Inside the Sanctuary Rock Gym. Photo: Sanctuary Rock Gym
Near Monterey, California the Sanctuary Rock Gym located in Sand City is being forced to close their doors this month. The gym’s last day is Sunday, Feb. 10, to make room for a hotel and housing development that will more than double the small city’s population.
The announcement on Feb. 8 by owner Michael Bascou came as a surprise to many who thought Sand City officials had worked out a plan with property owner Don Orosco to postpone closing impacted businesses for two months.
But Orosco had other plans. He gave notice to owners they had to vacate by mid-February so he could move forward with his project consisting of a hotel and two residential buildings with 355 units, 52 of which will be affordable housing.
Meanwhile, Bascou, who opened Sanctuary Rock Gym in 1996, is feverishly searching for a new location, but to no avail.
“I just lost another great location yesterday,” he says. “I want to find another space and open up—either a full gym with ropes, or a smaller gym with just bouldering and no ropes.”
Bascou is searching everywhere on the Peninsula from Monterey to Marina, including the former Fort Ord.
Eldorado is moving to a larger work space in Louisville. Image: Business Den (Renderings courtesy Eldorado)
Eldorado Climbing Walls is moving its headquarters and manufacturing facility out of Boulder, Colorado and into nearby Louisville according to the Business Den The company has been in its Boulder location since 2002 but with the increase in business, the company is expanding its manufacturing space by 50%.
“The size we need for light industrial is not available in Boulder, a) period, and b) at any price that would be reasonable,” owner Kevin Volz told the Business Den.
“The place we’re moving in is literally across the street from a climbing gym and brewery,” Volz said. “If we’re going to be in an industrial park, this is by far the best possible outcome.”
Eldorado employs nearly 50 people, 20 of whom travel around the country to install climbing walls for clients, Volz said.
The team behind a central Ohio collection of climbing gyms has plans for additional expansion. To keep pace with their growth, they have decided to adopt a new corporate name to grow under, 5.Life.
Columbus-based Vertical Adventures first opened its doors in 1994 when Carrie and Alexis Roccos saw the need for an indoor climbing space for the vibrant midwestern climbing community. Finding a location near the Budweiser brewery, they got to work crafting and creating their own climbing walls and perfecting a climbing gym that has become their family.
In 2014, Vertical Adventures opened a 16,000 square foot space with 44-foot walls, 100+ roped routes, a full fitness gym, two bouldering areas, and a full retail area. The facility is focused on helping customers take their fitness to new heights and includes a full yoga schedule, adult programming, monthly events, and more.
2015 saw the transformation of the original space into the Training Center focused on youth programming and development. From pre-schoolers just learning to grab onto holds all the way to national-level competitive athletes, the experienced coaches at this facility work with kids to help build confidence and problem-solving skills both on and off the wall.
In 2018, the team took the sport into the city by opening a bouldering-only facility, Chambers in Grandview.
The new name pulls meaning from the Yosemite Decimal System. The 5 means the terrain is a rock climb and Life implies climbing as a life-long venture. The company hopes to continue to bring adventure, fun, community, and so much more to the new spaces they open in the Midwest. In the 25 years they have been in Columbus, OH they have already transformed the lives of so many.
Bend sits in the high desert of Oregon, at the foothills of the eastern Cascade Range, and hovers between Ponderosa pine forest and fields of sagebrush. Known for its beer, its proximity to excellent skiing, a network of mountain bike trails, and its facilitation of an outdoorsy lifestyle, this place is also the birthplace of sport climbing in the United States. And now Bend will be the site for 2018-2019 USA Climbing Bouldering National Championships. The weekend of February 1-2 will be the open competition and February 8-10 will be the youth competition.
Historically held in climbing-centric cities like Colorado Springs, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah, the event has traveled around the country. In 2015 and 2016 Bouldering Nationals was held in midwestern Madison, Wisconsin. For national competitions in sports managed by nation-wide organizations such as climbing or cycling, it is typical for cities to bid for two-year contracts to host these events. The benefit of hosting two-years in a row is that the effort and infrastructure put in place can be maximized over the course of a couple competitions. Although there are many climbing companies that call Bend home, such as Entre-Prises USA, which designs, manufactures and installs climbing walls and holds; Metolius Climbing, which makes a long list of climbing gear from harnesses to cams; and training facilities like Bend Rock Gym and Bend Endurance Academy, around six years ago it was the employees at Visit Bend, a private nonprofit that serves as the marketing arm for the city, that began to consider bringing the competition to town. “Our pitch was ‘let’s get back to the roots of where sport climbing started in the US.’ Although the events will be indoors and on walls created by Entre-Prises, we really emphasized coming to a community like Bend that has a deep seated climbing culture,” Kevney Dugan, the CEO of Visit Bend said.
