Whether it’s going up or coming down, getting over your fears is a feeling unlike any other.

“I’m really afraid of looking over down stuff,” said climber Kade Urness. “Recently I was up there, and I looked down, and it was like, it scared me a lot. Then I went down here and I looked up, and I was like, I can climb that.”

“I used to be really scared of rock climbing, but then one day I just kind of wasn’t,” said Elias Hoder. “I didn’t do it for like a year, and I came back and suddenly I wasn’t really scared of it anymore.”

The Saint Scholastica youth climbing camp is for all. All ages, all skill levels, and all attitudes are welcome; the guarantee is by the end, kids that never wanted to climb will get the climbing bug.

It’s certainly stimulating.

“It’s a mental challenge. You have to look around, try to look down if you’re afraid of heights,” said Urness. “That’s what I did the first time. When I was getting lower down, I closed my eyes. I’ve always had a fear of heights, and this is a great way. I believe I got over it.”

It’s a rewarding adventure as well.

“I kind of think about, like, what’s going to happen next and how I’m going to get through it,” said Niamh Burns. “Sometimes I think about, how did I just get past that? That was so hard.”

Overcoming hard things is a necessity in a young adults life. What better way to do it than being outside, with friends, in a safe environment.

“You need to know that you’re safe. I used to never think that you were really that safe while somebody was belaying you,” said Hoder. But recently I started belaying myself, and you realize when you’re holding that rope and somebody is on it, you really don’t feel very much.”

“Most people see this sport and think that’s going to be really stressful,” said Kevin Taralseth. “Once you learn the systems, once you know all your equipment, you know how safe it can be. Statistically, the most dangerous thing we did today was drive here.”

From white knuckles and nerves to smiles and memories, the CSS youth climbing camp is worth a try.

“You don’t have to like it,” said Burns. “But it’s just really fun. You feel really accomplished even after you just try something. Even if you don’t make it up, you still feel accomplished.”

For more information, or for future Saints Adventure Camps, Click Here.