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    Halifax Gets New Gym in Former Theater

    Logo of East Peak Climbing.
    The East Peak Climbing logo. All images courtesy of East Peak Climbing

    East Peak Climbing
    Halifax, Nova Scotia

    Specs: East Peak Climbing is a unique climbing destination in the commercial Quinpool District of Halifax. The gym resides in an 83-year-old building that formerly housed the Oxford Theatre. First opened on February 29th, East Peak had to quickly close on March 16th due to COVID-19. The new gym is back up and running though as of June 12th.

    The facility features 6,059 square feet of roped climbing (auto belay, toprope, lead), as well as a designated bouldering area that measures approximately 600 square feet. A mezzanine includes a full workout area with cardio equipment, weights, and hangboards from Trango, Metolius and Beastmaker. Speed climbing holds will eventually be added to one of the climbing walls at a later date, and clinics will be led from time to time by the head coach of the Canadian Youth National Team, Chris Neve.

    Trango Holds Pardners

     

    Halifax gets new gym, pictured here, in former Oxford Theatre.
    East Peak is one of the new gyms in 2020 that had to weather COVID-19 at the outset. Located in a former theater, the facility is now open for climbing again, with some added precautions for social distancing and sanitization.

    Walls: Montreal-based OnSite
    Flooring:
    Built in-house, with carpet-bonded foam from Spieth
    CRM Software: Rock Gym Pro
    Website: eastpeakclimbing.ca
    Instagram: @eastpeakhfx

    In Their Words: “As the building we are in is pretty old, we did run into some challenges during construction and renovation. However, we did work hard to preserve some of the aesthetics of the theatre, including keeping our entry area as close to original as possible, and incorporating some of the original brickwork as part of our design.”
    —Ben Winstanley, Head Routesetter

    1Climb Surges Forward with New Locations in California

    1Climb surges forward with three new climbing walls opening this summer, including the Pasadena wall sketched here.
    Concept rendering for the climbing wall at the Boys and Girls Club in Pasadena. All photos courtesy of 1Climb

    Specs: 1Climb, the St. Louis, Missouri-based nonprofit that installs climbing walls in Boys and Girls Club of America facilities around the country, is nearing completion of projects at three new locations in California—impacted but undeterred by the COVID-19 crisis. The three Boys and Girls Clubs that will be receiving climbing walls are located in Pasadena, Tustin, and Long Beach. The partnering gyms that will provide aid, instruction, and other necessities for those Boys and Girls Clubs are, respectively, Verdigo Boulders, Sender One, and Long Beach Rising.

    Final installations at the three locations should be completed by the end of June, with grand openings happening at the end of July or early August, according to 1Climb’s Executive Director, Tim Baum. The walls of each location are being funded by a donation from Adidas Terrex. Other brand specifications for all locations are listed below.

    Routesetter Bundle from Chalk Cartel

     

    A rendering of the climbing wall in Tustin.
    The projects in Long Beach, Pasadena and Tustin (pictured here) will increase 1Climb’s tally of new walls to seven.

    Walls: Eldorado Climbing Walls
    Holds: So iLL
    Autobelays: Head Rush Technologies/TRUBLUE
    Website: 1climb.org
    1Climb Instagram: @1climb_official

    In Their Words: [on the COVID-19 crisis]: “Unfortunately, 1Climb was also affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Along with many other businesses, our projects were delayed due to the stay-at-home measures, which postponed the design, manufacturing, and installation of Boys and Girls Club climbing walls. Also, our partnering Boys and Girls Clubs were also trying to navigate these waters in terms of their services to their kids and staff. We did not know when they would open back up, as well as in what capacity.”
    —Tim Baum, Executive Director of 1Climb

    Should Gyms Give COVID-19 Orientations?

