Climb every mountain

Rock climbing is known to be a challenging sport, one that requires coordination, strength in seldom-used muscles and puzzle-solving skills. And for individuals with physical disabilities, it might seem like an activity that is out of the realm of possibility. 

Catalyst Sports is looking to change that. 

Catalyst is an Atlanta-based organization that looks to provide adaptive adventure opportunities to individuals with physical disabilities, according to its website, and those opportunities include adaptive climbing experiences. 

In November, Catalyst launched a Birmingham chapter — its first Alabama chapter — and hosted an adaptive climbing clinic at High Point Climbing and Fitness. At the helm of the new chapter was Leigh Ann Norris, a new Birmingham resident who had volunteered with Catalyst during her time in physical therapy school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

“I’d been climbing for a while, and I’d see them at the [High Point] gym [in Chattanooga],” Norris said. She started to volunteer through PT school, and when she moved to Atlanta for three months, got even more involved.

“I got to know the founder of the organization and started to feel more attached to the organization,” Norris said. “So when I knew I was going to move down here [to Birmingham, I wanted to keep that going.”

Even though she was new to the area, Norris said High Point’s existing ties to Catalyst meant setting up a Birmingham chapter was a smooth process. She knew a few of the people she needed to contact and was able to use the same model as the one in Chattanooga.

“We couldn’t be more stoked to have the privilege to help start and host the first Catalyst climbing chapter in Alabama,” said Tony Levy, general manager at High Point Birmingham. “It means so much for us to have the opportunity to share this sport with the community and this program is only going to help open the door for more people to get involved in the world of climbing. People who, otherwise, might not get the chance.”

The first adaptive climbing day was held on Nov. 11, and like all clinics, was free to all participants. Equipment including a swing-like chair and adaptive pull-up bar that allows climbers to pull themselves up; harnesses with leg loops; and weights attached to belay ropes was provided to adapt the climbing experience. Volunteers also helped guide climbers up the wall by climbing nearby and giving an extra push, or describing where certain holds were.

“It seemed like everyone was excited to be there and participate, and the volunteers seemed to enjoy themselves as well,” Norris said, regarding the Nov. 11 climbing event.

Many of the participants had not climbed before, Norris said, and it is exciting to know they are helping introduce people to a new activity. For volunteers, she added, it’s a way to share their passion.

“Just the sense of being able to help someone is rewarding in its own way,” she said. “A lot of the volunteers are also climbers, and it’s a sport they also enjoy, and they then get to share that with [participants] as well.”

A goal of High Point is to introduce individuals to climbing and make it accessible to more people, said marketing and sales coordinator Lauren Deseno, and partnering with Catalyst is an ideal way to do that.

“We’re really looking forward to getting individuals with physical disabilities in here to climb,” Deseno said. 

High Point will provide training in basic safety techniques, including belaying and rope tying for volunteers, even those without climbing experience, and Catalyst volunteers can aid in learning the types of adaptive equipment and other techniques, Norris said.

Catalyst volunteers work to troubleshoot climbing techniques to best fit the needs of new climbers, Norris said, which is somewhere her knowledge in physical therapy proves helpful. Some people may look at climbing and think it is not possible due to their disability, but Norris said they can work with a variety of impairments to make climbing a reality. 

“I think the participants get to benefit in the way that they get to experience the activity of climbing with different adaptations and everything, and just the group of people they get to climb with,” Norris said. “… It gives the person who is participating another activity to express themselves.”

The next adaptive climbing day will be held Feb. 20 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. For more information, email Birmingham@teamcatalyst.org, or go to teamcatalyst.org/Birmingham orhighpointclimbing.com/Birmingham.