Photo: Reach Climbing
It is a monumental effort to bring a new climbing gym into a community. Go ask the owners and managers driving the climbing business forward. You will hear countless stories of delayed permits, failed inspections and surprise expenses. Building a climbing gym is a big challenge, even if you’ve done it many times before.
That is why CBJ is giving out its first ever Gym List Awards alongside this year’s Gyms & Trends report: to recognize and reward the hard effort it takes to open the indoor climbing gyms that push our boundaries forward. These visionaries are defining what will be possible tomorrow.
One comment we hear all the time: “gyms keep getting larger”. It’s a factor that drives development timelines, and may have contributed to the lower gym growth rate in 2019. Thus, for this year’s Gym List Awards we examined the total climbing surface area of new roped climbing and bouldering facilities (as opposed to the square footage of the interior floor space) and also compared maximum wall height, and lastly identified the gym developer who opened the most new gyms in 2019. Later this year, our popular gym map will have filters to sort by these data points, and our future reports will provide further analysis of this aspect of gym growth.
Scroll or click to see the following awardees:Central Rock Gym – High Point – Planet Granite – Reach – SummitPhoto: Summit Plano
Summit Plano
Plano, TX
Largest New Climbing Gym 2019
Clocking in at 25,000 square feet of climbing surface area, Summit Plano takes the crown as Largest New Climbing Gym 2019 and was the second-tallest mixed gym to open last year, with rope walls reaching 55 feet. Summit Plano is now the eighth and largest location of the Summit Climbing, Yoga & Fitness brand. It is also currently the largest climbing gym in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. The entire facility has a blueprint of 32,000 square feet, which includes 20,000 square feet of rope climbing surface and 5,000 square feet of bouldering surface, a fitness area, yoga studio and a section specifically for kids’ climbing.
Photo: High Point Huntsville
High Point Climbing and Fitness
Huntsville, ALSecond Largest New Climbing Gym 2019
In very close second place was High Point Huntsville. In fact we thought they were tied for first after they both reported to have 25,000 of climbing, and we even reached out to Walltopia to break the tie since they built both gyms. However, we quickly remembered from our review earlier this year that High Point prides themselves on their outdoor walls, and a portion of Huntsville’s 25,000 square feet is exposed to the elements. By nature that square footage has limited accessibility compared to indoor spaces, and after conferring with several of our industry partners, we decided that served as a viable tie-breaker.
Top Ten Largest New Climbing Gyms 2019
1st – Summit Plano (Plano, TX) – 25,000sqft
2nd – High Point Climbing – Huntsville (Huntsville, AL) – 25,000sqft
3rd – Reach Climbing Gym (Bridgeport, PA) – 23,000sqft
4th – Central Rock – Buffalo (Buffalo, NY) – 22,000sqft
5th – Cliffs of Callowhill (Philadelphia, PA) – 20,857sqft
6th (tie) – Whetstone Climbing (Fort Collins, CO) – 20,000sqft
6th (tie) Central Rock – Rochester (Rochester, NY) – 20,000sqft
6th (tie) Mosaic Climbing (Cincinnati, OH) – 20,000sqft
9th – Vertical World – North (Lynnwood, WA) – 19,000sqft
10th – Central Rock – Stoneham (Stoneham, MA) – 16,000sqft
Photo: Planet Granite Fountain Valley
Planet Granite Fountain Valley
Fountain Valley, CA
Largest New Bouldering Gym 2019
Featuring 12,500 square feet of bouldering surface area, Planet Granite Fountain Valley in California earns the title of Largest New Bouldering Gym 2019. As El Cap’s 16th gym and 6th Planet Granite location, Fountain Valley features multiple training and campus boards, cardio machines, locker rooms, saunas, work spaces, a gear retail area and a yoga studio. Planet Granite’s Fountain Valley location was the sole new gym opening of the El Cap brand in 2019 (El Cap also acquired the Movement Climbing & Fitness chain of gyms).
