Try @ TXST

Giselle:
Hi, everyone. My name is Giselle Kowalski and I'm the digital marketing strategist here at Texas State University. You're listening to Try at Texas State, and this is the rock climbing edition. Rock climbing has had a surge of popularity in the last couple of years, but has always had a stronghold here in San Marcos. At the Rec Center, we have one of the largest climbing walls in Texas, reaching to about 54 feet. I got to chat with the climbing club's president about all things climbing, going outdoors, taking trips, bouldering, the community, and what makes the sport so addicting. OK. So what's up, Hayden? How are you?

Hayden:
Oh. I'm doing good. Thank you for having me.

Giselle:
Yeah. Of course. So Hayden, tell me what your year is, what your major is, and what you do with the climbing club.

Hayden:
I am a senior business management major. It's actually my first semester of senior year, so hopefully graduating in December. And I'm vice president of the climbing club, and I work a lot with the outdoor trips that we go on.

Giselle:
That is so sick. OK. So I'm going to start from the beginning with you. Why did you even choose to go to college and what made you choose Texas State?

Hayden:
I graduated in class of 2020 from high school, so I decided to do Lone Star... Well, I was doing my associates of arts, and then it was actually at a job I was working as a server, one of my coworkers, he was telling me how he's going to Texas State and how it looks really cool. So I looked into it, applied, got in, and then I ended up roommating with him. So yeah, that's pretty fun. That's why I ended up going here and I've been loving it. I love the business program here. I've loved everything about campus, the river, how pretty it is, just... Oh, I love it here.

Giselle:
Yeah. So what was your first encounter with the Rec Center here at Texas State?

Hayden:
So the first time I went to the rec actually was to climb. I met the dude who used to be president of the climbing club. His name is Jonah. And he was telling me right when I met him that the first meeting is coming up soon. And it was at that meeting later that week where I met a lot of the friends that I made right when I got to Texas State. And if it wasn't for me going to my meeting, then the whole friend group I had for my first two semesters probably might not have happened.

Giselle:
I love asking people this, but what do you think that bug is for you when it comes to climbing, that thing that keeps you going back all the time?

Hayden:
That's a good one. Climbing is just very addicting. I think whenever people are going to the gym to just work out, you can get a new biggest number, which is cool, but whenever you're rock climbing, seeing a route that you think is too hard for you and being able to work your way up to it until you're able to get to the top, that's a feeling that I have never gotten just working out. Though you get the top and you feel awesome for yourself, as soon as you get one that you've been working on, all the people that you're climbing with, strangers or friends, will cheer you on, give you fist bumps. It's just everyone's supportive, which is super fun. It's a great environment.

Giselle:
Yeah. I know. The climbing community is different. It's crazy because it's like I didn't realize how many climbers existed in San Marcos and existed at Texas State. So with the climbing club, what do you guys do during meetings other than... I know you guys climb, obviously, but what does a typical meeting look like for you all?

Hayden:
Our meetings for the most part will have the actual meeting part where the officers are telling all the members, "Hey. What are the upcoming events? What's the outdoor trips we're going on?" Upcoming competition, stuff like that. And then after that, we really just break into free climbing. And it'll split into so many different little groups of climbers, but they're all still mingling with each other. And then it's really just a good community of people to climb with.

Giselle:
For people who have never even stepped foot in a gym, what is it like? Because the Rec Center has two different types of climbing and people might not understand what that is. So can you walk me through that?

Hayden:
So the Rec Center actually has three different types of climbing.

Giselle:
Oh. Really?

Hayden:
Yeah. So there's the bouldering wall, and that's the shorter type of climbing. It's going to only go to 15 or 20 feet, and then there's those really thick pads on the ground. Whenever you're doing that, there's no harness. There's no rope. All it is, is yourself in your shoes. And then you chalk up before you get on. Whenever you get to the top, you can drop from the very top and land on the ground. The rec also has top rope and the walls there are one of the tallest in Texas. I think they're 52 feet or something at the highest point. And that's the one where the rope goes all the way up to the top and all the way back down. You tie into the end and someone has taken the slack as you keep climbing. Whenever you get to the top of that, they just pull the slack out of the rope and then lower you all the way down.
And then there's another type of climbing, which is a little bit more advanced, not as advertised there, but it's called lead climbing. If you've been to the rec, which I know you have, or listeners, if you all have, and you've noticed those little hanging chain-looking things from the wall, that's for lead climbing. With that, the rope all starts on the ground. You tie yourself into it, and as you climb, you clip the rope into those until you get to the very top, where you can be lowered all the way back down and then pull the rope through all the chains back at the end.

Giselle:
For you, which one do you lean towards most? Which one is your favorite?

Hayden:
In gyms, I really like bouldering. I think it's really fun. But outdoors, I think I definitely lean more towards that lead climbing, top rope climbing. Going through the climb and getting to the top and being able to just sit back on the rope once you finished it and look out at the view from 50 feet off the ground, it's nice.

Giselle:
So what do you guys offer to new members who have never climbed before? Do they have to bring their own shoes? Do you guys have rentals? How does that all go?