The Birthplace of Sport Climbing
Smith Rock State Park, which lies a little over half an hour north of Bend, does seem to be the location of several climbing firsts in the United States. Climbing began in that region the 1950s, when small teams began climbing the pinnacles along the Crooked River, protecting themselves with pitons and other traditional gear. These groups were focused on summits and often placed registers with signatures of the first ascensionists atop the towers that they climbed. In 1960, the state of Oregon designated 650 acres as Smith Rock State Park in order to protect its significant geologic features and to provide a place for recreation, paving the way for continued climbing in that region. By the late 1970s, a young climber named Chris Jones began to bring bouldering to Smith. A sport already popular in Great Britan, bouldering was mostly foreign to the US. Through his focus on difficult, dynamic moves on smaller rocks, Jones established many problems and popularized bouldering as a sport unto itself rather than just a way to practice for larger peaks.
Then in 1982, a 21-year-old climber by the name of Alan Watts wearied of climbing the known routes at Smith, and rappelled down faces to scope new route potential. He realized that there were enough holds on the faces to make climbing possible, but traditional protection wouldn’t work. So he began drilling protection bolts into the rock while on rappel. Watt’s climb of the bolted 5.12 route Chain Reaction is believed to be the first sport climb on record, and Watts is credited with bringing sport climbing to the USA.
This new method did not come without controversy. Die-hard traditionalist climbers disparaged Watt’s new technique, claiming that it was cheating and recognizing that it damaged the stone. Today, though, sport climbing is a well-accepted and much loved genre of climbing. Now, Smith Rock, with nearly 1000 climbing routes, over 60% of which are sport climbing routes, is a popular climbing destination for Bend locals and visitors alike.
Close proximity to such a historic and popular area is why numerous climbing-related businesses have made their homes in Bend. “The reason Entre-prises USA started in Bend was because the very guys developing Smith also started the company. We’re not in Bend because it is this logistical hub where it is really easy to fly in and out of or to ship goods out of, it’s because of our roots. And we are really proud to have been in Bend for 30 years,” said Sander Culliton, CEO of Entre-prises USA.
Photo: Julien Havac Photography
Nationals Comes to Bend
Entre-prises has already been a partner with the national organization USA Climbing for the past six years, and EP supplies the walls for all of its big bouldering events. Now the company is proud to share an event in its home town. The competitions will be held at the Expo Center in the Deschutes County Fairgrounds, where USA Climbing will install Entre-Prises bouldering walls. “There are some commercial opportunities to showcase our brand, but at its core hosting Nationals here is more about the human side of things. It is more about Bend and our people and our team. The idea is to leave visitors with the impression that Bend is a really cool town full of cool people and we made them feel really welcome,” Culliton said.
Beyond the competition itself, many of the businesses in Bend are joining together to make the two weekends of the competition especially enjoyable for the approximately 3000 visitors that will be coming to town. Bend Rock Gym is hosting a citizen’s comp, the Bend Boulder Bash, for climbers who aren’t officially competing in Nationals; EP, 5.10, Bend Rock Gym, Bend Endurance Academy, and Silver Moon Brewing are bringing an after-open finals party with live music; Silver Moon Brewing will be premiering local climbing films and guest speakers to provide evening entertainment; and there will be special discounted rates for Nationals participants and spectators at Mt. Bachelor Ski Area as well as at several hotels.
“I know that USA Climbing, with their expertise, is going to take care of the nuts and bolts of the competition,” Dugan said. “What I am really excited about is that these visitors will be coming to a quintessential mountain town with great climbing outdoors even this time of year, and the opportunity to ski at Mt. Bachelor, and the chance to mountain bike. I really hope people take the time to explore our community and do other things.”
What Matters the Most
For two weekends this February, climbers from all over the country, even Canada, will converge and commune in Bend. Whether they are competing for a $5,000 prize purse and swag from local companies at the Bend Boulder Bash, taking a day to challenge themselves on volcanic tuff at Smith Rock State Park, or recounting competition highlights over one of Bend’s legendary local brews, these visitors will get a taste of the outdoor haven that is Bend, and will have a chance to experience the history and the climbing psyche that lives here.
