven’t taught other people before, so I think that’s a really important part of the class,” he says.

Community Rocks!

Student Climbing Instructors also get the opportunity to give back to the community with programs like Friends Rock, which introduces kids in the Walla Walla community to rock climbing. Geology major Lily Iseminger ’27 is a Student Leader for the Friends Rock program. 

“The kids in Friends Rock are really fun,” she says. “It’s a really good way to connect with people in the community.”

Iseminger likes to check out local climbing gyms whenever she travels, because she knows she’ll find community there. Her favorite part of the climbing community at Whitman is how easy it is to make friends across class years and majors. 

Another way to do that is through the Whitman College Climbing Team. As part of the Northwest Collegiate Climbing Circuit (NC3), the team travels to competitions at colleges across the Pacific Northwest. And Whitman hosts its own event, the Sweet Onion Crank, each spring.

Caldwell encourages interested students to show up to practices, even if they don’t have a ton of experience climbing.

“Everyone is welcome to join the climbing team. Try it out, come to practice—it’s a pretty chill environment,” she says. “I love being part of the climbing team, and I’ve made a lot of friends and been able to do a lot of outdoor climbing with people I’ve met through the climbing gym.”