Top Ten Largest New Bouldering Gyms 2019
1st – Planet Granite – Fountain Valley (Fountain Valley, CA) – 12,500sqft
2nd – Sequence Climbing (Kansas City, MO) – 10,000sqft
3rd – The Spot Denver (Denver, CO) – 8,000sqft
4th – The Proving Ground (Normal, IL) – 6,500sqft
5th (tie) – Long Beach Rising Climbing Gym (Long Beach, CA) – 5,000sqft
6th (tie) – Central Rock – Beverly (Boston, MA) – 5,000sqft
7th – Flowstone Climbing (Redlands, CA) – 4,500sqft
8th (tie) – Central Rock – Waltham (Waltham, MA) – 4,000sqft
8th (tie) – Climb Iowa – East Village (Des Moines, IA) – 3,000sqft
8th (tie) – CLYM (Somerset, KY) – 3,000sqft
8th (tie) – Ascend – Youngstown (Youngstown, OH) – 3,000sqft
Photo: Reach Climbing
Reach Climbing
Bridgeport, PA
Tallest New Climbing Gym 2019
Reaching a lofty 58 feet from the flooring, Reach Climbing in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania takes home the award for Tallest New Climbing Gym 2019. It’s their first location, but don’t expect it to be the last. Reach Climbing offers 58-foot-tall walls for roped climbing (as well as a 15-meter-tall regulation speed wall) and a separate bouldering section. Weights and yoga are also offered, and the gym features a community space for work or lounging. The gym’s website notes that its mission is “to build an exciting community for rock climbers and gym-goers alike.”
Top Ten Tallest New Climbing Gyms 2019
1st – Reach Climbing Gym (Bridgeport, PA) – 58ft
2nd – Summit Plano (Plano, TX) – 55ft
3rd – Mosaic Climbing (Cincinnati, OH) – 55ft
4th – High Point Climbing – Huntsville (Huntsville, AL) – 49ft
5th (tie) – Vertical World – North (Lynnwood, WA) – 48ft
5th (tie) – First Ascent – Peoria (Peoria, IL) – 48ft
5th (tie) – Climb Bentonville (Bentonville, AR) – 48ft
8th (tie) – Central Rock – Buffalo (Buffalo, NY) – 45ft
8th (tie) – Central Rock – Rochester (Rochester, NY) – 45ft
8th (tie) – Central Rock – Stoneham (Stoneham, MA) – 45ft
8th (tie) – Climb Time of Oakley (Cincinnati, OH) – 45ft
Photo: Central Rock Gym Buffalo
Central Rock Gyms
Joe and Ed Hardy
Developers of the Year 2019
This category was the major reason we began the Gym List Awards. To our knowledge, what happened in 2019 has never happened in North America before. Central Rock quietly opened five new climbing gyms last year (3 mixed and 2 bouldering gyms). Altogether, the total climbing surface Central Rock introduced in 2019 across its new facilities equaled 67,000 square feet. Most of these gyms also offer yoga and general fitness classes, weights and cardio equipment, and a host of instructional programs for beginner climbers.
Not only that, Central Rock opened four gyms the previous two years, so this once small climbing gym brand built 9 new climbing gyms in the past 3 years. They concluded 2019 with 15 locations after averaging 1.5 new additions each year since they first opened the doors of their Worchester location in 2009.
We are pleased to recognize Joe and Ed Hardy of Central Rock as Climbing Gym Developers of the Year 2019! We reached out to Joe Hardy to learn his secrets…
CBJ: How did you pull off 5 gym openings in one year?JH: Anyone who has developed climbing gyms, or real estate in general, knows that hitting a time table can be extremely difficult. We actually set out to open 4 gyms in 2018 and 4 gyms in 2019. However, as different hurdles presented themselves and several project timelines were shifted, we ended up opening 1 gym in December of 2017, 2 in 2018, and 5 in 2019.CBJ: What were the biggest challenges?JH: Anytime you have 8 gyms to open, organization becomes a huge key to success. At various points in the process we had gyms that were about to open, gyms that were newly opened, gyms that were in planning, and gyms that were receiving materials. Tasks that are normally difficult with 1 gym opening, like setting, get much more difficult when you are opening 5 gyms in 5 months.CBJ: What’s easier now with your scale?JH: That’s a great question, and not really how we think about things. What makes things easier is having a team that you trust and a team that has been tested and works well together. We have the benefit of very low turnover and working with a team that has been together for a decade or longer in some cases. This has given us the confidence to take on greater challenges.CBJ: Anything exciting coming at Central that you can tell CBJ readers?JH: We have several projects in the pipeline, some are expansions of existing gyms, and some are brand new locations.CBJ: What drives CRG?JH: A deep, deep love for the sport of climbing, up and down our chain.
