Rock climbing is an individual sport in practice: One person traverses a boulder and attempts to reach the top. Two blocks from Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, however, the sport has fostered community among Fordham students and led to the formalization of a rock climbing club on campus.
Ella Salmon, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’27, began rock climbing nine years ago and grew up on a competitive climbing team. When she moved to New York City, she no longer had her youth team to fall back on for a community climbing experience. That was until she discovered Central Rock Gym at West 60th Street and West End Avenue.
“People go to the climbing gym to just talk and hang out, and a big part of climbing is when you get off the wall, someone can help you try to figure out the climb,” Salmon said. “So when I came to school in New York, I really wanted to keep having that close community.”
“I think I found my place at Fordham, really just based on doing this sport.” Ethan Bull, FCLC ’28
The rock climbing club’s formalization process immediately introduced Salmon to a community at Fordham. After she expressed her interest in the formalization to the United Student Government (USG) — the governing body that oversees club approval — Salmon was put in touch with several other students who had previously expressed the same interest.
Ethan Bull, FCLC ’28, was one of those students. Bull picked up rock climbing as a hobby in high school. He came back to it in his first year at Fordham, also at Central Rock Gym.
“I think I found my place at Fordham, really just based on doing this sport,” Bull said.
Originally from Las Vegas, Bull didn’t know anyone from home at Fordham. After going to Central Rock Gym day after day, he began socializing with the climbers there and realized many of them were also Fordham students.
“I thought a rock climbing (club at Fordham) would be a good way to officiate and extend that feeling of community that I had to other people,” Bull said. “It would be a benefit to everybody if we knew each other. We could support each other.”
Together, Salmon and Bull are the president and vice president of the Fordham rock climbing club, respectively.
The process by which they got there, however, was lengthy.
Kevin Miao, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center ’29, is one of the USG senators who reviewed the club’s proposal, which was announced to Salmon as officially approved on Feb. 9. According to Miao, the club’s proposed materials — the constitution, budget, advisor and interest form — went through multiple rounds of review and revision. What slowed the rock climbing club’s approval process was chalked up to safety concerns and club survivability.
Thanks to Salmon’s extensive rock climbing experience, new climbers can rely on her expertise to keep them safe. However, according to Miao, the question for USG then became “how are they going to ensure future presidents and officers have the same experience to ensure that their members stay safe while climbing at gyms.”
The setback was remedied by requiring future presidents to obtain a rock climbing certification that verifies their advanced skill level.
Both Salmon and Bull see the club as a gathering place and a gateway for beginners. One of their proposed initiatives is discounted climbing days, held once or twice a month, to alleviate the financial barrier that comes with rock climbing. At Central Rock Gym, for example, a day pass for people under the age of 22 is $26, plus $7 for a harness, shoes and chalk. A membership is $150 per month, equipment included. The discount has been secured in conjunction with Central Rock Climbing Gym; however, the discounted funds have not yet been submitted for USG approval.
“There are a ton of things that we are planning to do, specifically easing the financial burden of getting into rock climbing. … When people come together and they take collective action like that, then there are benefits for everybody,” Bull said.
Beyond Fordham, rock climbing has become increasingly popular in New York City. Salmon and Bull attribute this boom to the sport’s accessibility. Salmon said gyms recently offer a larger variety of climbs, including more beginner-friendly routes. Bull said the metropolitan environment of New York City makes sense for climbing gyms spatially.
“It’s a vertical sport, and New York is a vertical city,” Bull said. “It’s really easy to put gyms in place, whereas if you wanted to play soccer or football, you need big open fields.”
As Fordham students continue to discover rock climbing as a way to create community in college, Salmon and Bull hope their newly initiated rock climbing club can provide a pathway to that experience.
