BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff Above, 10-year-old Zia Work makes her way up a challenging rock, upside down, at Garden State Rocks in Morganville on Feb. 14. Below, 15-year-old Jenna Lonczak works her way up a 30-foot rock wall. If you're tired of the gym scene, or just looking for a new physical challenge, Garden State Rocks just may have what you are looking for: rock climbing.

Garden State Rocks, located at 705 Ginesi Drive in Morganville, is the area's only climbing gym, and it features state-of-the-art climbing walls as well as the structure called Boulder Island. If you didn't know better, you'd think you were outside climbing the side of a mountain.

This growing sports has attracted a wide variety of clientele, according to manager Tom Vidnansky.

"We get people from all over the spectrum," said Vidnansky, who is a rock climber himself and coach of the facility's competitive team. "You get young professionals looking for an alternative to the gym. They find that it is fun and interesting. You won't meet friendlier people. "

Vidnansky pointed out that rock climbing requires a good deal of core strength - legs, arms, hands and fingers. Much more goes into it than meets the eye.

Pete Torcicollo of Westfield, a lawyer, got involved in the sport through his son, Ryan Torcicollo, who just happens to have a national ranking in his 18-19 age group. It started out with Pete taking Ryan to practices.

"I just couldn't sit and watch," he remarked.

So Torcicollo followed his son and started climbing.

"I like it so much now, it's hard to describe," he said. "There's a lot of physical challenge to it and an element of risk that makes it exciting. Still, it's a very safe sport."

Torcicollo tried his stint at running and cycling and other activities, but found none of them equal to climbing.

"It's the best workout you'll ever get," he said. "This is the best physical condition I've ever been in."

Torcicollo recalled the first time he did a rock climbing session. He said his fingers and forearms were so exhausted that he had to wait several minutes before he could squeeze the steering wheel and drive home. Forget about how he felt the next day. He used muscles he never knew he had.

Freehold Borough's Sheena Tabler is a newcomer to rock climbing, having gotten involved in it the last couple of months.

"A friend of mine took me rock climbing and I liked it," she said. "I like that it's not just physical, but mentally you have to solve problems."

Tabler was referring to the different routes a climber takes to scale a wall. It is a complex weave of steps, which requires the climber to be thinking one step ahead at all times.

She agreed with Torcicollo about the benefits of rock climbing as a workout.

"It's a tough workout," she pointed out.

One of the main attractions is the Eldorado-designed boulder (Eldorado Wall Co. is the nation's leading manufacturer of indoor climbing walls), where climbers are literally upside down.

Among the steady climbers is East Brunswick's Zia Wok, a 9-year-old, who recently finished 10th at the Junior National Bouldering Championships in Boulder, Calif.

One of the main attractions at Garden State Rocks is the Eldorado-designed boulder. That is a monumental challenge for anyone, talking about core strength.

The facility has more than 6,000 square feet of climbing surface that includes 30-foot-high vertical climbing walls, Boulder Island and a cave structure.

The staff at Garden State Rocks has one of the world's leading climbers, Vadim Vinokur, a native of Khazkov (a part of the former Soviet Union).

Vinokur was the lone male representative of the United States to participate in rock climbing at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, where it was introduced as nonmedal demonstration sport for future Olympic consideration (Vidnansky said the number of rock-climbing participants will increase dramatically it if gets Olympic status). Vinokur is ranked in the Top 25 in the world and recently won the North American championship held in Mexico City.

The gym offers a little something for climbers of all skills, from beginner to professional. For those with no climbing experience there are two-hour belay certification courses where you are taught to climb and belay (holding the slack of the rope for climbers and lowering them).

The Youth Climbing of America program is for children ages 5-14. Out of this program comes Garden State Rocks' competitive team.

Gym specials include Ladies Night (Wednesday), College Night (Thursday) and High School Night (Friday) when the price is half off. The facility is open for birthday parties and Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs as well.

Garden State Rocks also hosts competitive events.

Operating hours are 3-10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 2-11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.

For more information on the rock climbing facility, call (732) 972-3033 or visit www.gardenstaterocks.com.