The Gym List 2019
These are the U.S. and Canadian climbing gyms that opened their doors in 2019.
New U.S. Roped Climbing Gyms of 2019
RANK
GYM NAME
LOCATION
WALLS
HEIGHT
1
Summit Plano
Plano, TX
25,000sqft
55ft
2
High Point Climbing – Huntsville
Huntsville, AL
25,000sqft
49ft
3
Reach Climbing Gym
Bridgeport, PA
23,000sqft
58ft
4
Central Rock – Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
22,000sqft
45ft
5
Cliffs of Callowhill
Philadelphia, PA
20,857sqft
35ft
6
Whetstone Climbing
Fort Collins, CO
20,000sqft
40ft
6
Central Rock – Rochester
Rochester, NY
20,000sqft
45ft
6
Mosaic Climbing
Cincinnati, OH
20,000sqft
55ft
9
Vertical World – North
Lynnwood, WA
19,000sqft
48ft
10
Central Rock – Stoneham
Stoneham, MA
16,000sqft
45ft
11
MetroRock – Littleton
Littleton, MA
15,000sqft
40ft
12
First Ascent – Peoria
Peoria, IL
14,000sqft
48ft
13
Shaker Rocks
Shaker Heights, OH
13,500sqft
40ft
14
Climb Bentonville
Bentonville, AR
13,000sqft
48ft
15
Climb Time of Oakley
Cincinnati, OH
11,000sqft
45ft
16
Triangle Rock Club – Durham
Durham, NC
9,950sqft
20ft
17
Risen Rock
Bossier, LA
9,000sqft
35ft
18
DynoClimb
DeLand, FL
7,500sqft
25ft
19
Climbing Cafe
Terre Haute, IN
4,000sqft
16ft
20
EVO Kids
Louisville, CO
1,540sqft
20ft
New U.S. Bouldering Gyms of 2019
RANK
GYM NAME
LOCATION
WALLS
HEIGHT
1
Planet Granite – Fountain Valley
Fountain Valley, CA
12,500sqft
14ft
2
Sequence Climbing
Kansas City, MO
10,000sqft
16ft
3
The Spot Denver
Denver, CO
8,000sqft
18ft
4
The Proving Ground
Normal, IL
6,500sqft
18ft
5
Long Beach Rising Climbing Gym
Long Beach, CA
5,000sqft
15ft
5
Central Rock – Beverly
Boston, MA
5,000sqft
15ft
7
Flowstone Climbing
Redlands, CA
4,500sqft
16ft
8
Central Rock – Waltham
Waltham, MA
4,000sqft
13ft
9
Climb Iowa – East Village
Des Moines, IA
3,000sqft
15ft
9
CLYM
Somerset, KY
3,000sqft
15ft
9
Ascend – Youngstown
Youngstown, OH
3,000sqft
16ft
12
El Bloque
San Juan, PR
2,000sqft
13ft
13
Deadpoint Bouldering and Fitness
Powells Point, NC
1,500sqft
15ft
14
Basecamp Bouldering
Ouray, CO
800sqft
13ft
New Canadian Climbing Gyms 2019
Wip Climbing
Courtenay, BC
bouldering
Flux Climbing
Rossland, BC
bouldering
Gym of Rock
Salmon Arm, BC
bouldering
The Hive Surrey
Surrey, BC
bouldering
Fredericton Bouldering Co-op
Fredericton, NB
bouldering
Pinnacle Indoor Climbing
Clarington, ON
mixed
Hub Climbing Mississauga
Mississauga, ON
mixed
Gravity Climbing Gym
St Catharines, ON
bouldering
Grand River Rocks Waterloo
Waterloo, ON
bouldering
Le Relief
Thetford Mines, QC
mixed
Klimat
Wakefield, QC
bouldering
Behind the Data
Climbing Business Journal is dedicated to researching and reporting on the climbing gym industry in North America.
