No Holds Barred competition draws IIT climbers

On Saturday March 3rd four climbers competed in a regional rock climbing competition representing IIT and the IIT Rock Climbing Club.  Brian Lynch, Anahi Tapia, Brandyn Osborne, and Dan Zweig went to Vertical Endeavors in Warrenville, IL, to compete with hundreds of climbers in a four hour climbing event titled “No Holds Barred”.  Dan Zweig competed in the advanced level and Brian, Anahi, and Brandyn in the intermediate level.

After four hours of almost constant climbing scores were tallied and we celebrated when we discovered Lynch had won 2nd in his division, Male Intermediate, and brought home the prize of a brand new Gri-gri, a climbing device for belaying climbers and repelling.

The four hour event ended with the finalists from the Male and Female Advanced and Open division lead climbing nearly impossible routes, with a sea of competitors and spectators watching from below.  Overall the event was a great learning experience, watching much more advanced climbers from the area demonstrate years of practice and dedication to the sport.  The overall winner, Male Open division, was Greg Padovani, who trains at a local gym in Chicago called Hidden Peak, and won overall in the 4 hour trials as well as the final lead climbing competition where he made it within the final 3 moves of finishing a route that most route setters thought was impossible.

All four IIT students are excited to compete again next year, and plan on training more beforehand to better prepare themselves for the competition;  All four believe they have a very good shot at being finalists in the advanced division next year with a little practice and proper preparation.  Other members are encouraged to attend as well next year and hopefully more students from IIT will be excited to support the climbers in this competitive environment.

This event was a great precursor to the Red River Gorge trip the club is taking over Spring Break, where they will spend 5 days in Kentucky, hiking and climbing with other members of the IIT Rock Climbing Club.  The Red River Gorge Trip will demonstrate the other realm of rock climbing, where teamwork and the outdoors become more important than time and performance.   If you have questions or comments email iitclimbing@gmail.com or find IIT Rock Climbing on Facebook.