Have you ever seen a pirate scale a 50 foot wall?

The staff of the climbing wall — which normally runs between the hours of 12 and 10 p.m. in the Student Recreation Center — got together with Outdoor Programs orchestrated an event on Wednesday in the hopes of seeing just that.

“Night of the Climbing Dead” was an all-day mini-event complete with spooky music, cobweb decorations and candy, which was hidden in the climbing holds on the wall.

Starting at noon, participants were encouraged to climb in costume.

“We also asked for all staff to dress to impress as well,” said Zachary Silberman, the Climbing Wall manager at the SRC.

From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., climbers were judged by the staff on the creativity of their costumes. The winners of this contest were sophomore computer science major Joey Bennett and freshman recreation management major Cheyenne Otto.

The prize for the top two winners were giftcards for Darn Tough Socks.        

“The climbers were judged subjectively based on who put in the most effort and enthusiasm into their costume,” said Silberman.

Costumes ranged from the classic zombie and pirate, to the offbeat. Even a sumo wrestler managed to climb the wall.

“Our intentions are to bring holiday spirit and enthusiasm to the climbing gym to help create an open environment for positive interaction between climbers and staff,” he said.

Themed programs aren’t new for the SRC – last week they had a “Ladies Night” for female climbers – but this is the first year a Halloween event has occurred at the climbing wall, according to Silberman.

“Our next staff meeting is December first and I wouldn’t doubt that we will hold a winter themed event near winter break, or possibly a Lucky Leprechaun day for St. Patrick’s,” Silberman said. “Who knows?”

Story: EMMA SPECKMAN, Senior A&E Reporter