Local facility caters to climbers
“Once you overcome your fear of something, you can accomplish a lot more in life.”
These were the words of Randy Anderson, majority share holder of USA Ultimate Sports Arena. Anderson’s philosophy on people’s fear of heights is in reference to rock climbing, which is featured at the Sports Arena along with soccer.
USA Ultimate Sports Arena opened in 1998, hoping to provide the Cache Valley area with a state-of-the-art rock-climbing wall, along with two indoor soccer fields. The rock-climbing wall is truly a sight to be seen. Brent Anderson, Randy’s son, built the wall by scratch along with an architect. The wall is more than 30 feet high and can handle about 30 climbers at a time.
“We’re very pleased with the way it’s turned out,” Brent said.
The two boast the diversity of the climbs at the Sports Arena, citing the different areas on the wall range from beginner to very advanced.
“I haven’t seen another wall around Utah quite like this one,” Anderson said. “It is very challenging and yet extremely safe.”
There are some adventuresome people who have no regard for their well-being and love the thrill of climbing, but for most, safety is the big issue.
“Heights used to be my biggest fear,” said Heath Morgan, a freshman majoring in horse management. “I couldn’t even jump off the high dive.”
Morgan explained that since he began rock climbing, his fear of heights has diminished.
“Progressively, it just started to not phase me anymore,” Morgan said.
Rock climbing at USA Ultimate Sports Arena provides a safe environment for climbers.
“We’ve got very nice pads here [beneath and surrounding the wall],” Randy said. “You can drop from the top and be OK here.”
Randy said they go through a training course with everyone before they go up for the first time, making positively sure that the climber knows what they are doing.
“Initially, everyone may be intimidated by the fear of falling,” Randy Anderson said. “The way we set this up, it’s very safe.”
Those interested in climbing at USA Ultimate Sports Arena have a variety of options. They offer hourly, daily, monthly, quarter, half-year, and year passes. To climb for an hour, the cost is $7. A day pass is $14. A monthly pass is $40 and a three-month quarter pass is $100. A half-year pass goes for $190 and a year pass costs $350.
The hours for the wall are 4 to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The wall is also available for rental, a common group activity.
Soccer is currently the more popular sport at USA Ultimate Sports Arena. Randy Anderson boasts two fields, one that is regulation size and that is commonly used by the university.
“Our larger field is one of the nicer ones in the state,” Anderson said.
-bcb@cc.usu.edu