Climbing gyms have been proliferating across the world since the early 1990s. The first gyms had flat walls, boring holds and terrible air, light, and landings. Modern climbing gyms have vast open spaces with beautiful natural light, intricate wall designs, industrial HVAC and are filled with bright and interesting blobs of plastic, fiberglass and wood. The industry has grown up, and modern climbing gyms now cater to a diverse and expanding clientele.
See the interactive, searchable map that powers the graphic above.
The data powering our Gyms and Trends report is an industry resource we have been developing since 2013. It’s a never-ending process of adding new gym projects and updating records when gyms renovate, expand, move, sell or close. Over the years many people have contributed to this body of research, including Mike Helt, Marlowe Kulley, Scott Rennak, Jamie Strong and especially Jon Lachelt who built and still maintains our master list. We make this original research available to the public through our gym map, and exports are also now available to top members.
The Climbing Business Journal performs original research and produces content that can’t be found anywhere else, in print or online. We do not require a subscription to read our content, but we rely on readers just like you to provide the financial support needed to keep CBJ going strong.
We offer different membership levels so that anyone, a casual reader, a gym professional or business owner can support CBJ and enjoy associated benefits.
Your benefits extend beyond supporting our work.
There are true benefits of CBJ membership including:
Early sketches of the 35,000-square-foot Oso Climbing Gym coming soon to Dallas, Texas. Photo by Oso founder Chris Whittaker, sketches by architect Nick Dean, courtesy Vertical Solutions.
So, you want to own a climbing gym.
Are you well versed in the industry? Do you know how to formulate a business plan or how to seek investors and funding? Are you familiar with the do’s and don’ts of designing a usable and inviting space? How about finding a decent and sensible location for your facility? Do you know how you’ll protect your assets, or how you’ll defend yourself in potential lawsuits? Are you already thinking of opening day and programming, but forgetting about how you’ll train your route setting team? How will your business mitigate risk in an inherently risky industry? Which type of holds will you screw on your walls? What flooring and padding will you use? What is your plan for onboarding a trustworthy, dependable staff and ensuring your workplace is an attractive environment for new hires?
There are countless aspects to opening, owning and operating a climbing gym. There are even more for starting your own business – two endeavors that are extremely difficult. But, not impossible.
Perhaps you’re reading this while sitting in your cubicle, tired of the monotonous drone of nine-to-five life. Maybe you’re seeking an entrepreneurial adventure and indoor climbing is your journey’s mode of transportation. Or, possibly, you’re already a successful, lifelong businessperson who is wisely paying attention to the sport’s growth, and you want to cash in.
Either way, opening a climbing gym and starting a business always begins here: with an idea. Though, it seems you’ve already discovered it. And thankfully you arrived at the best place for kickstarting your crusade.
Friends and family gather for a wedding reception in 2018 held at The Front Climbing Club in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Understanding the Landscape
According to the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, only “about half of all establishments survive five years or longer,” meaning you have a 50-percent chance at success. But the climbing world is reaching new heights and it will continue to do so thanks to the sport’s upcoming Olympic debut and subsequent mainstream media attention. In the State of Climbing Report by the American Alpine Club, the Climbing Wall Association (CWA) estimates that the climbing gym industry will be worth $1 billion by 2021…$1 billion!
You could be looking at a lucrative and successful future should you be willing to put in the hard work and time necessary to build a business and own a climbing gym that you can call yours. But many challenges await on the road ahead. Funding your endeavor, formulating a business plan, finding a suitable location and surrounding yourself with bright, passionate and kindred spirits are your next steps. None are easy tasks.
It’s never too early to start preparing for these challenges. Go on, the clock is ticking.
A climber takes on one of the bouldering problems at The Front Climbing Club in Ogden, Utah.
Why Listen to Us?
So, why would you trust us at Vertical Solutions? Good question.
