President Donald Trump may have declared last month that a new section of his border wall along the boundary with Mexico is "impossible" to climb, but a Kentucky rock climbing enthusiast thinks that claim is bogus.

Rick Weber, a 75-year-old retired engineer and certified climbing instructor, has built an 18-foot wooden replica of the steel border wall and invited rock climbers to scale it this weekend in Eastern Kentucky's Red River Gorge.

According to Weber, the climbing competition was inspired by Trump's remarks in September during a visit to part of the border wall under construction near San Diego.

Trump claimed that "20 world-class mountain climbers" struggled to scale the border wall prototype and that going over it is "virtually impossible," according to a transcript of his remarks at the Otay Mesa border wall site.

"This wall can't be climbed," Trump said. "This is very, very hard."

Weber wrote last week in Rock and Ice, a climbing magazine, that no one "in our climbing community knows any of these 20 mountaineers."

"I doubt if they exist," Weber added. "More importantly, to declare something to be impossible to climb to a bona fide rock climber is to issue a challenge."

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So Weber decided to invite anyone without "medical limitations that could result in unsafe participation" to enter his speed climbing competition on Friday and Saturday in a meadow next to Muir Valley in Red River Gorge, according to an event flyer.

Weber and his wife are the founders of Muir Valley, a nonprofit nature preserve and rock-climbing park within the Red River Gorge area.

There is no entry fee and no need to sign up in advance, according to Weber's flyer.

"We haven't a clue how many will want to give this a go, so participation will be limited on a first-come/first-served basis," Weber wrote in the flyer.

Weber's wooden replica is shorter than the 30-foot section of the steel bollard wall that Trump visited last month but similar to the 18-foot section that a private group completed along the border in May.

It consists of four columns spaced a foot apart and has a 5-foot-high plate at the top, Weber said.

"With volunteer help from a few climber friends, I built and erected the section of wall over a four day period," Weber wrote in Rock and Ice.

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Rules are still being developed, but Weber said there will be three technique categories — "rope-and-ladder," "rope and gear" and "free climb/ascend" — with prizes and trophies awarded for the fastest time in each.

Additional trophies will be awarded for "cleverest technique and for best costume," according to Weber.

The competition dates coincide with Rocktoberfest, one of the largest gatherings of climbers in the U.S. and held in Red River Gorge.

Ahead of the weekend competition, Weber posted Sunday on Facebook that someone has already met the challenge and free-climbed his replica border wall.

"Ground to ground — 37 seconds. No rope, gear, or ladder — just the belay rope," Weber wrote.

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Weber's climbing challenge comes as Trump seeks to fulfill his signature campaign promise — to build a wall along the entire southern border.

The Trump administration said in September that it plans on building between 450 and 500 miles of fencing along the nearly 2,000-mile border by the end of 2020.

The ambitious undertaking is supported in large part by Trump's emergency declaration that diverted billions in federal defense dollars that had been earmarked for things such as schools at military bases, target ranges and maintenance facilities.

The Trump administration says the wall — along with more surveillance technology, agents and lighting — is key to stemming a rise in illegal border crossings.

But the government has encountered several hurdles, including construction hiccups, funding issues and legal challenges from environmentalists and property owners whose land sits on the border.

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Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.