Senior Silas Hills isn’t happy. He’s spending the upcoming Spring Break in Hawaii.

No, Hills isn’t crazy. His rock climbing group, Explorer Post 58 (one of the largest groups in Portland), is going on a weeklong climbing trip over the break, and he won’t be there. “I can’t believe I’m missing this trip,” Hills said. “I would give anything to be going climbing instead.”

At Wilson, many students feel the same passion for rock climbing and bouldering. Bouldering is an offshoot of rock-climbing in which people climb, generally indoors, without using ropes or harnesses up short distances. It places more emphasis on using ingenuity and physical strength to pull off difficult moves in a safer environment than sport climbing (an endurance-based type of climbing that Explorer Post 58 commonly practices). 

Explorer Post 58 has a strong following, however, it isn’t the only place where dedicated climbers thrive. Junior Naomi Sherman spends as much as 20 hours a week with her rock climbing team, the Circuit Bouldering Team. This team is based from the Circuit Bouldering Gym in Portland and focuses entirely on bouldering.

Bouldering takes a lot of strength and mental alertness, and, according to Sherman, it has many good qualities.

 “Bouldering is all about power,” Sherman said. “It’s a really good way to exercise your problem solving skills in an athletic way. It gives you bodily awareness; you have to understand how your joints work. Bouldering is also really fun!”

As fun as sports like this may be, devoted climbers still have to withstand a fair amount of injury. They all suffer falls, bruises, cuts, and even broken bones. But it’s all totally worth it, according to senior Harrison Wallace. Wallace is another Explorer Post 58 climber. Aside from the physical exercise and the exhilarating feeling of reaching the top of a route, Wallace says there’s another positive aspect to this intense sport: the community.

“It’s an incredible group of people,” Wallace said. “When you first start, you only climb with people you know. But over time, you open yourself up to this amazing, close-knit community.”

This sort of community, a staple of Portland, is not very well known in the Wilson area. However, students from schools all over practice this sport. “You get to know people so quickly,” freshman Emily Sikora, member of the Circuit Bouldering Team, said. “You know that everyone with you has this powerful connection because they all love to climb.”

The members of Explorer Post 58 definitely all love to climb, but they do more than just scale expanses. This group places a lot of emphasis on community and team bonding.

Junior Annie Rohlf is a loyal member of Explorer Post 58. “I love rock climbing,” Rohlf said. “The sense of community is amazing, but there’s also something really spiritual about it. It’s just you and the rock; you’re not competing against anyone but yourself. That’s a really peaceful feeling.”

Feelings like this aren’t the only thing that attracts these students; the experience is so much more than just climbing a big rock. “Just go out and try it,” Wallace said. “When I first started, I was terrified of heights. But when I reached the top of my first route, I looked around, and the fear was gone. It was a crazy feeling. I encourage anyone and everyone to check it out.”