On the first Tuesday of October, Huron’s Climbing Club launched its first appearance at the school. Climbers of all ages and capabilities sat together under the leadership of Juniors Selah Ostfeld-Hernandez and Leaf Diem, as well as sophomore Caleb, the three founders. Selah, a long time climber, has been climbing for a few years now, hoping to spread her love for the sport through the creation of a club dedicated to the craft.
“I noticed this big gap in the climbing community where there aren’t a lot of things to help beginner climbers improve, and I really wanted to help the people here at Huron specifically,” Ostfeld-Hernandez said. “So I decided that creating a beginner-friendly organization would be the best course of action.”
Upon stepping into the club’s meeting, you’ll notice that in fact, a large majority of the members have never climbed before, highlighting the beginner friendly nature of the afterschool activity. Lured by the new addition to Huron and the lack of any previous climbing organization instilled in the school, many feel drawn to the club’s friendly and open nature. The pair of presidents, despite the newfound difficulties of leadership, are greatly satisfied with the fruit of their labor.
“I’m super excited because I’ve worked really hard for this, and it’s genuinely something I care a lot about,” Ostfeld-Hernandez said. “I hope that everybody in the club will learn to love climbing just as much as I do.”
One of the new members, senior Olivia Liao, like many within the club, had never climbed before joining. However, she wasn’t afraid to express her excitement for trying out a new activity, persuaded by the allure of a relatively rare sport and after school activity.
“I’ve never done anything like this before, but it’s still cool because Selah’s super into it,” Liao said. “So that makes me kind of excited too because she’s so adamant about her club.”
Of course, running a club is not always fun and games. According to Selah, it’s actually a lot more work than she expected, taking up more time than she hoped. However, due to her long-time passion for the sport, she still feels immensely fulfilled and satisfied.
“For me, the biggest difficulty is like, we’re investing a lot of time into this club, but school can be really demanding,” Ostfeld said. Leaf, a cofounder, agreed.
“It can be hard to balance everything and especially hard to find time to work to be the best leader I can,” Diem said. “Our three founders are working a lot to make sure the club can be successful and fun.”
Despite the challenges the leaders have faced, they are still excited to introduce climbing to Huron and ensure that everyone, no matter their skill level, feels at home in their club.
