Chalk dust fills the air and music blasts through the recreation center.

It’s 3 p.m. and the climbing club is about to begin practice. The chalk in the air comes from the hands of the climbers. They use it to gain a better grip of the handles as they practice different techniques to navigate the wall.

Taylor Wehr, a junior, is one of the many members involved who has found another home every Monday and Friday afternoon.

“I was hesitant to do it at first because I didn’t think I was good enough,” Wehr said. “I’ve done it before though and you can start at any level you want whether it is beginner or advanced. Now, I am in the open level, which is the hardest.”

AJ Harpring, the current club president, sees this as an opportunity to not only do something he loves but build relationships moving forward.

“The bonds I have made with my teammates are very strong,” says Harpring. “We usually become good friends within the first few weeks. As an incoming freshman, it was awesome to see how quickly I was accepted.”

The club has come a long way since its original five members started the club when the rock wall was unveiled. In the past couple of years, the club has seen substantial growth.

“The [climbing] community is getting bigger,” Wehr said. “For half of our group to be incoming freshmen, it bodes well for our future.”

Central’s climbing club is one of 12 in the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) Northwest collegiate climbing circuit. The team will be traveling to Eugene, Ore. on March 12 for a NC3 competition.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Wehr said. “All of the schools go to one school, and we just compete. We compete from all different places in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.”

While most sports have an easy way to determine who wins and who loses, the NC3 climbing circuit implements a more complicated scoring system.

“It all revolves around certain paths. Different routes get you different points and the top five routes are counted,” Wehr said. “There is marked tape with different colors and numbers so when you go a certain route, you try and pile up as much points as you can.”

While it may seem an easy concept to wrap your head around, it’s a lot harder to actually do it.

“You have to constantly keep competing,” Wehr said. “You develop amazing finger strength and, if you give up for even a little bit, you lose that raw strength that you worked so hard to get.”

Before the climbing club, Wehr and Harpring had many different things that defined them, but since being a part of the club is has become part of their DNA.

“Climbing wasn’t as big in my life, but now this is something I can fall back on,” Wehr said.

Harpring sees the climbing club as more than just something to do on the weekends.

“The climbing club has been two things,” Harpring said. “First, it is an opportunity to work out that is different than just lifting weights… Secondly, climbing club has been a place to meet a lot of people and become part of a group here at Central.”