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SPOTLIGHT: Climbing gym one of the best in world

By Kate Arthur
karthur@pantagraph.com

Scaling a concrete wall and clinging to grips 65 feet in the air might seem like an odd way to de-stress after work.

But climbing is a good way to unclutter your mind since you have to focus on the next reach, the next step, rather than what you didn’t get done that day.

Some climbers carpool from Champaign or Peoria two to three times a week to scale the once-abandoned grain silos at Upper Limits, an indoor climbing gym that’s attracted national attention, including a story in “Sports Illustrated.”

It’s among the top 10 tallest in the world said Courtney Bartels, who manages the gym along with Shawn Watson. The Discovery Channel and Travel Channel rated Upper Limits as the number one climbing gym in the world.

Climbing is a growing sport but it’s a little more intimidating than cycling or weight lifting. Some think you have to be in peak physical condition and have no fear of heights.

Wrong, said Bartels.

Like any sport or fitness program, you start out slowly and build strength, endurance and flexibility.

“If you get 10 feet off the ground the first time, that’s great,” she said. “The next time, you try for 15 feet.”

It’s not all about upper body strength either, she said. Legwork is just as important, and it’s a great way to get in shape.

“It’s a really good way to tone. You just have to keep at it.”

Climbing also works the mental muscles, building concentration, problem-solving and communication skills. Upper Limits even offers a class to develop teamwork.

But about those heights – the indoor silos reach 65 feet; outdoors, there’s a 110-foot wall lighted for night climbing. But even Bartels, an experienced climber, is afraid of heights.

“I hate getting on an 8-foot ladder. But you focus on the climb, not that you’re 65 feet off the ground.”

The hardest part is letting go when you reach the top, she said. A belayer holding the rope eases you down.

Occasionally, someone will freeze and on rare occasions, it’s been necessary to send a staff member up a nearby route to talk the climber down.

Before inexperienced climbers get into the harness for the first time, they learn basic techniques and safety. Training for advanced climbers also is offered.

Upper Limits members range in age from 10 to 60 but climbers have been as young as 4 and way beyond 60.

The idea to turn the grain silos on Bloomington’s West side into a premier climbing gym came from owners Chris and Pam Schmick, who now live in Arkansas with their two small children.

In 1995, they lived in Peru and had this idea. They shopped a 100-page business proposal to several banks before they found one that didn’t think they were crazy.

With a bank loan, their life savings and another loan from Chris Schmick’s grandmother, they bought the silos.

For three months, they worked to gut the silos that had been vacant for at least a decade, scraping away tons of rotten soy beans and scrap steel. It took another three months to build the climbing walls, drilling thousands of holes in concrete.

Sept. 2, 1995 was opening day, the same day the couple agreed to host a regional climbing competition.

In December, they tried an experiment, creating a frozen waterfall from the top of one of the silos. That effort made national news but the icy climbs didn’t work. Central Illinois’ fickle winter climate melted the ice too quickly.

In 2001, the couple opened another gym in St. Louis before relocating to Arkansas.

Those new to climbing may want to start closer to the ground. No ropes are needed for the multi-level bouldering cave just outside the entrance. Climbers never reach above 8 feet.

Climbing is all about pushing yourself, Bartels said, trying to go just a little higher than you did before.

And sometimes the hardest part is letting go when you reach your limit.

Another life lesson.

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