(WBBM Newsradio) – When Tim Dixon retired after more than 30 years in demolition, he wasn’t sure what life after work would look like. The longtime West Chicago resident worried he would struggle to fill his days.
The turning point came in 2018 when his daughter returned home from college in Seattle for Thanksgiving. She asked if he wanted to go rock climbing, something they had tried years earlier when she was young. He agreed, dusted off his old gear and followed her to Vertical Endeavors in Glendale Heights.
“Every route I got on, I finished it,” Dixon said. “And then I was off to the races.”
Climbing quickly became more than a hobby. Over the next six years, Dixon began spending four to five days a week on the wall, shedding nearly 50 pounds and traveling to more than 20 states to scale outdoor routes.
He tackled multi-pitch climbs in Washington, Arizona and Colorado, as well as a marathon 18-pitch route in Mazama that took him from sunrise to sundown.
“I don't really chase grades, but every once in a while there'll be a climb that just grabs you and you're like, ‘No, I can do this. I just can't put it all together,’” he said. “And then you put it all together and it's amazing.”
But Dixon said the biggest surprise has been the community he found inside the gym. He calls Vertical Endeavors his “church,” a social space where he knows dozens of climbers and often mentors newcomers.
“I enjoy meeting new people,” he said. “I do as much talking as I do climbing.”
Now physically stronger than he was in his 50s, Dixon hopes to keep climbing well into his 70s– indoors for training and outdoors for adventure.
“I just love going outdoors and climbing. You’re outside in the sun, climbing with friends,” he said. “How can you beat that?”