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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Courageous Kids Climbing helps children reach new heights

After retiring, Jeff Riechmann was looking for a new hobby, one that allowed him to continue working on the rappelling and rope training skills he had acquired over 28 years as a firefighter.

Combining the two elements, Riechmann took up rock climbing.

Riechmann eventually met Larry Morton, owner of the since-closed Cascade Mountain Sports and Climbing Gym, and the two came up with the idea for Courageous Kids Climbing, which organizes climbing events for children with special needs, both developmental and physical, as a way for climbers to give back to the community.

Local children will get a chance to reach new heights – literally – when Wild Walls hosts the McCall, Idaho-based organization Saturday.

The first Courageous Kids Climbing event was held in the spring of 2014 at Urban Ascent in Boise.

“During the entire (planning) process for the first event, I was never really sure that it was going to work, which made it scary,” Riechmann said in an email.

Once children started showing up, he felt a little better. As the day went on, Riechmann saw more and more proof that he and Morton were on to something.

There was a little girl “who entered the gym with a death-grip on her mother’s hand.” After watching the other children climb, the girl decided to give it a try herself.

Then there was the teen boy who had trouble focusing and would shriek every minute or two. Once he was on the wall though, he became quiet and focused, making it to the top.

And the parent who, after the event, told Riechmann that her typically non-verbal sons couldn’t stop talking about climbing.

“One of the things that I hear quite often from the parents is ‘I never imagined my child doing something like this!’ ” Riechmann said. “And quite often, they tell me this with tears in their eyes.”

Volunteers, oftentimes including firefighters and paramedics, act as belayers and coaches at Courageous Kids Climbing events, harnessing children in and helping them climb.

The Spokane Fire Department will help with Saturday’s event at Wild Walls.

Riechmann stresses the importance of safety at these events. Every child has to wear a harness, and there are safety observers, usually Riechmann and one or two other people, who oversee everything and act as a rescue team if a child becomes too afraid to continue climbing.

“Each child will climb up a few feet at first and then will have to come back down,” Riechmann said. “Then the next time they can go a little higher. This gives the child the opportunity to build confidence in themselves. After all, everyone is afraid of heights to some extent.”

Riechmann said the things children learn while climbing apply far outside of the climbing gym.

“For the child with physical challenges, they get to experience something that they might never get the chance to experience,” he said. “For children with developmental issues, it might cure their fear of heights. It will teach them how to focus and problem-solve. It teaches them (how) to play with others and, in some cases, how to trust someone other than their caregiver.”

After three years and 15 events, with nine more planned around Idaho, Washington and California, Riechmann is having trouble keeping up with all of the requests Courageous Kids Climbing is fielding.

He would love to see the organization grow nationwide, and he wants to continue to raise support for the Courageous Kids Scholarship, which awards $1,000 to a student from Idaho or Eastern Washington to attend the University of Idaho.

“There are just some many directions that this could go,” Riechmann said. “To date, I have yet to say no. But I know that the day is coming when I’m going to have to say no. And I am not looking forward to that.”