A December phone call to world-renowned local rock climber Kevin Jorgeson culminated in the opening of Sonoma’s first indoor rock climbing walls this month at The Presentation School and the Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma Valley (BGCSV).
Jorgeson took the call just before heading to Yosemite to attempt one of rock-climbing’s most difficult feats, the free ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan.
The call came from Andrew McDermott, a new Sonoma resident looking for climbing instruction for his children. Jorgeson took the call and quickly demonstrated to McDermott and several other Presentation School parents that he combined extraordinary climbing abilities with a rare gift for sharing his passion with children.
He is also refreshingly free of ego – it was a salesman at REI who informed the parents of Jorgeson’s fame as a climber.
“Today’s kids have so many distractions that it is sometimes hard for them to connect with the real world,” McDermott said. “Giving them challenges they can overcome with their own bare hands will hopefully inspire a few kids to follow their dreams.”
Jorgeson felt the sport could be made accessible to a broader range of participants. He spoke of the benefits of rock climbing for kids of all ages, and began sketching out his vision for placing Sonoma at the center of what could become a national model for community-based climbing.
Rosemary and Kevin McNeely, directors of the Sonoma Film Festival, were impressed. They worked with Diane and Roger Rhoten of the Sebastiani Theatre to arrange a premier of “Core”, a rock-climbing film that featured Jorgeson’s climbing in South Africa.
The Rhotens themselves were climbers who had actually partnered with Santa Rosa’s Vertex Climbing Center to arrange climbing at Rhoten’s well-regarded outdoor camps. It was at Vertex that Jorgeson himself fell in love with climbing as a child, and it is was Vertex personnel who seeded what has become Professional Climbers International (PCI).
PCI is a Sonoma based non-profit organization founded by Jorgeson, Vertex general manager Sarah McKay and local climbing enthusiast Rusty Klassen. It’s mission is to develop the sport of climbing for both competitive athletes and the communities they serve.
Fast forward a few months, and the dream has quickly become a reality. Two professional grade indoor rock climbing walls are now in place in Sonoma, a 40-foot horizontal traverse wall at Presentation and a 32’ vertical traverse wall with a 20-foot, four rope ascent at the Boys & Girls Club.
During initial training with Jorgeson, it quickly became clear that rock climbing holds tremendous appeal to area youth and it is even more physically challenging and exciting than it looks.
“The exponential growth of climbing as an accessible sport has the power to play a substantial role in combating the child obesity epidemic in America,” Jorgenson said.
Presentation and BGCSV each year reach hundreds of Sonoma youth of all ages and a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.
“Climbing is a sport that invites all demographics to participate,” said Presentation Climbing Coach Patrick Smithson. “Ultimately, participation is limited only by the boundaries of imagination, and desire to succeed.”
Whether a student, recreational athlete, or professional climber, the goal is to train individuals to complete difficult personal challenges, McKay said. “Climbers understand the consequences of risk, make rapid and essential decisions, comprehend complexity and transcend self-doubt.”
According to Jorgeson, the successful implementation of a community-wide climbing program is only a first step. “We want to create a highly replicable program in Sonoma, capable of being shared with hundreds, and eventually thousands, of BGCʼs and schools across the country,” he said. “We’re hoping other organizations interested in climbing will look at Sonoma.”
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