{"id":78672,"date":"2019-03-30T13:41:28","date_gmt":"2019-03-30T18:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=78672"},"modified":"2019-03-30T13:52:06","modified_gmt":"2019-03-30T18:52:06","slug":"chicago-group-makes-climbing-accessible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicago-group-makes-climbing-accessible\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago group makes climbing accessible"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Melissa Hovanes<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"dropcap\">At age 15, Clarinda Valentine\u2019s life was forever altered. \u201cA guy came in the YMCA shooting and I got the bullet in the back,\u201d said Valentine. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of been my life since then. I was a sophomore in high school at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Forty-nine years later, at age 64, Valentine spends her Wednesday evenings climbing a 50-foot rope at Brooklyn Boulders in Chicago\u2019s West Loop neighborhood. She\u2019s been climbing for more than three years with Adaptive Climbing Group Chicago. \u201cI see the benefit in my ability&#8230; I\u2019m physically stronger, and more fit,\u201d said Valentine. \u201cIt makes my life easier when transferring from the wheelchair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Chicago Group Makes Climbing Accessible\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/327474444?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>ACG Chicago began in May 2015 as an expansion of a national organization founded in New York City two years earlier. \u201cWe started here with a partnership with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago,\u201d explained Al Schewe, lead volunteer with ACG Chicago. \u201cWe did a pilot program for veterans, and then in the fall of 2015 we expanded to the wider adaptive community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schewe, a certified rock-climbing guide who has led beginner climbing groups for years, learned about the program from a friend who worked at RIC, now Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. \u201cI showed up for the first climbing day, and I was hooked. I\u2019ve been here ever since,\u201d said Schewe. He now instructs adaptive climbing participants and volunteers each week.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_78675\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-78675\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-78675 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/ACG1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Safety Check\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/ACG1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/ACG1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/ACG1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/ACG1.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-78675\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ACG Chicago Lead Volunteer Al Schewe (center) helps another volunteer prepare participant Clarinda Valentine (left) for climbing (Melissa Hovanes\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Adaptive sports incorporate the necessary modifications to allow people with disabilities to participate. \u201cAll climbing is really adaptive,\u201d said Schewe. \u201cWe all use some specialized gear \u2013 we\u2019re using harnesses, we\u2019re using special shoes, we\u2019re using ropes \u2013 so we just kind of extend that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schewe and other volunteers assess new participants to determine what modifications they need in order to climb. Some climbers, like Valentine, ascend a rope, rather than interact with the wall. Other participants climb the wall supported by a pulley system and a volunteer who climbs alongside them. Several others climb unassisted entirely, modifying the sport for their physical abilities, as any non-disabled climber would do.<\/p>\n<p>Molly Ferris was born without any fingers on her right hand, but grew up playing sports on teams with her non-disabled peers.\u00a0 She started climbing four years ago, and is now climbing competitively. Last September, Ferris competed in the 2018 Paraclimbing World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. \u201cWe\u2019re climbers here at heart,\u201d said Ferris, speaking about the Chicago group. \u201cI think most everyone who comes through ends up coming back again, again and again. It\u2019s a really tight knit group. It\u2019s just my favorite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The physical benefits and mental challenges of adaptive climbing are not the only reasons ACG participants and volunteers come back each week. They also enjoy being part of a supportive and welcoming community.<\/p>\n<div class=\"featurecaption\">Clarinda Valentine ascends a 50-foot rope at Adaptive Climbing Group Chicago on Wednesday evenings (Melissa Hovanes\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Melissa Hovanes Medill Reports At age 15, Clarinda Valentine\u2019s life was forever altered. \u201cA guy came in the YMCA shooting and I got the bullet in the back,\u201d said Valentine. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of been my life since then. I was a sophomore in high school at the time.\u201d Forty-nine years later, at age 64, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":582,"featured_media":78676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,31,4559],"tags":[192],"class_list":["post-78672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-science","category-sports","category-winter-2019","tag-promo"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chicago group makes climbing accessible - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicago-group-makes-climbing-accessible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chicago group makes climbing accessible - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Melissa Hovanes Medill Reports At age 15, Clarinda Valentine\u2019s life was forever altered. \u201cA guy came in the YMCA shooting and I got the bullet in the back,\u201d said Valentine. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of been my life since then. 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