Summer is in full swing, and for many UF students, that means frequent trips to Lake Wauburg.
A busy summer day usually brings about 1,000 people, said Steven Whitman, graduate assistant for Lake Wauburg. The park’s major event for the season is the Climbing Wall Challenge.
The second annual challenge invites participants to climb the heights of well-known national structures on the South Shore’s climbing wall.
According to the RecSports website, this summer’s challenge is to climb its wall 28 times, which equals the heights of the Statue of Liberty, the St. Louis Arch and the Seattle Space Needle. The climbs combined equal 1,539 feet.
The challenge ends July 21, but the first 50 students to complete it get a free T-shirt.
“Last year we had about 100 people try it,” said Whitman. “But only 25 actually finished it.”
Participants must reach the top of the 55-foot wall each time and cannot climb more than six routes in one day.
Climbers of all levels are able to take on the challenge, Whitman said. There are 19 routes ranging from very easy to very hard. Hard walls ascend at a negative slope, and easy walls ascend at a positive slope.
Patrick Hickey, a 22-year-old UF mechanical engineering senior completed the challenge last year.
“I climbed the Empire State Building,” he said. “After going out there a few times, I felt like I could complete the challenge if I put my mind to it. It was a fun experience.”
If there is thunder, lightning or heavy rain, the staff will close down the climbing wall.
“One of the biggest challenges was getting there on a day when it was not going to rain,” Hickey said.
The challenge is not open to non-UF students. The climbing wall is open Thursdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
“They say Lake Wauburg is UF’s best-kept secret,” Whitman said. “We’re here, we’re open, and we have plenty of stuff for people to do.”
