WE CLIMB HIGHER

WHEN WE CLIMB TOGETHER

- ANDREW LAWRENCE

For the members of the MEMPHIS ROX gym, climbing is more than a healthy pursuit.

ON A COOL, CLOUDLESS MORNING in November, 220 climbers congregate on Mowbray Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, to spend the weekend scaling a cluster of turtle-shaped boulders. They trudge in with foam pads and tents, but the experience is not rustic. A chef cooks all the meals, DJs spin tunes, and there are talks on education reform, modern masculinity, and other weighty topics. There's plenty of enlightenment to be found at the top of the mountain, too.

"I climbed for the first time in my life, outside of monkey bars as a kid," says Dashawn Simmons, 45, of New York.

"I allowed myself to be guided. Like, I can't see where my foot is going to go, but there's a foothold there. Go there." Adds Dahkil Hausif, 48, Simmons's travel partner, "Regardless of age, ethnicity, background, whatever, the community comes together. They share. They're a little messy. They address the mess.

They're open. That's the power." This summit at the summit is called RoxFest, and it's put on annually by Memphis Rox, perhaps the most altruistic and diverse climbing gym in the country. Located in South Memphis, an urban enclave with high levels of crime and poverty, Rox opened in 2018 with the goal of using climbing as a community connection point. The nonprofit was founded by Tom Shadyac, the writer-director-producer behind Ace Ventura, The Nutty Professor, and other blockbusters. The pay-what-you-can membership plan is simple: Share the love.