BANFF – A unique concept for climbing enthusiasts turned an otherwise mundane over-cast Friday (April 19) into an exciting evening with a glow-in-the-dark theme.
Climbers navigated the gym at the Banff Centre’s recreation building for a Blackout Party – wearing headlamps as their only light source aside from a few glow-sticks.
The mood lighting added to the nighttime cave-like ambience organizers were trying to create.
For some, it was the first time seeing the inside of the popular Banff climbing gym, like Eric Perry who came from the Lake Louise area.
“[We] figured we’d come check out the fitness center and especially the rock climbing gym because we want to get into it this summer,” he said.
“I didn’t know that the glow in the dark was going on, I thought we were just going to come climb, but there’s a little twist to it which is pretty sweet.”
Will Neufeld, climbing coordinator at the gym located in the Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation building at the Banff Centre, said the evening is meant to be a chance to have some fun and meet some fellow climbers.
“We’ll do some games and things like that, but for the most part it’s just a sociable event,” he said.
“Just good to see the climbing gym in a new light – or lack thereof.”
Neufeld said it’s the second year running for the Blackout Party, and this year, he wanted to have one last hurrah before resetting the gym.
“My predecessor had wanted to do a blackout party for a while, and I thought it was a fun idea, so we just put it together last year,” he said.
“We close the gym down once every year to do a big full reset of all our climbs as well as lots of maintenance, and so before that point, I thought it was a nice time to have the event – one more sociable before this gym is reincarnated in a new form.”
As for those in attendance, they’re happy with the chance to do something different in a climbing setting.
“It’s a lot of fun, I must say. The glow-in-the-dark makes it a different type of vibe, good atmosphere,” Perry told the Outlook.
“We will be back, it’s pretty sweet and everyone here is really helpful.”
To find out more about events at the Banff Centers climbing gym, visit www.banffcentre.ca/climbing-gym.
