getting high

Climbing gym with the highest walls in the Southwest brings the Austin scene to new heights

Mesa Rim is opening to the public on March 7 with 55-foot climbing walls.

Photo courtesy of Mesa Rim

An Austin climbing gym is never just a place to climb — many Austinites would live their whole lives within climbing gym walls if they could, and why shouldn’t they? Mesa Rim Climbing Center, a massive, 50,000-square foot facility with 55-foot climbing walls, is giving visitors an excuse to never leave starting on March 7.

These walls will be the tallest in the Southwest, according to a press release, and in the largest facility, too. For scale, that’s about five stories high (the walls, that is, with even taller ceilings), and about the sprawl of a football field. Climbing opportunities include rope climbing and bouldering, and it doesn’t stop at climbing; visitors can also practice yoga, work on weight training and cardio, and relax in a sauna.

Located in Northeast Austin, at the Sheldon Cove development near Dessau Road, this gym will be accessible mostly from residential areas, and given its wide range of offerings onsite, aims to cater to all levels. It also offers programming in youth and community events, local competition, private instruction, and team building, among other activities.

“At Mesa, climbing is all about finding joy through the exploration of movement,” said CEO Ian McIntosh in a press release. “No matter the age or skill level, we hope to cater to the city’s most experienced climbers as well as those who are curious about climbing or just looking for a healthy and fun activity.”

Just before the opening, Mesa Rim is honoring the other end of that experience scale by hosting the 2023 USA Climbing National Team Trials and Paraclimbing National Championship. Technically two events combined into one qualifier from February 28 to March 5, this event is changing the landscape of competitive climbing in the United States, combining bouldering, lead, and speed climbing.

More information about Mesa Rim is available at mesarim.com. It is already open to founding members.

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Top of the class

UT Austin ranks among best U.S. schools for entrepreneurship in 2025

UT Austin, University of Texas at Austin, top Texas schools, best public universities, best colleges

Photo by Alexander Williams on Unsplash

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The University of Texas at Austin has earned two top-10 spots on The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur’s lists of the best graduate and undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies for 2025.

UT Austin's McCombs School of Business ranks seventh in the graduate category, and UT ranks second in the undergraduate category.

The school is no stranger to the prestigious national lists. In the 2024 rankings, UT also appeared as No. 2 among undergraduate programs, and No. 6 in the ranking for the best graduate programs.

This year marks the fourth time that the school has landed in the top 5 on the undergraduate side, and the 12th time in 15 years that McCombs has made the top 10 among graduate programs in the annual ranking, UT notes in a news release.

The only other schools in Texas to make either top-10 list for 2025 were Rice University (No. 1 graduate school) and the University of Houston (No. 1 undergraduate program).

Rankings for The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur’s 2025 lists were based on a survey of administrators at nearly 300 schools in the U.S., Canada, and Europe that offer entrepreneurship studies. Among the more than 40 factors used for the rankings were academic programs, faculty credentials, mentorship opportunities, and alumni entrepreneurship ventures.

"If the focus of the MBA program at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin were to be summed up in one word, it would be 'collaboration,'" reads the 2025 graduate schools report. "Students in more than 20 concentrations uniformly crow over its 'incredibly collaborative culture,' citing the 'supportive culture' as a top reason they ultimately picked the program. As a 'top 20 school,' the 'rigorous academic[s]' and 'focus on clean energy,' 'technology,' and 'entrepreneurship,' are other stand-out elements of the program."

The top 10 schools on the list of 50 best graduate schools for entrepreneurship studies in 2025 are:

1. Rice University
2. University of California-Los Angeles
3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
4. Washington University in St. Louis
5. Babson College
6. University of Washington
7. University of Texas at Austin
8. University of Virginia
9. Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands
10. University of South Florida

The top 10 schools on the list of 50 best undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies in 2025 are:

1. University of Houston
2. University of Texas at Austin
3. Babson College
4. University of Washington
5. Washington University in St. Louis
6. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
7. University of Maryland-College Park
8. Miami University of Ohio
9. Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico
10. Northeastern University

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The story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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