Soon they’ll be climbing the walls at the Brookside Education Center.

It’s not just because students are getting back to school, but because Albert Lea Community Education has just installed a climbing wall in the gym at the building.

&uot;I think this will be a great thing for our program,&uot; Audra Nissen-Boyer, Youth Development Coordinator for Community Education, said.

Community Education’s climbing wall is nearly done. Courses in climbing and open gym for climbers will begin this fall. Nissen-Boyer says the courses will start as soon as local instructors are hired and trained.

She said the cost of the courses and rates for open-gym climbs have not been set.

&uot;We want to make it as reasonable as possible,&uot; she said.

Nissen-Boyer got the idea for the wall after participating in youth camps where walls were used. She also thought the activity would be something that younger people in the area would do.

&uot;I hear complaints that there isn’t much to do around here,&uot; she said. &uot;I thought this might be something we could add to the community.&uot;

Wednesday, workers from Prairie Walls, a Rochester-based climbing company that has built 12 climbing walls throughout the Midwest, placed leads &045; places for climbers to grab on to &045; along the wall in different ways, setting six different courses on the vertical plane.

It looked challenging.

&uot;Rock climbing is an amazing activity,&uot; Dave Brandt, president of the company, said. &uot;There are a whole lot of things it does for you. Obviously, physically it is great for your upper body and legs. But it also helps you to work on team work and self confidence.&uot;

Brandt says the sport appeals to people who might not be drawn to &uot;mainstream&uot; sports.

He said the climbing wall being built at Brookside was very nice for a school facility.

According to Heidi Cunningham, Community Education Director, the money used for the project was money community education had been saving for the open arms program. However, a change in state legislation required that programs return money they did not use during the 2002-2003 year by June 2003. Cunningham and others decided to use the funds on the wall rather than give them back.

Cunningham, Nissen-Boyer and Brandt did not disclose how much the wall cost, but Nissen-Boyer said the cost was &uot;significant.&uot;

(Contact Peter Cox at peter.cox @albertleatribune.com or 379-3439.)