    Should gyms give COVID-19 orientations? Ty Morrison-Heath, pictured here, has included a video format at Spire Climbing + Fitness.
    Spire has used a COVID orientation video to convey information in a quick and easily digestible format, according to Ty Morrison-Heath, the gym’s Marketing Manager. All photos courtesy of Morrison-Heath / Spire

    For the past couple of months, climbing gyms around North America have been steadily reopening. But the abundance of reopenings does not equal a return to operational normalcy for any gym. Protocols and mitigation efforts related to the ongoing threat of COVID-19 are being widely embraced by the industry and largely bolstered by the Climbing Wall Association’s comprehensive online packet known as the “Roadmap to Reopening.”

    For all gyms, a big question becomes how to best—and most effectively—relay the abundance of COVID-19 strategies, protocols, and directives to customers. And there’s no singular answer. One option is to post informative signage around the gym—and hope that it gets read by members. Another proactive measure is to require gym attendees to read and sign new waivers that are thick with COVID-19 content. There is also a collective hope that customers who return to any climbing gym will already be informed of many COVID-19-related health protocols from having watched the news for the past several months; indeed, concepts such as social distancing and wearing masks are likely not surprising to most people who enter a reopened climbing gym this summer.

    Still, climbing gyms are unique environments for COVID-19 protective measures. Frankly, it’s uncomfortable to climb with a mask; it seems counter-intuitive to social distance when belay buddy checks and spotting while bouldering typically necessitate a degree of closeness; and it’s easy to forget about hand sanitization when plastic holds are being grabbed repeatedly during a hard session.

    Elevate Climbing Walls

     

    For those reasons, and to make sure every attendee is being thoroughly informed, a number of gyms have started giving all customers COVID-19 orientations, and other gyms are mulling over the idea as a possibility too. “My training of thought is that a return to ‘normal’ is going to require being aware of people’s comfort level,” says Brian Doyle, co-owner/operator of Climb Tacoma in Tacoma, Washington. Climb Tacoma is pondering giving COVID-19 orientations upon its reopening. “I feel like taking the time to communicate expected behavior to protect each other will put people at ease,” adds Doyle.

    COVID-19 orientations are not necessarily limited to in-person tutorials given by gym staff to customers. For example, Ground Up Climbing Centre in Squamish, British Columbia, gives in-person reopening orientations and has posted content online like this YouTube video. “We ask that you take the time to understand the new risks and the new policies in place to protect our staff and our community,” the video explains at its onset.

    Spire Climbing + Fitness in Bozeman, Montana, is another example of a gym that has created its own orientation video to cover new safety protocols. The video explains various requirements related to masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing, as well as gym zoning, spacing between cardio equipment, and ongoing disinfecting measures taken by the Spire staff. CBJ reached out to Spire’s Marketing Manager, Ty Morrison-Heath, to talk about COVID-19 orientation in greater detail and discuss whether COVID-specific orientation is something that more climbing gyms should be doing.

    Thrill Seeker Holds

     

    CBJ: A detailed COVID-19 orientation—either via video or in-person—is not something that all gyms are giving customers right now. Should gyms be providing COVID-19 orientations?

    Morrison-Heath: I think the answer is 100-percent ‘Yes.’ If you aren’t communicating your expectations with your customers on how to keep each other safe then it will be much harder to make the facility feel safe for those who are still on the fence about if they should be in your gym at all. Having every customer do an explicit COVID orientation with our desk staff on their first visit has been well-received and sets the tone on how we can get back to doing the thing we love, which is to climb, do yoga, and workout while keeping the risk down. Keeping the in-person orientation short is also important or you will lose people’s attention.

    CBJ: So, Spire gives in-person COVID orientations to customers, in addition to having that video posted online?

    Morrison-Heath: Absolutely. I think the in-person orientation is more important than the video because it immediately reinforces the message that we are taking this seriously the second a customer walks through the door. It also gives them a chance to ask any questions they have of our staff without feeling like they are intruding.

