Wilkes-Barre Climbing Gym is back, and under new leadership. The well-known hub of rock climbing training in the Wyoming Valley is now being guided by Kelsey Van Horn and Chuck Pahler, a pair of experienced climbers.
“Chuck and I have been climbing in the community outdoors and indoors, and across the country, for a cumulative around 18 years between the two of us,” said Van Horn.
The gym has been around since 1999, but Van Horn and Pahler represent the third wave of leadership within its walls. They reopened in November this year, and their familiarity with the building, and the local community, have been important to their redevelopment of the gym into a welcoming institution of exercise.
Both Van and Pahler are veterans of the old gym’s previous incarnations and used their previous experiences as the blueprint for the reopening.
“We wanted to bring back that community vibe to the gym,” Van Horn said. “It’s really about creating a safe space for people to climb.”
In creating a safe space, the Wilkes-Barre Climbing Gym has opened its doors to all kinds of climbers, from beginners to seasoned pros.
Due to its downtown Wilkes-Barre location, the climbing gym attracts the college crowds of Wilkes University and King’s College, but that only represents a sliver of the climbing community in the area. According to Van Horn, the most likely demographic to spend time at the gym is people in their early 30s.
As was the case under previous leadership teams, the Wilkes-Barre Climbing Gym is open to birthday parties, lessons and youth open gyms, bringing in a new generation of climbers.
For all ages and abilities, the challenges and triumphs of climbing are universal.
“There’s a nice mix of mental and physicality [in climbing], along with that socialization and community, so it’s a great place to come to work out and then hang out,” said Van Horn.
While Van Horn acknowledged that the climbing community in Northeast Pennsylvania does not get a ton of attention, it is a tight-knit group. The gym is framed as a gateway for climbers to test their skills and meet people, which can lead to organizing outdoor climbs in the mountains surrounding the Wyoming Valley.
When someone gets engaged with the climbing community, they can stick with it for decades.
“It really is a lifelong sport,” Van Horn said.
For climbers who predominantly practice their hobby in those outdoor settings, the gym can offer an alternative during more unfriendly weather conditions, when the cold and wet winters make outdoor climbs far more dangerous.
Helping to reestablish the Wilkes-Barre Climbing Gym is a community of climbers that, like Van Horn and Pahler, care deeply about the gym and its continued success.
“We’re seeing a lot of familiar faces,” said Van Horn. “This was not just done by me and Chuck. We are truly blessed to have a village of people that are just helping and making sure that the community’s strong, and showing up for us and with us.”
Put another way, local climbers are thrilled to have their meeting place reawakened.
“Everyone’s just really happy to be back.”
The post Wilkes-Barre Climbing opens under new leadership appeared first on Times Leader.