Forty-six climbing enthusiasts from CMU, Grand Valley State University, and Ohio descended on Finch for the competition Saturday morning. The event, sponsored by Cheap Holds Inc. of Mount Pleasant, awarded prizes to climbers who scored the most points in the three-hour competition.

Points were earned by the difficulty of the route a person chose to climb. Each person had three chances to finish a route, and points were deducted every time a person stopped climbing, fell and did not grab the pipe at the top or stepped on a hold that belonged to another route. Each student climbed as many of the 40 routes as they wanted, but submitted their five best scores at the end.

“There are hundreds of climbers in the central Michigan area, but no competitions, so we decided to host one, and we hope this becomes an annual event,” said CMU alumnus James Belanca, co-owner of Cheap Holds.

Each person paired with another climber and traded off climbing or “belaying.”

The belayer is the person who stays on the ground and holds the rope attached to the climber’s harness and is responsible for keeping score and making sure the climber followed the rules.

“We have a wall at Grand Valley, but I came here just for this competition,” said Jacob Dryer, Grand Valley State University senior.

Others just showed up to test their skill.

“This is my first competition and I’m here for the experience,” said Alissa Hoffman, St. Johns sophomore. “I’m probably the most inexperienced person here ... but I’m having a fun time.”

Twenty-five of the routes were on the main 32-foot climbing wall and 15 were on the shorter “boulder” wall.

Though most students climbed the main wall, the boulder wall also was a popular challenge.

“Climbing a boulder wall requires harder moves that require more power,” Belanca said. “It’s a newer trend that many people see as a more pure form of climbing.”

Cheap Holds, 5120 S. Meridian Road, built the boulder wall and rebuilt parts of the main wall for the competition. Other co-sponsors for the event included Inside Moves, a Grand Rapids gym and training center; Voodoo Climbing Holds; and Moosejaw Mountaineering. Steiner’s Pizza Planet, 221 S. Main St., donated free pizza for the event.

“We rebuilt both walls (Friday) and had some help from the sponsors, who sent us a few different routes to add a little variety and challenge,” Belanca said.

Belanca has co-owned Cheap Holds for three years with his friend and climbing partner Rick Phelps. Belanca has climbed for most of his life and said the pastime is his first love.

“I’ve been to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, but I also go to Arizona and Canada on occasion,” he said. “One of the great things about climbing is that it’s equally difficult for everybody ... you can be challenged on every level.”

The wall is open Monday through Thursday from 8 to 11 p.m., and Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. Admission is $3 for CMU students and $5 for community residents. Harness/belay rental is $2.