Hayden:
So there are club dues, which are $40, and with that $40, that gives you membership to the rec for the whole semester. It gives you a discount, Armadillo Boulders, and it lets you come on all the outdoor trips. With the rec membership, that lets you rent shoes and harnesses and chalk for free anytime you're there, all semester. And for the outdoor trips, a lot of the members have a lot of gear. So even if you don't, if you come on the club trips, you're able to experience going outdoors, where if you're new into climbing and if you're by yourself, it's a whole lot of gear that you have to get just for yourself. But knowing that as a club, we have five or six ropes, we have dozens of quick draws, we have extra harnesses, all you really need is shoes, which you can rent from the Outdoor Center for over the weekend or overnight and stuff. And then you can just come on the trips and have a blast, even if you're a total beginner and don't have any gear of your own.

Giselle:
That's what I love about the climbing community too, is that everybody's very much sharing is caring. What do you think helps you whenever you're trying to get through that fear, whether it be through a move that's really scary for you, whether it be the height that you're at? What helps you calm down in those scary moments?

Hayden:
So I think starting with bouldering and getting comfortable with climbing, just comfortable with how your body feels on a wall is nice to start out with. So then whenever you move to top rope, you're able to look at a move and know, "I know that I'm able to do that." Just trusting your body and not looking down, really.

Giselle:
Do you think that you have to be super athletic to begin climbing?

Hayden:
Oh. Absolutely not. There's two ways that you can be good at it, especially starting out. You can just be really strong or you can just focus on your technique. Because even if you have almost no grip strength and hardly any upper body strength, so much of climbing when you're starting out is putting your hands in the right spot, finding good feet, and then just literally standing up. As you get better, you can figure out how to do different things with your body, and even without having lots of strength, you can still just rely on figuring out the technique and figuring out the right way to do it, and still be able to get to the top as your strength continues to develop. Or joining with the club and having a lot of people who know what they're doing and just finding someone who you think is cool, tagging along with them for a session, being like, "OK. What would you do on this?" It's such a quick way to learn.

Giselle:
I think that climbing in itself just makes you incredibly aware of your space and your self. It's just you up there. It's very individual. Although it's a community-based thing, it's a very individual, self-reflected sport, I would say.

Hayden:
There's no one who can climb it the way you do except for you.

Giselle:
Exactly. And that's cool. I love that. It's like art. What has climbing taught you about yourself, or what's your biggest lesson you've learned from the sport?

Hayden:
That you are a lot more capable of doing things than you think. Looking at a problem and being like, "Oh. There's no way I get that," and then getting it, it just makes you feel powerful. And then it's like, "OK. Well, if I can climb this really hard thing, what's stopping me from making my bed in the morning? What's stopping me from going home and doing the dishes?" It makes you just feel like you can do anything.

Giselle:
It teaches you to stick with something if you want it. If you want something enough, you can get it. And I think climbing has taught me that. What would you tell someone who's never climbed before and they're like, "Hey, Hayden. What's some advice that you could give me?"

Hayden:
Definitely don't grade chase. So climbing routes, they're all going to have a grade on them. The easiest stuff is going to be V0 and it gets to V1, V2 as it gets harder. V4 starts to where it gets hard, and anything after V6, it's really tricky. Whenever you're starting out and you're like, "OK. I've done a V0. I've done a V1. I've done a V2. I'm just going to try to keep getting the higher and higher numbers," you'll realize that though you will be able to get it eventually, you might not be able to get it right now, and that can put you down really quick. Because if it's like, "OK. I've done a V4. I'm going to try a V5," and then you don't get it, sometimes you feel bad about it. So don't try to climb the hardest stuff super quick. Take your time. It's fine to rest.

Giselle:
That's awesome. Well, Hayden, those are all the questions I have for you. But if someone wants to get involved with the club, where can they find you and how can they contact you?

Hayden:
The easiest way is looking at our Instagram, which is TXSTclimbing. In the bio of that, there's a Linktree. From that, you can join the Discord. You can pay the dues. You can find all the different resources we have. But yeah. I would say getting to the Instagram is probably the easiest way to get into the club.

Giselle:
Or maybe even go into the rec?

Hayden:
Oh, yeah. Going to the rec. We meet at Armadillo Boulders, which is the local climbing gym we're talking about, every Tuesday from 8:00 to 10:00 PM, and then we meet at the rec Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. And then we go on outdoor trips to different places around Texas every other Sunday.

Giselle:
Amazing. Wow. You guys are packed with a lot of good fun times together. Awesome. Thank you, Hayden. This has been great.

Hayden:
Oh. Thank you.

Giselle:
Hayden, thanks so much for coming in and talking to me about one of my favorite things to do, which is climb. You were awesome. You're a real one. And thank you for listening to this episode of the Try at Texas State Podcast. Make sure to tune in next time to learn more about something else you can try on campus at Texas State. And also remember to follow us on our social media at TXST. This podcast is a production of the Division of Marketing and Communications at Texas State University. Podcasts appearing on the Texas State University Network represent the views of the hosts and guests, not of Texas State University. Again, I'm your host, Giselle Kowalski, and I'll see you next time. Bye, y'all.