Culltion emphasized that this opportunity to share Bend with industry partners, climbers, and people who may not have ever been here is the real joy of this event. “Hosting Nationals is a way for us to give back to climbers and to shine a light on this community, which we are really proud to be a part of.”
This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
USA Climbing has just to announced a multi-year agreement with ESPN to present the Combined Invitational, Bouldering Open National Championships, and Sport & Speed Open National Championships.
For each competition, a one-hour show will be televised on ESPN2 highlighting the excitement of competition climbing and the athletes’ journey toward National Team Selection. ESPN3 will also live stream significant portions of the qualifying rounds,
as well as the semi and final rounds in their entirety. In addition to the live stream, the events will remain available on demand on ESPN3. In year two, ESPN will add Collegiate Nationals to the arrangement.
“Working with ESPN is a huge step toward bringing competitive climbing into the mainstream,” said Marc Norman, CEO of USA Climbing. “As we build toward our first Olympic Games, we are excited to introduce climbing and our athletes to the American public. Finally, a special thanks to The North Face; without their additional support this would not have come to fruition.”
“With the significant growth in climbing in the U.S., this arrangement with ESPN is another positive step in our efforts to capture and share the excitement of competition climbing,” said Patti Rube, President of USA Climbing’s Board of Directors. “Thanks to the efforts of our routesetters, judges, staff, climbing gyms and competitors, our National level events are ready for this broad media distribution.”
Hatfield great-grandmother Greta Plowman, 99, climbs a wall while daughter Judith, 70, belays at Manchester Climbing Centre. Picture: Tim Dobson.
Sprightly great-grandmother of eight Greta Plowman was watching her plucky daughter Judith, 70, at the Manchester Climbing Centre recently when she became inspired to have a go herself.
“It was marvellous, really exciting,” she said. “My fingers ached a bit, but I learnt to push more with my feet and that made all the difference.”
The grandmother of seven and mother of four, who only recently moved into an aged care home at 98, surprised everyone – including herself – by completing the climb.
“I think the message is if you want to try something, it doesn’t matter what the situation is, have a go and you’d be surprised by what you can do,” her grandson, Tim Dobson said. “At 99, I wasn’t sure she would even get off the ground,” he said.
“Most people would be apprehensive before their first rock climb, but the only person who didn’t seem scared was Greta.
“She got onto the wall and she, slowly but steadily, made her way up the climb. There was one point near the top where she said to me, ‘I don’t think I can go on’ and I said ‘you’re nearly there’ and to her credit, she pushed through and got right to the top!”
Manchester Climbing Centre owner John Dunne indicated Greta now held the record for the oldest climber at the centre.
Touchstone has announced they will be taking over a dilapidated manufacturing building in West Oakland, California. The Pacific Pipe Company building on the corner West Grand and Mandela Parkway has been vacant for decades. Touchstone Climbing announced on their blog plans to restore and convert the former factory into their latest climbing gym. “We love celebrating the history of our cities, and we’re especially stoked to revitalize this decades-long abandoned space while maintaining its industrial roots.”
The floor plan for Pacific Pipe is 55,500 sq. ft.—over double the size of Berkeley Ironworks, which is currently the largest climbing gym in the East Bay. In addition to offering bouldering, top rope, and lead climbing, Pacific Pipe will also house yoga and fitness programs as determined by the needs of the local community.
“We’re thrilled to be part of a community as passionate and welcoming as West Oakland,” says Heather Bellgreen, Touchstone’s Marketing Director. “We’re looking forward to creating a cutting-edge gym for climbers and non-climbers alike, and we can’t wait to provide programs that will serve our neighborhood to the fullest.”
Touchstone is hoping for a 2020 opening date. After their previously announced gyms in North Berkeley and Pasadena, Pacific Pipe will be Touchstone Climbing’s 15th gym in California.
A rendering depicts the redeveloped West Campus of Electric Works at dusk.
Sport Wayne Inc. has signed a letter of intent to design and open Fort Wayne, Indiana’s first climbing gym, named Rush Rock Gym.
Rush Rock Gym will include about 30,000 square feet of climbing space, with an Olympic-sized speed climbing wall, an adventure zone for youth, and dedicated space for bouldering, parkour (moving quickly through an area), rappelling and zip lines. It will also feature the first deep net soloing wall in the United States – enabling it to host regional and national climbing competitions and exhibitions – as well as an all-abilities/adaptive climbing space for climbers with physical, sensory or cognitive disabilities. Upon completion, it’s expected to be one of the largest climbing gyms in the state of Indiana, according to the statement.
