Mathew Sniffen

Junior Mathew Sniffen holds onto a jug-grip rock, as he tries to swing himself up. ““The main thing that motivates me to keep trying is just knowing how good it’s going to feel if I can finally do it, and how good it is to know that you are literally getting stronger, getting better, improving at this thing that you’re trying to do.”

On his sixth attempt, hanging by a thread and sweat dripping off his forehead, junior Mathew Sniffen pulls himself up to the top of the climbing course in a matter of seconds. After a few seconds, he drops back down to surface level.

“I think rock climbing has a really big effect on people by being very visual with achievements,” Sniffen said. “If you’re trying the same thing over and over again and you finally get it, that shows definite proof of achieving a goal that you’ve been working on.”

The school’s very own climbing community is in full force. Multiple times per month, students across campus head over to Austin Bouldering Project in order to find new and exciting ways to work out.

“The main thing that motivates me to keep trying is just knowing how good it’s going to feel if I can finally do it, and how good it is to know that you are literally getting stronger, getting better, improving at this thing that you’re trying to do.” Sniffen said.

Junior Erica Mihealsick got her start climbing at a very young age, however, it was a much rougher start, due to an injury she got early on in her career.

“My dad really liked rock climbing and he wanted us to learn how to,” Mihealsick said. “And so he had us go to the climbing gym a lot when we were young. I was climbing a slab, and my foot slipped and I slid down the wall and banged my eye on a hole. I [also] have a very big fear of heights. It’s just that my love for climbing overpowers that. And so it took me a while to get back into climbing and enjoy it as much as I did with the fear of heights I had.”

Mihealsick visits Austin Bouldering Project twice a week in order to sharpen her skills. The climbing community is Mihealsick’s main reason to get back up and try again and enjoys being a part of a diverse group of climbers. 

“[Rock climbers] range from kids who fall off even the smallest project to full-grown adults who fall off the smaller projects to kids who can just sprint through the hardest climb in the gym,” Mihealsick said. “Even though I’ve been doing it for a really long time, I still feel embarrassed when I fall in front of people. But they’re really nice, extremely nice. It just all comes down to how you feel whenever you’re climbing.”

Sniffen said he feels similarly about the community and that the rock climbing environment makes it easier to climb without worrying about being judged.

“There was there’s a lot of moments in rock climbing where you’ll really want to try something that a lot of people are struggling on,” Sniffen said. “And you can either be embarrassed with them that you can’t do it and everyone’s watching or you can be entirely you feel awesome about actually achieving it.”