CLEVELAND — They say in a typical summer thunderstorm, cloud tops can grow up to 60,000 feet, and with a bird's eye view that can be quite a fantastic.
However, what about climbing to new heights? I decided to try my hand at a new adventure in Ohio City with a historic footprint, visiting Cleveland Rocks Climbing Gym.
Owners Karen Thang of California and Kevin Wojton from Cleveland's east side have long been rock climbing enthusiasts, and after traveling around the world climbing and learning about different structures and rock conditions, the couple also wrote one of the first climb books for China.
"This is a great place for climbers of all ages, all different types of experience," Thang says. "Even if it's your first time ever climbing, you can come here and our staff will get you set up. We encourage people to just swing by."
"This building was a one-of-a-kind building, and we're one of the first climbing gyms to be located in a Masonic temple," Wojton added. "When we purchased it, it was a highly distressed asset, and we were able to save the building and give it some new life. It was built in 1928, and there's a lot of history here, and we preserved a lot of history the best we could."
I tried my luck climbing with Kevin belaying for me, and it was quite the experience! It's honestly really great for team building and the level of trust needed with someone belaying is tantamount, and I can see this being a great trust and learning exercise, even for couples.
Cleveland Rocks Climbing hosts a wide range of offerings including bouldering, which is great for entry level participants. The facility is available for birthday parties and corporate events, as well as team building exercises.
Located at 2831 Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland, their hours are 3-9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 6-9 a.m. Thursday mornings, Saturdays from 9 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Go explore and take yourself to those new heights!