Climbing Wall in the KSC
The Wellesley College Rock Climbing Wall, located in the KSC Fieldhouse, was built by High Five Adventure Learning Center in August 2011. It is 26 feet high and 24 feet wide. The wall has six top rope anchors, making its “natural” capacity 12 people: 6 climbers and 6 belayers. The wall can also accommodate bouldering in the form of traverse routes. However, unroped climbers’ chests cannot cross the first horizontal line that runs across the rock wall (the “bouldering line”) in the interest of mitigating fall risk. The pads at the base of the climbing wall are NOT bouldering crash pads nor are they climbing-gym-standard ground cover. The wall is open for Physical Education classes and various hours for open rec climbing.
Recreational Open Climb Hours:
Fall 2025 (September 12 - December 9)
Tuesdays: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Thursdays: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Fridays: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Closures: There will be NO Open Climb on Tuesday November 4th.
Learn to Belay
If you’ve ever seen a climber hanging on for dear life at the top of the Wellesley climbing wall, then chances are, you’ve seen belaying, too! To climb higher than a few feet at the Wellesley rock wall, every climber needs a belayer: someone to hold their rope and catch them when they fall.
Belaying is a life-saving skill that’s as easy to learn as riding a bike. During this 2-hour lesson, Wellesley’s Rock Climbing instructor will teach you everything you need to know to pass a belay test at the Wellesley climbing wall and climb without needing staff assistance at Open Climbing hours.
Belay Lessons
Belay classes for the 2025 Fall semester start Wednesday, September 17th and will run every WEDNESDAY from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM until the last day of classes on December 9th.
Register for a class on
WeEngage. Classes have a maximum of eight participants and a minimum of two, so to ensure that your belay lesson comes to pass, convince a buddy to sign up with you.
Belay Testing
All potential belayers must pass the Wellesley College Climbing Wall Belay Test in order to be qualified to perform a belay, even if they have taken one of our belay classes. The wall will be open for belay testing during the 2025 Fall semester September 19 - December 5 on FRIDAYS 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM.
There may be an opportunity to take a belay test during Open Climb hours provided it is not busy. This is not a guarantee; therefore we recommend stopping by during the dedicated testing hours.
If you have any questions, please contact the Recreation Coordinator at aw151@wellesley.edu (781-283-1911)