    Our staff is walking customers through our COVID-19 orientation, which has changed over time as we’ve entered the different phases of reopening. We kept all of it on one webpage and in chronological order because we feel that it shows our commitment to keeping our community safe over the entire crisis. It also allows those who are concerned to see how our policies have changed over time and be assured we aren’t rushing into reopening too quickly.

    Morrison-Heath says that customers in Bozeman have been receptive to in-person COVID orientations prior to climbing because it allows them to ask questions that might otherwise go unanswered.

    CBJ: Where did the idea of making a COVID-19 orientation video come from? And why video rather than, say, a new waiver or just posting signs around the gym?

    Morrison-Heath: As our management team cranked on our COVID-19 policies and written orientation, we came to the realization that it was going to be a dense document that was going to span almost a page of bullet points. As many of us know with our waivers, customers tend to glaze over when presented with a wordy document, and we feared many customers were going to miss out on the ways we were aiming to protect them while in our facility. A video conveys this information in a much more digestible format that people will voluntarily watch before they come into the facility and may even encourage them to come back sooner.

    We also recognized that communicating with the “hesitant to come back” customers was vitally important to our business, and a video is a much easier way to show how you are keeping your gym sanitary than a written document they are unlikely to read.

    Kilter Board

     

    CBJ: How have Spire’s customers responded to the COVID-19 orientation video?

    Morrison-Heath: The response has been great. In a small town like Bozeman, I’m constantly interacting with our members when outside the facility—and several have approached me when at the grocery store (while remaining socially distant) to tell me that they appreciated knowing what we are doing and were coming back in because they felt like we were taking it seriously.  We do have posted versions of our guidelines, but I don’t think typed documents elicit the same response these days as videos. We’ve also had a lot of great reviews lately, with one reviewer explicitly mentioning that they felt safe and we were taking precautions against COVID, although I think that also has to do with our in-person orientation we give every customer.

    OnSite

     

    CBJ: Can you give some advice to other gyms that might read this and want to make their own COVID-19 orientation video?

    Morrison-Heath: Keep it short and very tight. We spent less than a day scripting, shooting, and editing (I have a background in video production), but expect it to take time to do it right. Make it professional or it might actually backfire and result in people being less confident that you are taking it seriously.

    Make sure your audio is great and closed caption it for those watching on social media with their sound off. Rev.com offers caption services for $1 per minute and is really an easy way to get it done quickly. Use staff that customers know (Kim—in our video—is our Youth Program Manager and did an awesome job) so they feel like they have a connection to the presenter.

    Crux Planning Giant New Gym in Texas

    Crux South Austin - Crux Opening Large Texas Gym in Round Rock Next
    Crux’s flagship location in South Austin, which first opened in 2016. Photo by Merrick Ales

    Crux Climbing Center
    Round Rock, Texas

    Specs: The pandemic hasn’t stopped Crux’s plans for what will be one of the largest gyms in America. Slated to open late 2021 or early 2022, the 55,000-square-foot facility (“across five acres of land”) will feature 65-foot climbing walls for rope climbing, along with a separate bouldering area. The floor plan also includes strength training equipment, locker rooms, a kids’ area, and co-working spaces. The gym will offer Yoga classes, in addition to summer camps, competitions, member appreciation events, and “industry nights.” A press release about the Round Rock facility noted, “Similar to its Austin locations, Crux hopes to build additional retail space near the Round Rock facility to support local businesses.”

    Round Rock will be the third and largest member of the Crux family. Crux first opened its 22,000-square-foot flagship gym in South Austin in 2016 around much buzz and announced a sizable expansion to the facility in 2019. A second, 20,000-square-foot bouldering-only gym is currently under construction in Central Austin and set to open later this year.