We don’t want to brag; we’re simply proud of our roots and our transformation. We have become one of the leading climbing gym builders in the United States since Dustin Buckthal and John Stack first founded our company in 2007. Since then, we have built over 100 gyms/projects.
Operating climbing gyms is in our DNA, too. Before founding Vertical Solutions, Dustin purchased Salt Lake City’s The Front Climbing Club with the help of “friends, family, fools” and a seller-carry. With a small but scrappy team, he operated the facility and learned valuable lessons as the years went by. Others eventually noticed the gym’s birch walls and wanted them in their facilities. This is what led to the creation of Vertical Solutions.
The aesthetic birch walls from Vertical Solutions at The Crag in Nashville, Tennessee.
After 13 years of business ownership, Dustin and John have grown from naïve entrepreneurs to climbing industry professionals with unparalleled expertise. They have since expanded into a vertically integrated company that includes Habit, Proxy Productions and Sugarhouse Holds. Each subdivision cranks out different products – including climbing holds, flooring and pads – designed to meet clients’ needs.
And through Vertical Solutions, Dustin utilizes his experience as a gym owner to guide clients through industry-leading consultations, which provide guidance for those who are on their own entrepreneurial path.
Climbing wall and flooring production specialists of Vertical Solutions and its subdivisions at work.
The Next Steps
An increased number of successful gyms helps strengthen the sport of indoor climbing and the entire industry. A stronger, larger industry means a better bottom line for everyone involved. So, we want to help as many people as possible.
If you’re not quite ready to immediately consult with us, then stay tuned! This is simply the first of many articles we’ll be releasing in our “Starting a Climbing Gym” article series. Over the next several months we’ll cover everything you’ll need to know in order to own a climbing gym of your own.
We’ll review business formation, the process for securing your project’s funding and financing, the importance of protecting your assets, how to find a proper location and facility, the do’s and don’ts of gym design, planning for opening day and much, much more.
And you won’t just be hearing this information from us! Throughout the series we’ll spotlight different clients that we’ve worked with in the past and showcase their proven, successful projects.
We cannot wait to begin the journey with you. We hope you’re excited, too.
.
This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
Depiction of the soft-over-hard design of Composite-X’s Skuish holds. All images from Composite-X
By Noah Rezentes
Climbing holds have come a long way since the first holds shaped in clay hit the US market in the early 1980s. Polyester, polyurethane, wood, fiberglass and even aluminum holds now adorn the walls of climbing gyms around the globe. Digital 3D boulder problem scanning and 3-D hold printing are now in our vocabulary, and more experiments in the industry are underway.
Bulgaria-based Composite-X, one of the world’s largest climbing hold manufacturers, unveiled at the Halls & Walls 2019 trade show a new development in its climbing hold fleet called Skuish. Skuish holds are uniquely made with an outer rubber layer over a hardened core. The purpose of the design is simple: rather than your hand adapting to the rough surface of a hold, the surface of the hold deforms ever-so-slightly to your hand, providing a less abrasive texture and thus saving your skin.
“All projects start with experimenting in the lab and then proof of concept, but the idea was not randomly found…Rather, this was targeted,” says Daniel French, Founder & Executive Director of Composite-X, who has nearly 20 years of experience in climbing hold manufacturing. Skuish is the most recent addition to his list of developments at the company which includes the durable polyurethane called Dannomond as well as an upcoming sand-filled urethane called Dannolast.
Skuish holds on display at Halls & Walls 2019.
Since the two parts of Skuish holds are bonded tightly together during production, the holds can be bolted or screwed to a climbing wall as usual, and the soft backside of the holds reportedly decreases the likelihood of unwanted spinning.
Skuish holds are currently in a pre-release stage and not yet available for distribution,while the material undergoes additional testing. Stay tuned to the Composite-X Facebook page for updates.
“Our hope is to allow Skuish to go as far as it technically can — as is the case with all the projects we do at Composite-X,” concludes French.
