“Every month we have a competition,” Jason Schibler, junior, said. “We compete to see who has the overall better climbers.”

On Jan. 19, the rock climbing club won their competition and Schibler recently won in the advanced category for the men. MHS has competed in three competitions and has scored in the top three each time, winning two of them, Schibler said.

“It’s really open to anybody because there are three different divisions,” Schibler said. “Anybody can come climb, and still win and contribute to the team.”

Schibler is considered to be one of the better climbers by his teammates and was one of the founding members of the team.

Jacob Chang, senior, was another founding member whose interest in climbing made him want to help found a rock climbing team. Chang, like Schibler, had been climbing for a while before founding the club.

“I had rock climbed before at Lifetime,” Chang said. “Me and Jason discussed the club and thought about making it. We started going three weeks before we actually started the club.”

Competitions are separated into three categories: beginner, intermediate and advanced, divided between male and female for each. At the competitions, there are several routes ranked on difficulty, and the top five most difficult routes completed are scored for each competitor, said Schibler. Top competitors of MHS are Gateway Science Academy, Chaminade, Ladue, and Parkway Central. The next competition will be on an undetermined date in March.

Ryan Bixby, science teacher, is the sponsor of the club. He too is very interested in rock climbing and happy to support the club.

“I’ve always been interested in rock climbing,” Bixby said. “It’s awesome, it’s great exercise and it’s a lot of fun.”

Schibler said anyone interested in joining the team can show up to practice at Upper Limits in the Valley and try it out for free their first time, or talk to Bixby. Practices are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays right after school, with Sunday practices starting about 1 p.m.