Laura Bellisle Climbes to the Next Level

STORY BY SARAH GRASSEL PHOTOS BY SARAH GRASSEL WANDERING WILDE MEDIA

Growing up in a small town in Iowa, it may have been hard for Laura Bellisle to imagine where she is today – an entrepreneur in Rapid City, sharing her love and passion for rock climbing. All it took was a bouldering leap of faith – to leave school and head to Yosemite. “I wanted to be the kind of person who was outdoorsy, so I applied for a summer job in Yosemite National Park,” Laura admits.

“At the time, I didn’t even know Yosemite was known for climbing,” Laura laughed. “So, I would never have guessed that in my first week in the park, I would be 600 feet off the ground finishing my first-ever climb.”

During her time in Yosemite, Laura developed a passion for living the simple life and a love of the climbing sport itself. She ultimately decided to return to school and finish her social work degree but moved back to Yosemite immediately after graduation “I spent three of the next five years in Yosemite just working and climbing.” The other two years were spent traveling throughout southeast Asia and Australia.

She eventually met her husband in Yosemite, followed him to Denver and later to Rapid City. After a fast 15 years, the couple has come to call Rapid City home. Laura loves serving the climbing community in the Black Hills with her partner.

“After spending one winter here, we decided we couldn’t go another year without a climbing gym,” Laura explained. Seeing the need in the community not only for herself, the journey for Black Hills Basecamp began in August of 2019.

After being in business for only a few years, Laura stumbled upon Elevate Leadership Institute and took the opportunity to grow and learn. Both of Laura’s parents are educators, so this course was a great value for continued learning in the community according to Laura.

“When I saw an advertisement for the ELI program, I thought it would be a great opportunity to connect with other local leaders and learn skills my business would need me to have as it grows,” she says.

“To me, the biggest takeaway was my relationship with fellow classmates,” Laura explains. As a graduate from the 2022 class, Laura attended the program with 23 other business leaders from the area. Entrepreneurship can often be a lonely journey. Creating a network of support can be the key to success. This is evident as Black Hills Base Camp is getting ready to expand, some of those classmates have teamed up with Laura.

“We are honored to be working with Jeremy Muth of Select Construction to build the new site for our new gym. As a fellow graduate, Jeremy and I had a prior relationship that has allowed us to trust each other. I am so grateful for him and the hard work his team has put into making our new facility the best it can be. What an honor to have been part of this class, develop relationships, and move forward in our community and businesses together.”

This July, Black Hills Basecamp will move to its new location at 2461 Seger Dr. in Rapid City. The expansion will more than double the climbing space and offer a separate wall for private parties and classes.