Meet the Kortje Family
David Kortje (Owner/Operator)
David grew up in Nebraska but has lived in Wichita for the last 26 years. His first ever climb was on the WSU wall over 20 years ago and loved it, but didn’t have anywhere else to climb. David started climbing seriously about 9-10 years ago. When his son Caleb began competing, he became very interested in training for climbing, and that is still his passion. David's favorite thing about climbing is the opportunity that it gives you to push your limits, succeed on a climb that you thought was way beyond your ability, and step away from the busyness and noise of life.
Sandra Kortje (Owner/Operator)
Wife of David Kortje, Sandra has been able to watch her family build a passion for climbing. Sandra has been a stay-at-home mom who is highly invested in her kids and their passions. She loves the outdoors and is a part of Wichita's Adventerous Babes Society.
Alisha Kortje (Programs Director)
Daughter of David & Sandra Kortje and mother of three, Alisha received her masters in Exercise Science through Wichita State University. She is passionate about fitness and nutrition and loves to share her passion with others. Alisha has been climbing off and on since she was 21, and has begun to introduce her kids to it as well.
Josiah Kortje (Marketing Director)
Son of David & Sandra Kortje, Josiah is currently attending Butler Community College for his Marketing & Business degree. He spends his free time longboarding and climbing. Josiah has been consistanly training for climbing in the last year by his father David and Bliss' head route setter 'Naise' Hellman.
General Staff & Route Setters
Michael 'Naise' Hellman (Head Route Setter and Coach)
I have been climbing since I was 16 and have been hooked ever since then. I am predominately a boulder but love all types of climbing that don't involve ice. Climbing is my passion and has kept me sane. I enjoy teaching and mentoring to all levels of climbers, and more importantly I love to learn.
I also enjoy working around my farm, building things, riding my Softail Slim and imbibing with cervezas in the evening with family and friends.
Lisa McMahon
(Customer Service Manager)
Josiah Sutton (General Staff / Route Setter)
Josiah Sutton is an adventurer that has spent time in most parts of the country. He currently resides here in Wichita to live his dream of bringing the joy and fulfillment of climbing to each and every person that has in them the desire for something better. When he's not in the gym, he can be found behind his drum set, outdoor climbing or sleeping.
Interests outside of climbing include, competitive paintball, progressive music, PC games and debating the origin of the universe.
Kelsey McElroy (Route Setter / Coach)
Kelsey has been climbing for a little over 5 years now. Climbing opened her eyes to a world of adventure that she never knew. Climbing has allowed her to see parts of the country that most people miss out on, push her mental and physical limits, make amazing friends, and meet her husband.
She enjoys taking weekend trips to Arkansas and Colorado whenever possible to get on real rock and loves exploring new places with her adventure partner (husband), their son Finn, and their crazy Aussie/mix dogs.
Her hobbies outside of climbing include: mountain biking, horseback riding, power kiting and hiking 14ers in Colorado.
Her pet peeves are: people going slow when merging onto the highway and fingerprints on shiny objects.
Troy Becker (Route Setter)
Troy has been rock climbing since 2006 and, and he began route setting as a volunteer shortly after that. His favorite place to rock climb is Arkansas in the fall.
He also enjoy making utilitarian pottery, and teaching ceramics at Mark Arts. He like mountain biking, kayaking, white water rafting, fishing, camping, board games, local restaurants, and ping pong.
He like Wes Anderson movies, and I like to listen to classic country music.
His pet peeves include: littering, playing music with one's phone speaker, and bad finishing holds on routes.
Chris Wurzer (Route Setter)
Chris is an engineering student at Wichita State University and have been climbing ever since he graduated high school almost four years ago. He started to grow his passion for climbing at the Andover YMCA. Climbing is his passion not only because of the physical challenge that it provides but also because of the people that he have met and helped along the way.
When Chris is not climbing, his other interests include climbing, climbing, and more climbing.