“The building is perfect; it looks like it was built for climbing,” says Corey Ford, president and CEO of Sport Wayne Inc., currently at 327 E. Wayne St., in a statement. “We love the space in the building, the location near downtown and the energy surrounding the development – it’s an ideal fit in every way.”
Andrew Katz and Joel Graybeal climbing. Photo MMG
“Andrew Kratz taught himself to rock climb from a book—not an approach he recommends to anyone else—and he loved it immediately. For the past 11 years, he’s helped instill that joy of climbing in others, at Triangle Rock Club, the chain of climbing gyms he co-founded. When TRC opened its first location a decade ago, it was among the early gyms to add amenities and social activities to appeal to a customer base beyond outdoor climbers. With four locations and a fifth under construction, TRC’s revenue has grown an average of 36 percent annually for the past nine years.
Read more about the founding and the growth of Triangle Rock Club from this excellent article by Middle Market Growth
Last year 43 new climbing gyms opened according to an article here on Climbing Business Journal. In addition, between 1,000 and 1,500 people try climbing for the first time every day. The climbing industry is getting bigger, and your gyms member base is growing right along with it. Managing the members, payments, and everything else that goes along with a climbing gym can be tedious and timeconsuming. Thereʼs a lot of moving parts. Luckily we live in a modern world where computer software can do most of the heavy lifting. But can the current software options for climbing gym management stand up to the growing needs now, and into the future?
Before we can answer that question, letʼs back up a bit.
The Backstory
My name is Nick Haskins, and Iʼm a climber living in the mountains of Boone, NC. In 2017, I was introduced to climbing through a friend, then quickly discovered the history of bouldering in the area. I found an amazing local gym, with a great community, and was hooked. I even brought my wife and kids into the sport, and weʼve all been climbing and training ever since. This summer, weʼll be setting off in an RV driving around the US hitting all the best bouldering spots.
When you spend a lot of time at the local climbing gym, you tend to make a few friends. And when you have kids that climb in the local comps, you get to talking to a lot of different gym owners. As a software developer, I started to get curious on what systems were in place to manage these gyms, their memberships, and payments. When I was shown the software that they use, I was really disappointed by the UI, and how common actions seem to take several steps. I strongly believe that software can be both beautiful, and functional. I practice this methodology every day withe the web applications I manage. I know whatʼs possible through both minimal design, and a great user experience.
I started to talk more with owners of various gyms in the Western Carolinas. The more we talked, the more it became clear that in addition to the lackluster UI, there was a near complete lack of automation. I once sat and watched one of the owners manually collect membership dues on the 1st of every month. This doesnʼt scale very well, and itʼs truly hurting the bottom line when things like failed payments and membership changes are handled manually. Members should be able to log in and update information on their own. They should have the option (at your approval) of changing membership plans, or adding new payment methods at the very least.
It doesn’t have to be this way, and Iʼm on a mission to change it. Weʼre building houses with hammers, when what we need is a nail gun.
Say Hello to Sport Keeper
Out of the box youʼll get a simple, modern, and beautiful user interface thatʼs delightful to use across any device with an internet connection . Easily onboard new members with a built-in digital waiver system. No need for 3rd party provides. No fumbling around connecting waivers to members.
Membership payments are fully automated, including EFT based memberships with your existing ACH merchant. Failed payment notifications are handled automatically, which include guiding the member through logging into their personal portal to update or add payment methods. Once logged in members can view a report of their checkins, change memberships plans, and keep their information up to date.
All of this without you having to lift a finger.
Sport Keeper powers your front-end with a kiosk system built for touch, and designed to work on any internet connected tablet. A second system connects to a 3rd party bar code scanner, allowing your members to checkin by simply waiving their existing key fob tag. No need to print more just to move to a new software system.
Increase revenue by offering additional events like Yoga, Aerials, or Silks classes. These classes can be booked online via credit card by your members. We even handle payment receipts and transactional emails.
Feedback Needed
I designed the system to offload a lot of the manual work that you may be accustomed to doing, and to give your members tools to make the experience with your gym valuable beyond cancellation. More than that, itʼs designed to provide you with an incredible amount of insight into how your gym is running, arming you with better information when making important business decisions.
Itʼs just about completed, but before itʼs released in 2019, Iʼd love to have your feedback. We have a demo that you can dive right into and start exploring. No forms to fill out. No sales funnels. No commitments. Help us shape SportKeeper to be the next generation of gym management software. Visit us for more information at https://sport-keeper.com.
This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
