Caleb Andrew Kortje was born on June 30, 1993. From the moment of
As a young boy, Caleb thrived on adventure and danger. Whether it was dunking contests in his pool,
Then as a teenager, Caleb discovered rock climbing . . . or maybe it would be better to say rock climbing discovered Caleb. He just seemed to be made for the sport, and it was rock climbing that gave Caleb his greatest confidence and friendships. People began to notice. A group of men even pitched in to anonymously buy him his first pair of aggressive rock shoes. Never telling him their names, they just wanted him to know that they loved his passion.
And passion is what climbing was to Caleb. He quickly became engrossed by the sport. Driven to make himself climb harder and better, he hired a coach with money he raised mowing yards and doing chores. Within a relatively short time, he established himself as one of the top boulderers in the
After his coach moved out of state, Caleb enlisted the help of his dad, David. Together they read every training book they could get their hands on, trained or climbed 4-5 days per week, and traveled around the country competing or just hanging out at crags. They became regulars at climbing gyms, pushing each other, encouraging each other, and cheering for each other. And that was really where the magic happened, those times together, just the two of them: celebrating victories, talking trash over techniques, nursing sore muscles and tender
It was during those times, as they traveled to some of the greatest climbing gyms in the nation, that Caleb would remark how much he would love to have a gym like that in his
Sadly, Caleb also suffered from severe depression. Like all of his life, he fought that battle well, but in the end, it was just too much for him. Caleb took his life on August 22, 2012. He was nineteen years old.
One of Caleb’s favorite quotes was ‘follow your bliss’. And so it was that quote, and Caleb’s life, that inspired the passion to build Bliss Climbing and Fitness. We hope you will stop by and
Staff was so thorough, informative, helpful and friendly. I met some great people and kids! One mother was there with her young ADHD daughter and I realized how climbing can help you focus, accomplish goals and gain confidence. Wished we had this in Northern Iowa! With this being my sons first climb we will be hard pressed to find ANYTHING that can compare to Bliss! Thank you!
I found out about bliss in July and been eagerly waiting its opening. I took my son there and we climbed for two hours. I felt like I was a regular there as everyone was helpful and willing to answer any question I had, no matter how simple. Between the bouldering wall and the auto-belay we had a ton of fun. There is only 4 auto-belays so can't wait to learn how to belay so my son could climb a lot more routes, and find a buddy to belay me.
This is an amazing place to climb and get a great workout. Staff were friendly and helpful. My son and I had a blast, we will be back!