ORONO – University of Maine students, employees and members of the community will have the chance to get a leg up on the new Maine Bound Adventure Center climbing tower and “bouldering wall” with opening ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. April 12 in the large barn across from the Maine Center for the Arts.

The climbing tower and bouldering wall will remain open until 6 p.m., and the facilities will continue to be available throughout the semester. Hours of operation may be irregular.

Climbing is free for all UMaine students and will be open to the public for a fee.

The 5,834-square-foot adventure center will be fully operational by summer and will include Maine Bound staff offices, a student resource center and an equipment rental and repair area. The tower is 30 feet high and the bouldering wall is 12 feet high and 50 feet long.

“This facility has enormous potential,” said Paul Stern, Maine Bound program manager. “It’s centrally located, and it will bring our programs and services to a place that’s easy to find and is readily accessible.

“The tower and the bouldering wall themselves are state-of-the-art in design and the level at which people can climb,” he said.

The climbing tower features both top rope and lead climbs. It has nine routes of varying degrees of difficulty with an overall area of about 1,500 square feet.

The bouldering wall is about 750 square feet and includes an overhang. Between seven and nine people can climb the wall at the same time without a harness or rope.

“The tower is replacing the structure that we had four years ago on the fourth floor of the Memorial Union,” Stern said. “And because it doesn’t require a lot of equipment, the bouldering wall gives people another option in that it is something that they can walk in on their lunch break and use.

“There are beginning routes on the tower and the bouldering wall, but this is not a beginning facility. It will allow people to advance and challenge themselves,” he said.

When the facility is fully operational, Maine Bound expects that the morning hours will be set aside for academic courses in the kinesiology and physical education department.

The center will be open afternoons and evenings for general use and until 11 p.m. or midnight at least one evening each week.

Construction of the facility began in November 2001 by Building and Construction Services of Newport.