Duluth Climbers Coalition Welcome Inexperienced Climbers to ‘Flock to the Rock’

DULUTH, Minn. — While Duluth offers a wide array of hiking trails to get outside UMD students and members of the Duluth Climbers Coalition offer another way to traverse some of Duluth’s rockiest trails.

On Saturday, the climbers coalition offered community members out to Ely’s Peak to scale alongside the cliffside for their annual Flock to the Rock event. The event was free and supplied climbers with the necessary rocking climbing gear.

Kids as young as 5 years old were brave enough to reach upward of about a hundred feet. Standing by were trained instructors who guided each participant through the basics. A tougher cliffside was also open for more experienced climbers.

“It looks really scary. It looks really physical. But it turns out, especially climbing outdoors, that it’s more puzzle solving,” said Dave Pagel, the founding board member of Duluth Climbers Coalition. “It’s kind of using your mind to figure out how to get from one hole to another, which makes it really different than a lot of the other activities that require a lot of coordination and strength and endurance. People who are good at puzzles are often really good at climbing. It doesn’t necessarily require a lot of strength. And I think that’s really fun for a lot of people, especially kids.”

The Duluth Rock Climbing Coalition also holds an ice climbing event in February at Quarry Park. At both events, they supply gear to provide easier access to people interested in the sport.