About Horizon Climbing

Horizon Climbing was born from a love for movement, challenge, and community. We saw a gap in Champaign-Urbana’s climbing scene — the community needed a space designed for both serious training and family-friendly climbing. Our goal is to create an inclusive gym where beginners, kids, and experienced climbers alike can grow, push their limits, and feel at home.

Our mission is to provide diverse climbing for our diverse community so that everyone can find something they enjoy in our gym.

Meet the Founders

We are climbers, Champaign-Urbana community members, and routesetters.

  • Natalie Broadhurst

    OWNER, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, EVENTS, AND ROUTESETTING

    Natalie discovered bouldering as an adult and immediately became addicted to its fun, problem solving, and social aspects. When she started routesetting in 2021, that’s when she realized she wanted more from climbing than just a hobby. She has since worked for multiple gyms and attended several professional trainings and industry events. Natalie understands firsthand how life-changing climbing can be, and she is passionate about helping other people discover climbing as well.

    Natalie bring years of experience creating climbs of all difficulties, has attended trainings with internationally renowned instructors, and has an L1 certification with USA Climbing. At Horizon, you can always expect a variety of thoughtful and quality climbs from our dedicated routesetting team!

    Outside of climbing, Natalie enjoys spending time with her husband and three cats, swimming, reading, music, and crossword puzzles.

  • Mika Malter

    OWNER, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, MARKETING, AND YOUTH PROGRAMS

    Mika got hooked on climbing as a kid back in 2005 when she started going to summer camp at Rocks and Ropes in Tucson, AZ. They let her set a boulder a few years later, and that's where she discovered her interest in routesetting!

    She began routesetting for work in 2016 and got into competition routesetting in 2022. Mika is currently a certified USA Climbing Level 1 Routesetter. She studied Early Childhood Education for her bachelors and masters degrees and was excited to enter the workforce as a pre-K teacher. Upon graduation, she took a chance and applied to oversee Adventure Recreation at UIUC’s Campus Recreation. She got the job and found her new career path! Mika is excited to share her love of rock climbing and routesetting with everyone at Horizon Climbing now. She is also excited to continue her love of working with kids by overseeing our youth programming!

    Mika's goal is to inspire the next generation of climbers and future routesetters.

How we got our name

The name Horizon Climbing was inspired by the outdoor V15 boulder “Horizon”. On March 22, 2016, Ashima Shirashi made the second ascent of Horizon, becoming the youngest person to climb V15 at the age of 14. Ashima was also the first woman to boulder V15. Women and non-binary climbers continue to inspire us and break barriers in a sport that has historically been male-dominated.

We also enjoyed the imagery and connotations of the word “horizon”. We are looking to the future of climbing and how we can continue to make our sport more innovative, more exciting, and more welcoming.

Image credits: Brett Lowell | Reel Rock