    TACO Skin Sander from Chalk Cartel

     

    A rendering of Crux Central Austin, currently under construction. Photo courtesy of Crux

    Walls and Flooring: Vertical Solutions
    CRM Software: Rock Gym Pro
    Website: cruxclimbingcenter.com

    In Their Words: “This new location will allow more young climbers to foster their love for the sport, while its bigger, taller and Olympic-grade training features will attract even more world-class talent to Austin and its surrounding areas.”
    —Grace Nicholas, co-owner, COO and CMO of Crux

    Opinion: Why I Still Believe In Rock Gym Pro

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    By Scott Rennak

    As many climbing facility operators now know, Rock Gym Pro (RGP) has gone through some big leadership changes lately. Many users of the ubiquitous software have expressed worry both privately and publicly, to the point where a new Facebook user forum was even setup to ensure continued dialog about the platform.

    During this pandemic, this is not a time any manager wants to have concerns about the software their business depends on. We have enough challenges right now simply reopening with new operational guidelines. And so I wanted to weigh in based on my observations of the unfolding events, as well as my experiences as an RGP user for many years as a manager at The Spot in Boulder. I also spent over 90 minutes during two phone calls speaking with Maria Trysla, RGP’s new Business Leader, about what is going on.

    OnSite

    The Software Is Still Great (and Improving)

    Nothing about the actual software has changed for the worse. In fact, during the pandemic the team at RGP has released much-needed new features including a real-time occupancy counter that can display on user’s websites, check-out features that enable contact tracing, and bulk freeze function that was very helpful when the closures began. Perhaps more importantly, the team at RGP is focused on the stability and reliability of the software platform. They are embracing the cloud as an ongoing effort and are building a customer-driven roadmap for new functionality. As a key tool to run your business, RGP has only gotten better during this crisis.

    Their Support Team Is Still There (and Learning)

    Many of those RGP staffers you have come to love for their answers and insights, they have not left the business. When you contact support, you will still hear back from Jon, Kevin or Katie, while developers Dave, James and Dan are still on top of it. Admittedly we are all nostalgic for the days when replies to the Facebook posts were posted within minutes. However, maybe we were spoiled by that, and yes now RGP is becoming a bit more traditional software company with a bit more traditional support.

    Their team also has been inundated with new requests for support as we all reopen our gyms and use their software in new ways, needing extra help. When you consider the reality of COVID-19, any short delays in support are pretty understandable, practically every business out there has been affected by the pandemic and is experiencing some sort of delayed or interrupted service.

    CWA Summit Pre-Conferences

    They Have Shared Our Pain

    I personally believe RGP is one of the great unsung industry heroes of this crisis. Quietly, they have temporarily allowed their customers to opt-out of service fees and contracts. Together this has amounted to over $500,000 in lost revenue, an amount of financial support for climbing gyms that may be unequaled in our industry. Additionally, all of their staff have taken pay cuts. Yet in the face of all that, they are working diligently to support our reopening businesses, and also investing in and expanding the tools we need to operate in this new world.

    They Have a Strong Backbone

    Being part of the Togetherwork family of businesses, RGP has access to technical know-how and private equity that will ensure they thrive into the future. Many users were surprised to hear of their “new” ownership, but in fact the acquisition took place two years ago, and we all just didn’t know it yet. They could have done a better job of telling their own story through the leadership transition, but the fact remains that Togetherwork has been underpinning RGP for quite some time now. And all along they have been investing heavily in RGP Cloud, an essential outlay of cash that will make sure this tool we all depend on will weather the changing times far into the future.

    Together these reasons not only alleviate any of my concerns, but in fact inspire me to be hopeful about the future at RGP.

    Homewall of the Week 9 – Convertible Garage Woodie

    This week’s CBJ Homewall of the Week is a sweet many-angled woodie that admittedly needs more holds. Owner Peter Czoschke made sure the car still fit in the garage for winters at his home in Bloomington, MN. See past homewalls here.

    CBJ Homewall of the Week - Peter Czoschke

    When did you build your wall?

