Rock wall draws collegiate crowd

While most young adults abandon team sports as they enter college, others are discovering new ones. Rock climbing is a substitute intramural that builds camaraderie and endurance.

Thorbeckes FitLife Center in Chehalis offers free rock wall access every Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. An orientation. which is held Mondays from 5 to 6 pm., must be completed prior to climbing. Wall instructor Kristina Maxwell has been employed by Thorbeckes for almost three years, and highly recommends climbing to college kids.

Centralia College student Matthew Mehi, 21, became an avid climber in Germany while still in grade school. He recently discovered Thorbeckes' wall, and appreciatively takes advantage every free-climb Thursday.

"With my fashionably homemade cutoff jeans and scruffy 11 o'clock shadow, I was able to scale the (30-foot) wall in mere seconds," Mehi said. Mehi also hopes to frequent his visits to Alpine Experience's rock gym in Olympia, where there is more room to boulder.

Thorbeckes in Chehalis is located at 91 SW Chehalis Ave. For more information, call 360-748-3744.