Max Haber is a freshman at McIntosh and has been rock climbing for over a year now, even though he has only been doing it seriously for a year Haber has been climbing since he was little.
“My [elementary] school did like a Fall Festival thing, and they would always have this rock wall, and I was just really good at [climbing] it,” Haber said.
Along with building his strength, climbing has taught Haber patience by requiring him to wait for things he wants to do and taking time to build up his skill.
“People like to hog the walls so you have to wait, and when you project something, which is where you go over and over again until you get it, it takes a lot of patience,” Haber said.
There are many reasons to enjoy rock climbing but Haber likes the adrenaline from the height and the feeling of completion.
“I like getting on a wall and going up high, and it feels great when you do a route,” Haber said.
Doing rock climbing competitively takes a lot of time that can be difficult to find for some people, but luckily Haber is able to put aside that required time.
“I go for at least seven and a half hours [a week], it’s at night after school; I already do my homework at school,” Haber said.
Climbing is a sport where there will almost always be something new to do, whether there are new routes, or different techniques to try.
“New routes sometimes will sometimes pop up, and you just get to keep on trying new things. Then if you were to finish everything you just do different things on each route, so there’s always stuff to do,” Haber said.
Rock Climbing competitions are a requirement to climb competitively and these events could entail different situations and challenges.
“Depends on what kind [style of climbing], the only ones that I have experience with is rope, classic red point, which is where you go to a gym, they have set routes, and then you have to climb to the top, and if you fall, you don’t get any points. You do as many as you can, your top three best [routes completed] count against your overall score. And you see who wins by getting the most points,” Haber said.
Climbing is a large part of Haber’s life and he continues to go back simply because he enjoys it.
“I love it very much. I do it constantly,” Haber said.