    April-May this year (it’s a Covid baby). I never considered a home wall as we have a top-notch gym down the road. Then the coronavirus shutdown happened and a friend offered to loan me a few of his holds. Next thing I knew I was drawing up plans to plaster
    half my garage in plywood.

    How long did it take you to build?

    The basic structure was 1-2 weeks, full build was about a month. We still need to paint it, though.

    Elevate Climbing Walls

    Not including holds and padding, how much did it cost you to build?

    About $700. Don’t underestimate the cost of fasteners. You go through a lot of screws and t-nuts! I estimate I spent $200 just on hardware, the rest being wood. The Metolius doc says to estimate about 2x the cost of the plywood, but I think 3x is probably closer.

    Did anything in particular inspire your wall design?

    I just wanted it to be fun. It’s also a training tool (2 climber kids in the family), but I mostly wanted it to be fun with features to set a wide variety of moves. I wanted a roof area because I have crap endurance on roofs. It also had to fit in the garage while allowing cars to still park in there (parking outside in MN winters is no bueno).

    CBJ Homewall of the Week - Peter Czoschke

    What was the most difficult aspect of the design and build?

    Padding. Climbing over a concrete slab (garage floor) is sketchyyy. Real padding is ridiculously expensive if you have to cover any substantial area. Plus, I want to be able to stow the padding when the cars are parked in the garage. I ended up with a mish-mash of
    old mattresses (memory foam works way better than spring coils) and bouldering pads. A spotter is needed to shuffle pads around if you do a long route, but it works. No ER visits yet.

    What would you do differently?

    So far I don’t have any complaints or regrets. It turned out beautifully and has been a lot of fun. We’re expecting our first new batch of holds any day now. We’ve only been climbing on the borrowed holds, and have basically no jugs. Ouch!

    CBJ Homewall of the Week - Peter Czoschke

    What is your favorite aspect?

    There was a side wall that clearly wasn’t going to work into the overhang but was cleared off. I was going to just slap a couple vertical plywood sheets onto the existing studs, but then at the last minute I decided to frame up a proper wall, mount it at the top with hinges, and make an adjustable slab. It’s actually way more fun than I expected it to be. It is a great addition to the burlier overhung sections. Now the kid crushers can thump away on the overhang and roof sections, while my old bones tiptoe up the slab. The roof area is pretty awesome, too, with a little “shield” for opposing foot holds to swing over to, although we only have one hold that will work on the roof for now.

    Any words of wisdom to aspiring homewallers?

    Build a model first, either a physical mockup, or even better with a CAD program (Sketchup online is free and not too hard to learn). I found so many hiccups in my design ahead of time that would’ve thrown me for a loop in the construction process had I not built a model. You also can visualize it and tweak the design before you commit to anything. I probably went through 3 or 4 iterations before I started any actual construction. It’s also a lot of fun to drool over before it’s actually.

    Want us to consider your woodie for a future Homewall of the Week? Submit your homewall here to be considered. If yours is chosen you’ll win a prize pack like this (varied prizes each week):

    Homewall of the Week

    Protests, Gyms and Tough Conversations: Ideas from Nonprofit Gyms

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    Protests, gyms and tough conversations header from CWA.
    Image by the Climbing Wall Association

    The Climbing Wall Association (CWA)―which has been hosting community calls for climbing gyms during COVID-19―held a special community call last Thursday on “protests, gyms and tough conversations.” The call involved representatives of the nonprofit climbing gyms Memphis Rox and Nosotros, who shared their experiences and communication around the ongoing recent protests.

    Below are 6 points from the call that stood out to us at Climbing Business Journal.

    This Conversation Is Not New

    Garnet Moore, Director of Operations at CWA, acknowledged in the beginning of the call that this conversation is not new. There is a long history of racism in the U.S. and collective action against it, and the current protests are recent events in that struggle. Some actors in the climbing industry have already been starting these conversations, and a renewed national conversation presents an opportunity to accelerate or amplify previous efforts.

