WKU students take a rock climbing adventure

Friday, March 25, 2005

Jordan Shaw loved the feeling of climbing the 40-foot rock face during a sunny March day at Shanty Hollow Lake recently in rural Warren County.

Making it to the top of the wall was pretty good stuff, he said.

Shaw climbed the face during a trip arranged for Western Kentucky University students through Westerns Outdoor Recreation Activity Center.

It was the second time Shaw, a sophomore chemistry major from Louisville, had ever been rock climbing. His first experience was last year through Western at Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky. Now, Shaw hopes to make it a hobby.

Its definitely a challenge, he said. Its probably one of the harder athletic things Ive ever done. First off, you have to use your head and be sure about what youre doing, climbing smart.

Then, the body has to help out. The arms pull you up. The legs push you up.

You have to be able to have a lot of strength, and to balance yourself, Shaw said.

Its something Alli Noffsinger did at Shanty Hollow during her first time climbing a real rock wall.

I had never been on an actual climbing rock surface, said the freshman public relations and Spanish major from Starksville, Miss.

Shed done some rappelling outside and had climbed inside on a faux-rock wall. But the outdoor experience at Shanty Hollow brought a surprise or two for Noffsinger.

It was a lot of fun, until I fell and hit a tree, she said. I was scraped and bruised.

Still, it was definitely worth it, Noffsinger said. I just enjoy being outdoors and challenging myself.

Now, like Shaw, Noffsinger hopes to rock-climb again and to do more trips through the Outdoor Recreation Activity Center.

I havent really taken advantage of the outdoor areas in Bowling Green, she said.

Shanty Hollow Lake is 17 miles north of Bowling Green off U.S. 68. The area opened in the early 1950s and has a fishing ramp.For more information on ORAC activities, contact Luke Bartlett at the ORAC office at 745-6542.

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