Lattof YMCA teaches real-world climbing

They're everywhere these days.

Daredevils scale them at amusement parks like Six Flags Great America in Gurnee.

There's one standing inside almost every Dick's Sporting Goods in the suburbs.

Still, simulated climbing walls demand skills that haven't been mastered by everyone who straps on a nylon harness.

The trick, say purists, is to understand the aspects of climbing that will actually work in the outdoors.

And that's why the Lattof YMCA in Des Plaines offers two classes that require students to go back to basics, learning to tie intricate knots and trading automatic devices for human teamwork.

Don Quinlan, senior program director at Lattof YMCA, said participants should focus on more than just reaching the top of the wall.

"Our class doesn't lend itself to the quick payoff," he said. "We like to prepare them for the instance where they might go elsewhere."

And elsewhere means a real cliff -- probably not the safest place to learn.

While climbing does offer a top-notch strength-training workout -- burning more than 700 calories for a 150-pound person, according to the American Council on Exercise -- pros recommend training before even attempting the wall.

Climbing demands the use of smaller muscle groups that get used less often, like your minor pectorals, and Quinlan says most of his students work out on their own to build strength and endurance.

"They wouldn't get very far otherwise," he said.

In class students learn to belay, which means controlling the rope the climber is using. Climbers will also learn proper foot, hand and body positioning and safety.

Quinlan, who teaches some of the classes himself, says climbers who don't learn these skills can run into trouble when they try this sport out in the real world.

"Sometimes people get lulled into a sense of security, then they realize there are falling rocks and no anchors," he says.

Learn to Climb

Adult Climbing: 8:15 to 9:15 p.m. Mondays; 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. Tuesdays; or 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. Wednesdays March 2 to April 19, or April 20 to June 2

Women's Climbing: 10 to 11 a.m. Mondays

Where: Lattof YMCA, 300 E. Northwest Hwy., Des Plaines

Cost: $40 for members and $80 for others per class

Web site: www.lattofymca.org

Phone: (847) 296-3376