ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 3, 1997 TAG: 9703030129
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
ROCK CLIMBERS who competed in the Star City Climbing Crank say the mind is the most important muscle when scaling a wall.
Obe Carrion stared at the giant wall, painted to resemble the great outdoors and studded with "rocks" of molded plastic.
He dipped his hands into a powdered chalk-filled pouch that was tied to his waist, rubbed his palms together and took a deep breath.
Then he proceeded to climb, swiftly and aggressively, his feet and hands clinging to "rocks" the size of jelly doughnuts.
In less than two minutes, Carrion hung 20 feet off the ground by the tips of his slender fingers.
And he yelled - something between "Yeah!" and "Aaarrgh!" - so loudly that it shook the indoors of the Roanoke City Parks & Recreation gym.
But he'd made it look so easy.
Carrion, a 20-year-old from Allentown, Pa., placed first in the Men's Elite Division in the Star City Climbing Crank, the department's annual indoor climbing competition. About 60 climbers - ages 6 and up - from Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey and Pennsylvania competed in the event, held Saturday and Sunday.
Carrion's win was his second since becoming hooked on climbing four years ago when a climbing wall was built in his inner-city neighborhood.
"I like the difficulty of it," Carrion said Sunday, a black Kangol cap covering his head of dyed orangeish hair. "You don't have to be powerful, like weightlifter powerful. But you've got to use your mind. It's really a mind sport."
That is the attraction, Carrion said. The sport is perfect for those who want a combination of quick problem-solving, test of physical strength and taste of risk, he said.
Those like 17-year-old Joseph "Buzz" Easterling, a Patrick Henry High School senior, who placed third in the Men's Rec division. A friend in a geometry class turned him on to climbing last spring, Easterling said.
Those like 10-year-old Ira Gladkova, a native of Russia who now lives in Raleigh, N.C. The fifth-grader, who placed first in the Women's Rec division, said she enjoys the way the sport challenges "me and my mind."
The Roanoke parks and recreation department has held indoor climbing competitions since 1993, the year Rocwood climbing facility was built inside a gym behind the department's main office on Reserve Avenue in Southwest Roanoke.
Rocwood has a two-story wall with 950 square feet of climbing surface and a cavelike area where climbers can practice "bouldering," which entails scrambling out from under an overhang rather than climbing up.
Participants in the weekend competition had four minutes to climb the wall and four minutes to "boulder" the cave area.
Climbers could make only one attempt on the wall. One slip ended the attempt. But in the cave area, climbers could make as many attempts as they needed within four minutes.
Climbers received points for their performance. The higher and faster they climbed, the more points they received. The plastic rocks bolted into the climbing wall and inside the cave area were shifted around to create different routes.
"It's not easy," said Tom Clarke, the department's manager for outdoor programs. "But when you put pressure on in competition, then it becomes even more difficult."
Climbers competed in six divisions - Junior I for children 6-10, Junior II for 11-to 15-year-olds, Women's Rec, Men's Rec, Women's Elite and Men's Elite. The top three competitors in each division received prizes of climbing gear. The competition was advertised nationally - in climbing magazines, fliers and outdoor gear stores.
Clarke said the department is always hard-pressed to draw young people into its programs, but the response to Rocwood has been positive.
"So many kids are taking risks with drugs and alcohol," Clarke said. "What we feel good about is that [climbing] is a risk but a controlled risk."
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF. Cooper Kahlenberg of Greensboro, N.C.,by CNBcompetes in the climbing competition Sunday. He placed second in the
Men's Elite category. color.