LAKEWOOD —As 7-year-old Mimi Walczak reached the top of the 23-foot-high rock climbing wall at the Lakewood Link Recreational Center, she turned around and exclaimed, “Look, Mom!”
Mimi is one of many children who has participated in one of the rock climbing programs offered at the center at 1295 S. Reed St. She started as a beginner climber in the summer and has excelled to the point of reaching the top.
“She loves it,” said Mimi’s mom, Erika Walczak, who is thrilled at what the climbing program has taught her daughter.
“It has helped her start building an appreciation of body awareness,” Walczak said.
The center offers three classes for children: Cliff Hangers (ages 3-6), Rocks Stars (ages 6-12) and a competitive climbing team class (ages 6-16).
“It’s great to teach the skills indoors that the children can use outdoors,” said Cece Litherland, gymnastics and climbing wall programmer at the center. “It’s just such a fun, Colorado thing to learn.”
All three classes incorporate the basics of climbing including balance, body coordination, knot tying and hooking in. The climbing team takes the sport a step further by incorporating competition.
“Competitions consist of climbing the hardest route you can take in the quickest time,” Litherland said. “They come twice a week to climb, and then they compete with other centers and programs in the area.”
Classes are capped at 18 participants. 4-8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission into the center for open hours is $5 for adults, and $4 for children, plus a $2 shoe rental charge if climbers do not have their own.
Litherland said open climb hours have been popular.
“When the weather is too crummy outside to climb, you can still keep up your skills,” Litherland said. “So, we have a lot of people come in during those hours.”
The program is staffed with about 10 instructors, some of them seasonal. One climbing wall instructor, Morgan Gengenbach, has been there for five years, and she said she loves to see climbers’ continuous improvements.
“I really love watching people grow with physical strength and problem solving,” Gengenbach said.
The positivity of the instructors, participants’ successes and the city’s
“Lakewood is a gateway into the mountains, so we have a lot of people interested,” said Peggy Boccard, Lakewood recreation manager.
Boccard recognized that the wall is good for all climbers.
“It allows for all different levels, interests and abilities to participate,” Boccard said. “They can each find their own difficulty levels since the wall was designed to accommodate all different abilities.”
Erika Walczak’s second climber on the wall, her 4-year-old son, Wyatt, was more nervous than his sister.
It was Wyatt’s first time on the wall. When he climbed a few feet, he asked the instructor, “Can I come down now?”
The next time he gave the wall a try, he went a little farther.
“Just one more step and you’ll be farther than you were last time,” Gengenbach said.
Walczak was thrilled with the progress her son was making, and with the encouragement from the staff.
“Wyatt has some motor planning skill problems, and this is really helping,” Walczak said. “It’s like physical therapy.”
She recognized that such activity could assist other children with different disabilities and difficulties, as well.
“It could really help Wyatt with his therapeutic goals, and build his skills, and help build skills for other kids with different challenges,” she said.
Walczak is looking forward to enrolling her children in future classes and camps, both for her children’s benefit and the benefit of the city.
“It encourages kids to participate in physical activity and it’s local,” she said. “Plus, it supports the local rec center.”
Catherine Elsby: celsby@denverpost.com
