The competitive rock-climbing season for Pacific Northwest colleges and universities doesn’t really start until February, when the WWU Student Recreation Center Climbing Wall hosts Veni Vidi Ascendi, an all-day competition that drew more than 140 competitors from 10 schools this year.
Veni Vidi Ascendi is the first of several annual competitions in the Northwest Collegiate Climbing Circuit (NC3). Western’s competition is the only one in the circuit that includes a dynamic movement event, in which climbers spring out 6 to 8 feet to grasp a fingertip hand-hold 15 feet above the mat.
Only a few make it, and the ones that do get a cheer from the crowd, no matter what school they’re from.