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Local climbers reach for the top

Hangar Climbing Lounge
climbing
Aliya Howard competes at the November Sessions, held Nov. 5 in Coquitlam.

Two members of Sechelt’s Hangar Climbing Lounge youth team had strong results in the 2019 bouldering competition season.

Aliya Howard, 14, from Roberts Creek finished her season of three competitions ranked fourth out of 22 in the competitive Youth B Female category, while Josh Fowler, 15, from Sechelt tied for second place in the Youth Recreation Male category at the November Sessions competition, held Nov. 5 in Coquitlam.

Competitive bouldering is a style of indoor climbing where climbers try to complete a series of short, demanding routes over a fixed period of time, without ropes or harnesses. It requires a combination of strength, agility, focus and sheer guts to succeed.

“We are super pleased with how Aliya and Josh did,” said youth team coach Lukas Stuebi, who also owns and operates the Hangar. “The Hangar is only going into its third year, and to produce two competitive climbers in such a short time is incredible. I’m so proud of all their work, and look forward to more youth climbers from the Coast competing next year.”

Howard was also pleased with the results. “I’m pretty happy with ranking fourth, given that I’ve only been climbing for three years,” she said. “Comp routes are really challenging, and it was good to push myself and climb my hardest. I’m really grateful to the Hangar and my coach Adrian Boehm for supporting me.”

The Hangar offers recreational and youth team classes for youth. See www.hangarclimbing.com for details.

– Submitted by Tim Howard