    “It’s important to recognize―even though this is a particular moment―it’s one in a long, long series of moments where we’ve gone through similar situations in our country,” said Moore. “This isn’t a new thing, this isn’t a new issue, and it’s something that hopefully can be carried forward and we can engender some change, at least in our small corner of the world.”

    We Will Make Mistakes

    Also at the start of the call, Moore pointed out that we are all susceptible to making mistakes. Especially for those of us who are new to these conversations, there is a strong possibility that our early efforts and communication will fall short. Hopefully, the steps we take will be more beneficial than standing still and that we can listen, learn and keep growing.

    “The goal of this call is not to provide a roadmap or framework or answers about how to handle these tough conversations, but rather to show that we’re all susceptible to making mistakes; that it’s possible to still take action and make a positive contribution while making those mistakes; and that it’s important that as the leaders of our organizations we recognize that we’re not going to make these positive steps forward that we want to take unless we’re willing to take those ourselves, personally and sincerely,” said Moore.

    OnSite

     

    Actions Speak Louder Than Words

    With many climbing brands and gyms showing support on social media, one of the underlying topics of the call concerned how to convert those statements into actions. Malik Martin, Resident Photographer & Social Media Coordinator at Memphis Rox, discussed some of the ways Memphis Rox is doing that right now. During COVID-19, the nonprofit climbing gym has been handing out free lunches, hygiene kits, hand sanitizer and more in  their surrounding neighborhood. Partnerships with local organizations and donations from members have helped make it possible.

    “Right now, everybody is asking what can we do. If you make those connections, you’ll find that there are people who have resources that can be given out. Essentially, we’re not creating anything, we’re just funneling resources through us,” said Martin. “We wanted to make sure that the people in our community who tended to be hit hardest by COVID were the ones who were getting the most resources.”

    Expect Some Pushback

    Despite the positive work in their wider community, Memphis Rox still received pushback when communicating about the protests. Jon Hawk, Director of Operations at Memphis Rox, said they received negative feedback from people outside their community after posting a statement on Instagram―some from well-known personalities. Speaking out takes courage, and some pushback can be expected. Hawk approached these reactions with positivity during the call.

    “But we’re not letting that discourage us, we’re just fighting harder now. All we’re saying is, ‘Well, we made it, we got their attention. Cool, let’s keep going,’” said Hawk. “I urge everybody to do the same thing. Speak the truth. Climbing’s about love and caring and mentorship and helping each other and overcoming obstacles. And this is an obstacle, so let’s just climb over it and do it.”

    CWA Summit Pre-Conferences

     

    Handle Criticism Professionally

    Nosotros climbing gym also received some negative feedback after posting on social media. Following the death of George Floyd, Nosotros launched a t-shirt campaign to raise funds for the George Floyd Memorial Fund. The t-shirts included an image of windows at the gym broken during the protests. The post on Instagram received dozens of comments, many positive but also some critical ones. Instead of ignoring the comments, Nosotros founder Peter Stancato approached it as a learning opportunity and addressed them head on in a follow-up post two days later. Nosotros launched a second round of t-shirts which more explicitly conveyed the intended meaning, saying, “Racism is a mountain we need to climb together. #blacklivesmatter”. The feedback this time has been overwhelmingly positive.

    “For all of you who are listening, you may be in either 1 of 2 situations: either you said something online and you got backlash, or you haven’t said anything at all because maybe the backlash seemed scary…It’s so much more important to take a stance rather than not,” said Stancato. “It is dicey, it’s a sensitive climate. I think it’s helped just addressing the questions head on.”

    Activate Your Community

    Going forward, Stancato plans to involve the Nosotros climbing community in a bigger way. Stancato hopes to host a “Thinker’s Meeting” next Monday, where people can gather outside the gym and brainstorm ideas for what to pursue next. Later will be a “Doer’s Meeting,” to come up with next steps for how to achieve that idea. Every individual gym or brand has different resources, but coming together―and partnering with groups already doing this work for decades―can extend the impact.

