The University of Tennessee's climbing wall is becoming increasingly popular among students since it's belaying wall addition last spring. 

Rob Brockette, a supervisor at the climbing wall, said the large wall had been in the works for nearly four years.

"It used to be dead in here when I first started working.  It was much more of a relaxed environment before the large wall was built.  Now since there's more climbers we have to make sure everyone is safe.  We have around 23 people now that work for the outdoor center and 15 that work for the climbing wall.  When we first started we only had a handful." We have around 23 people now that work for the outdoor center and 15 that work for the climbing wall.  When we first started we only had a handful.Rob Brockette, climbing wall supervisor

The outdoor program has done several things to accommodate the growing popularity of the climbing wall. 

"We are open on Fridays now this spring and we used to just be open Monday through Thursday," Brockette said.  Many of the climbing courses are also constantly being changed around.  "We have three people that work a position called a route setter which is completely new.  Basically these people, who are very experienced climbers, map out and determine the difficulty of climbing routes.  Each route is marked by a different color of tape and V Scale number.  We have a V scale which is just for the bouldering walls, and the Yosemite scale which we use for the rope climbing."

Kayla Mitchell, sophomore in business, enjoys climbing the wall with her friends.  "I love the climbing wall.  I started climbing last semester and now I have several of my friends that come with me all the time.  I like the different courses and they can be very challenging."  

The Outdoor Program offers climb-safe courses and also has a climbing class that runs during the fall.  The Outdoor Program can be reached at 865-974-9749 or at recsports.utk.edu.