“Two students came up to me and asked if we could do some after-school climbing, and we talked through maybe doing it as a club,” Mr. Jason Boe, rock climbing club sponsor, said.

Some odd 120 members later, and the Minooka rock climbing club is in full swing.

“We started in 2011. We looked into it, and there was enough interest from my Outdoor Ed classes that we thought we could find enough people to do it.  Our first year we had 20 people in the club, and it’s been successful ever since,” Boe said.

The club has gained a fair amount of popularity each and every year. Trips to places like Upper Limits in Bloomington and St. Louis are a credit to that as the club has shown tremendous growth not only in members, but to traveling as far as other states.

“I was not even aware that the rock climbing club went that far. That is pretty cool though, the fact that students have the opportunity,” Kyle Graebner, senior, said.

It still is news to some students that the rock climbing club has expanded this far, as it is open for all students at MCHS to join. It gives them the chance to learn about the sport of rock climbing, or improve their skill level to where they can compete against other schools.

“It’s been extremely rewarding to see students who know very little about the sport grow in their abilities in an extremely short time.  Then, many take this sport and head off to college and work, and use it the rest of their lives,” Boe said.

The club is described as student-led, as the leaders develop plans for each meeting that consists of different technique work or fun games and activities.  In order to win, no matter the activity, the climber must compete themselves against the wall.

“It is so fun to face new challenges with climbing. Obviously not all walls are the same, so it is cool to try and take on whatever comes my way,” Logan Tarter, senior, said.

To go along with their longer trips, the club attends Vertical Endeavors every Monday in February to expand their climbing skill and adventure.

“Vertical endeavors is definitely fun, but I think our best trip is Devil’s Lake every year. It is nice to be outside and take cliffs of 100 feet tall,” Tarter said.

Not only is it a time to work on your climbing, but a great time to bond with other peers that enjoy the sport. The club is unique in that sense that one can be athletic and be a part of a nice family at the same time.