    “We already saw where this gets when it’s just my brainchild. I’m going to make mistakes by myself. It’s a community effort. We all know rock gyms are based on community. So hopefully we’re going to make a community decision on Monday,” said Stancato. “Because we want to put something into practice. We want to do something.”

    The community call concluded with the participants answering questions from the listeners. To check out their answers to these questions and listen to the full recording, click here.

    New Training Equipment: CHNR May Wrap Part 2

    Training Equipment: CHNR May Wrap

    Two weeks ago we covered climbing holds – the new brands and shapes that launched during May. Here we will explore new releases of training equipment.

    // NEW TRAINING EQUIPMENT //

    360 Holds

    360 Holds has released their new customizable hangboard made from wood using polyurethane holds such as slopers, crimps, edges and jugs.  It comes with 9 holds and 7 which are fully customizable can be moved or rotated to any position (all except the jugs).  It is available in 16 different colors and distributed by Premium Holds in the US. 360holds.com // premiumholds.com

    Satellite Climbing

    Satellite Climbing

    Satellite is releasing the Satellite Mini Board systems board that works with their app.  They are also releasing a customizable training board called the Satellite Finger Board. It has crimps at 15 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm as well as pinches, jugs, a central sloper and monos. satelliteclimbing.com

    Post Holds

    Post Holds

    Post Holds from Canada has developed an innovative way to train pinches with their new MagPinch training system.  This pinch system can be configured magnetically to be anywhere from 1 inch to a 5 inch wide grip. They can be attached to weights or a door frame for many mounting options; a full tutorial is available. This and other products of theirs will be distributed by Hold Emporium. holdemporium.com

    Hardwood Climbing

    Hardwood Hangboards

    Hardwood Hangboards is a new company from Golden, CO that produces a variety of hand-machined boards from the Small Boards, Medium Boards as well as huge custom made hangboards. hardwoodhangboards.com

    Rockstar Volumes

    Rockstar Volumes

    Rockstar is a company known for their volumes, hangboards and their Crash Couch.  Recently they have released the Rocket Wall which is a free-standing 30 degree climbing wall which at 7 feet tall x 8 feet wide can fit in most homes, apartments, garages, ect.  The Rocket Wall has also been designed so anyone with an impact driver can install it with all the necessary hardware included. They have also released The Pinch Hangblock, which is a versatile and portable piece of wood that has been designed to be used in lifting and one arm hangs as well as two arm hangs with two of them. It features various lengths for pinching (narrow, medium, wide and extra wide) and also is configurable with edges and a jug built into the design. rockstarvolumes.com

    Rustam Climbing

    Rustam Climbing

    Rustam’s wooden training equipment has been designed by IFSC World Cup winner Rustam Gelmanov.  Their latest offering, Duonio, is a hanging two finger suspension apparatus to help train two finger pull ups. This is from the creator of the beast mode mono-pull trainer Monik. rustamclimbing.com

    Breadhouse Climbing

    Breadhouse Climbing

    Breadhouse is a startup that began in Montreal, Canada just a few weeks ago during the COVID-19 Quarantine.  The Pretzel is a handmade training tool for the space-constrained climber.  Carved from a single block of solid wood, its hexagonal shape contains over 50 different grip options.  The Pretzel can be used for a lightweight warmup option at the crag, as a mounted hangboard at home or used to lift weights.  The package includes a pair of mirror hexes made out of softwood or hardwood with 2 meters of pre-tied cord for an easy setup. breadhouseclimbing.ca

    Danger Buddies Climbing

    Danger Buddies was born out of a collaboration with Adventure Rock (Wisconsin’s premier climbing gym), which developed a complete training program that comes with this hangboard. There is an integrated a phone holder so you can follow along with Adventure Rock’s training videos, and recessed hangers included so you can build counterweights for using the tougher holds, do assisted pull-ups, or even work on rope skills. dangerbuddies.com

    COVID-19 Reaches USA Climbing National Team Training Center

    COVID-19 reaches USA Climbing training center in Salt Lake City.
    Photo: USA Climbing

    [The following is a press release from USA Climbing on June 11, 2020, as COVID-19 reaches the national team training center.]

