After running a successful Century Climbing Contest last year in celebration of Devils Lake State Park's centennial, the UW Hoofers Mountaineering Club is running a similar contest for 2012. The concept is pretty simple: Aim to climb 100 or more routes in one of three categories (lead, top-rope, or bouldering). You don't have to actually hit 100 to participate, but I think you do to win. And speaking of winning, I'm not sure how climbs translate to points... but maybe I missed the explanation somewhere. Cost is a minimum donation of $35, but of course the sky is the limit. Aside from being fun motivatation to climb more and publicly boast your climbing achievements, the Century Climbing Challenge does two really cool things:

1. All proceeds go to Friends of Devils Lake, a non-profit group that supports infrastructure at Devils Lake State Park. The 2011 contest raised $500, and the Club is going for more this year.

2. Since all 100 routes must be unique, it forces participants to spread their climbing wings and explore routes and areas they might not have otherwise. The below map shows all the different areas CCC participants climbed in last year; the size of the dot indicates the quantity of routes. Just studying the map alone (click the map below) can give you new ideas for your next mission.

As an added bonus, the Mountaineering Club has arranged a bunch of great sponsors (Adventure Rock, Boulders, Wildside, Osprey, Glass Nicke Pizza, to name a few) who have donated coupons for participants. AND you get a t-shirt.

So how do you get in on this? Just complete the registration form, cut a check for 35 bucks or more (or submit credit card info), and drop it off at either Adventure Rock or Boulders. If you don't live in the Milwaukee/Madison area, you can send the form into Hoofers. Then cut back your hours at work, and get out climbing!