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by ALLISON CASEY
Lifestyles Editor
Swimming has Michael Phelps.
Cycling has Lance Armstrong.
Rock climbing has Chris Sharma.
“He’s a human monkey,” Matt E. Wurst, Footsloggers Outdoors and Travel Outfitters sales associate said. “He literally can climb things that 99.9 percent of people can’t even imagine.”
 Chris Sharma boulders on the beach in Santa Cruz, Calif. He will be speaking at Farthing Auditorium Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Special to The Appalachian
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Sharma,
26-years-old, will speak and present a slideshow of photos in Farthing
Auditorium tonight at 7:30 p.m. as part of his first tour in the
Southeastern United States.
Tickets
are $5 for students and $7 for non-students and can be purchased at the
Farthing Auditorium Box Office or at Footsloggers.
He will also climb and have a poster signing at Footsloggers in Boone at 3:30 p.m.
Outdoor Programs and Footsloggers sponsors the event.
“Honestly, he’s the premier rock climber,” Wurst, a rock climber, said. “He’s an American icon.”
When Sharma was 14 years old, he completed a 5.14c climb, one of the highest rated on the scale of difficulty.
“That’s almost unheard of for some professional climbers,” Rich Campbell, associate director of University Recreation said.
Rock climbing’s scale is open ended and changes based on the difficulty of newly routed climbs.
Sharma established the 5.15b rating Sept. 11 with a climb in California.
He quit school at 16-years-old to pursue a profession in rock climbing and has gained worldwide notoriety.
Although
Sharma appeals to athletes, Campbell said his positive attitude
inspires a wide range of audiences, including those interested in
travel.
“He
really encourages others to be active and seek adventures and to do
that in whatever way and whatever degree they can,” he said. “He’s very
introspective. It’s a really good message.”
Sharma
has been featured in some films shown at the Banff Mountain Film
Festival in the past few years, also sponsored by Outdoor Programs.
He is a pioneer of deep water soloing, which involves climbing without ropes.
He also developed a line of climbing shoes.
“Any
time you have the chance to see someone who is the best at what they
do, you should take it,” Campbell said. “He’s really a compelling
figure. He’s quite a humble person.”
After the presentation, Sharma will host an informal meet and greet in the Farthing lobby.
“All the
students are really excited to see him rock climb,” Wurst said. “Just
to be able to see him climb is going to make a lot of people very happy.
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