    USA Climbing announced today that an athlete who has had access to the USA Climbing Training Center in Salt Lake City, Utah tested positive for COVID-19 on June 11. The athlete last utilized the Training Center on June 3.

    Elevate Climbing Walls

     

    In consultation with the Salt Lake Public Health Department and CDC guidelines, USA Climbing is taking the following steps, out of an abundance of caution, to ensure the safety of athletes, staff, and to prevent any potential spread to the community:

    • A group of approximately 19 individuals, currently showing no signs or symptoms, who visited the Training Center during the past week will self-isolate for the next seven days following local health department recommendations.
    • The Training Center will be closed for the next seven days. During this time, the facility will be heavily cleaned and all holds will be stripped and cleaned as a preventative measure.

    All USA Climbing athletes, staff and visitors to the Training Center are required to abide by COVID-19 protocols, which have been continually updated as new information has become available from the CDC, WHO and local health department. The current protocols can be found here.

    USA Climbing encourages anyone who has had recent contact with eligible athletes who have visited the Training Center or USA Climbing staff to contact their doctor if they are experiencing symptoms.

    Homewall of the Week 8 – A Legend’s 25-Year-Old Woodie

    This week’s CBJ Homewall of the Week is real beauty from Colorado Springs. It was first built in 1995 for climbing legend Kevin Branford, who has coached, routeset, and shaped holds for many years. His latest project is Method Grips, and he’s currently a manager at the brand-new Gripstone Climbing & Fitness. See past homewalls here.

    CBJ Homewall of the Week - Kevin Branford

    How long did it take you to build?

    One of the builders of the iconic Sport Climbing Center (now Springs Climbing Center) built the wall for us in two separate years. The build took about 2 weeks each time because he would come over after his full time construction job to work on it during the evenings.

    Not including holds and padding, how much did it cost you to build?

    At the time, I am guessing the build, with labor and materials, cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $5000.00. We used cabinet grade plywood…even back then it was not cheap.

    CWA Summit Pre-Conferences

    Did anything in particular inspire your wall design?

    My background in the climbing world is in competition pebble wrestling. I spent about a decade as a professional climber, so the wall design needed to be a serious training tool. I was in school and so a lot of the time it was easier to train at home and alternate that with doing homework.

    CBJ Homewall of the Week - Kevin Branford
    Photo courtesy Shannon Coker Photography

    What was the most difficult aspect of the design and build?

    I don’t remember anything being particularly difficult. My friend who built the wall is a custom home remodeling guru, so this wasn’t anything crazy for him.

    What would you do differently?

    The only thing I would do differently is not have any 90° edges/corners.

    CBJ Homewall of the Week - Kevin Branford

    What is your favorite aspect?

    My favorite aspects are the 10 1/2 foot ceilings, the 30 foot depth of the garage and the variation in angles. Mike really did a fantastic job utilizing the space.

    Any words of wisdom to aspiring homewallers?

    Home walls do not have to be massive by any stretch of the imagination. I have trained on woodies that are 6’ wide and 8’ tall with only one angle. Training can be done nearly anywhere in any space. My words of wisdom: holds are generally more expensive than most people expect them to be. My collection has taken more than 25 years to amass. Don’t feel like you have to buy all your holds at once. Shop around, start with a few hold companies, and plan on investing a small amount every couple of months to build up your selection.

    Want us to consider your woodie for a future Homewall of the Week? Submit your homewall here to be considered. If yours is chosen you’ll win a prize pack like this (varied prizes each week):

    CBJ Homewall of the Week