Climbing the walls.William William, crown prince of Germany William or Frederick William, 1882–1951, crown prince of Germany, son of William II. In World War I he commanded (1914) an army on the Western Front and was nominal commander in the German attack Fredericks grew up near the Rocky Mountains Rocky Mountains, major mountain system of W North America and easternmost belt of the North American cordillera, extending more than 3,000 mi (4,800 km) from central N.Mex. to NW Alaska; Mt. Elbert (14,431 ft/4,399 m) in Colorado is the highest peak. , home to some of the best rock climbing rock climbing Sports medicine An 'extreme sport' in which the participant climbs rock formations, with or without ropes Injury risk Fractures, abrasions, death. See Extreme sports. in the country. But until last fall Fredericks, 15, a freshman at Adams City High School in Commerce City, Colo., had never experienced the sport for himself. Then he joined the Climbing Eagles, a competitive team at his school. Fredericks now finds climbing far more exciting than traditional sports. "I love the mental game in climbing," he says. More than 50 high schools nationwide have established climbing teams, with about 1,000 students participating. "In five years, it's very possible that climbing could be a common sport at hundreds of high schools," says Duane Raleigh, 46, editor of Rock and Ice, a climbing magazine. Competitions pit school against school on indoor climbing Indoor Climbing is an increasingly popular form of rock climbing performed on artificial structures that attempt to mimic the experience of real rock climbing but in a more controlled environment. watts peppered with plastic hand-holds. The object is to see who can climb the highest on the most difficult route; points are awarded to individuals and then tallied to form team scores. |
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