Climbing in Kansas

Here’s a great article from Alpinist.com on what it means to be a climber in Kansas:

A man was arrested a few years back for roping up and climbing an offwidth up the side of the University’s Memorial Stadium. Rumor has it that Fraser Hall used to be bolted, and someone free soloed the 80-foot Mallott Hall. Supposedly an old issue of Climbing has a picture of a Kansas climber atop a light post on the KU campus [Figures. –Ed.]. A few weeks ago two climbers were warned not to builder on campus. The police still refuse to slackline with us.

The point is this: Kansas climbers exist, and they naturally occur. Flat land doesn’t preclude climbing; it modifies it. They say a person is never more than 50 feet from a rat. I’d argue the same is true of climbers, even in Kansas. We’re not just climbers, though—we’re completely obsessed. Even without a mountain in sight we drool at the thought of beating our personal bests. Kansas climbers understand the sacrifices it takes to live lost in a sea of plains. If time is money, then we’re taking out second mortgages just to get to decent rock.

Read the rest.