Overview
Climbing continues to be a growing sport across the country. According to many news outlets, there has been a 75% increase in the number of climbing gyms in the US in the past decade. Many kids are taking climbing lessons and even participating in climbing-focused summer camps. Climbing fits perfectly into our program – our values of engagement, resilience, confidence, and leadership are all key aspects of the activity.
In 2015, Camp Chippewa’s climbing tower, named the Sentinel Climb, was constructed. Chippewa Alumni will recognize the name as an homage to the legendary white pine that towered over the Star Island tree line. Climbing the Sentinel Pine was a rite of passage for countless campers visiting the island. The Sentinel Pine died in 1989 after being struck by lightning. Its stump can still be visited today, just a ten-minute walk from Camp Chippewa’s campsite. Creating the Sentinel Climb honors the rich history of its namesake, while providing the same sense of adventure among the boreal canopy, this time with the benefit of state-of-the-art safety gear and a diligent belayer!
The Sentinel Climb has three different faces: the beginner (John Muir Wall), the intermediate (Royal Robbins Wall), and the advanced (John Salathe Wall). Each wall has multiple routes that campers can attempt to climb, and they must pass a rank (more on this later) before moving onto a harder wall. The sport of climbing provides a natural progression as a climber builds strength and confidence. The Sentinel Climb is designed in concert with this progression.

Teaching
With safety in mind, climbing allows campers to experience intentional improvement and progression in both their physical and mental abilities. Climbing counselors are vigilant about teaching and enforcing the rules of climbing:
1. Take care of the equipment.
2. Climb with the proper gear: harness, rope, ATC/Grigri, shoes.
3. Inspect the gear before climbing.
4. Only climb with an approved belayer.
5. Obey all climbing commands (On belay, belay is on. Climbing, climb on. Ready to lower, lowering. Off belay, belay is off).
Our climbing counselors are there to help campers progress through our climbing ranks, to push everyone to be the best climber they can be, and to aid any camper in mental challenges that may arise during the activity. Counselors may even give camper extra challenges, like climbing certain walls without the use of a few colors or even climbing the John Muir Wall with just one foot or one hand! From a bedrock of safety, campers can build confidence to the point of enjoying play and challenge in the vertical environment!

Ranks
As mentioned previously, the Sentinel Climb has three walls – John Muir Wall, Royal Robbins Wall, and John Salathe Wall. Each is home to harder routes with increasingly difficult features. Everyone new to climbing at Camp Chippewa for Boys starts on the John Muir Wall and must pass the beginner rank before moving on to the Royal Robbins (in a similar vein, climbing on the John Salathe Wall requires the intermediate rank to be passed). Here is how each rank is achieved:
Beginner: campers must put on and identify all parts of the climbing harness and helmet, recite all climbing commands in proper sequence, tie a Figure-8 follow-through knots, and successfully “redpoint” one route on the John Muir Wall. Redpointing a route means climbing a route from start to finish without any mistakes.
Intermediate: campers must know and have done all components of the Beginner rank, put on and demonstrate the proper usage of a Grigri (a popular belay device with an auto-locking mechanism to catch a climber’s fall), and successfully “redpoint” both routes on the Royal Robbins Wall.
Advanced: campers must know and have done all components of the Beginner and Intermediate ranks, put on and demonstrate the proper usage of an ATC (another belaying device that is commonly used and allows belayers to feed rope to the climber more readily, but has no self-braking mechanism), and successfully “redpoint” both routes on the John Salathe Wall.
Climbing has been a popular activity at Camp Chippewa since its inception. The benches at the Sentinel Climb are always packed with campers wearing their helmets and harnesses, waiting for their turn on the tower. Like many other camp activities, climbing has inspired many to return home and pursue a sport they learned at summer camp. Every summer, we look forward to seeing new campers reach the top of the Sentinel Climb, where they ring the bell marking their victorious ascent, and take in views of both lakes through the trees as they are lowered back to the forest floor!