Image courtesy of Head Rush Technologies
Last week, professional climber Magnus Midtbø released a video on his popular YouTube channel profiling a new gym that he is opening in Kristiansand, Norway. The gym resides in a building that formerly housed a kids indoor adventure park with 57-foot-walls, ropes courses, a few climbing walls, and other features. While touring the space in the video, Midtbø noted a collection of TRUBLUE auto belays that appear to have remained in the facility as leftovers from the kids adventure park. Stopping at one auto belay, Midtbø said, “There are a lot of accidents with the TRUBLUEs.” Midtbø went on to assert that “people actually start climbing without being clipped in,” and explained how another gym that he owns, in Oslo, opted to make its auto belay gate larger, “so that people wouldn’t start climbing without being clipped in.”
It was Midtbø’s specific citing of “a lot of accidents” in regards to the TRUBLUE brand that made us at CBJ curious to dig deeper. So, we promptly reached out to Chris Koske, the Vice President of Marketing at Head Rush Technologies, which owns TRUBLUE, to check the validity of Midtbø’s statement (comments begin at 00:05:58 in the video below).
“With all due respect to Magnus, I think it was a flippant comment,” Koske told CBJ. “While we are aware of climbers free soloing and falling on rare occasion, to say that auto belays are dangerous is preposterous.”
Koske offered some statistics, saying that there are over 1 billion climbs on TRUBLUE auto belays per year around the world, and that there are more than 30,000 TRUBLUE auto belay devices currently “in the field,” meaning at gyms, adventure parks, and other climbing walls in more than 60 countries. “Proper signage, orientation and operational precautions are necessary with our product, just like any other orientation to a climbing facility,” Koske added.
TRUBLUE also happens to be the only auto belay tested to meet the European CE (EN 341:2011 Class 1A) standards, according to Koske; without such designation, a product can be removed from the European Union market. And Koske pointed out that TRUBLUE devices are tested to 10-times the requisite CE standard. Such certifications are posted on the TRUBLUE/Head Rush Technologies website.
Yet, aside from the TRUBLUE brand, specifically, would it be accurate to say that there are a lot of accidents with auto belays, in general?
In a word, no. At the Climbing Wall Association Summit last year, representatives from the athletics insurance company Monument Sports gave a presentation in which climbing incidents were broken down according to the various climbing disciplines: While bouldering accounted for 77 percent of the total reported incidents for a period of time that spanned 2014-2018, auto belays accounted for only 5 percent. (Top rope climbing also accounted for 5 percent, and lead climbing accounted for 7 percent.)
To be clear, CBJ’s overarching intention here is not to “call out” Midtbø. It was obviously a passing comment and CBJ’s inquiry should not be taken as a personal affront. But at the same time, Midtbø’s video currently has more than 300,000 views, meaning that a lot of people have been informed by it. CBJ feels an obligation to seek truth, accuracy, and clarification whenever climbing industry statistics are being cited.
Image: USA Climbing
USA Climbing recently inked a multi-year partnership with the outdoor brand YETI. YETI is perhaps best known as the maker of insulated coolers, tumblers, and other beverageware. As a result of the deal, YETI becomes the organization’s “Official Sustainability Partner”.
The initial large-scale integration of the YETI brand into USA Climbing will be as the first title sponsor for the upcoming Bouldering Open National Championship. The championship, which will begin on January 31, will thus be known as the 2020 YETI Bouldering Open National Championship.
In the press release carrying the announcement, “providing critical support for the US National Team” was identified as a benefit of the partnership, which comes two months before the international climbing season begins and six months before the Olympics in Tokyo.
USA Climbing’s CEO, Marc Norman, said, “We are absolutely thrilled to partner with YETI. Not only are the products and brand’s commitment to sustainability and reducing single-use plastic perfectly aligned with our community’s needs and lifestyle, but their coolers and drinkware will also play a key role in keeping our athletes hydrated as we compete in Tokyo’s hot and humid conditions.”
The Vice President of Consumer Marketing at YETI, Bill Neff, added, “We love how [climbing] continues to be introduced to more and more people and we’re excited to help support that growth while working to reduce single-use plastic.”
Other brands currently partnering with USA Climbing include The North Face, Butora, Petzl, Clif Bar & Company, Gnarly Nutrition, and many others.
Isaac Caldiero on American Ninja Warrior (Las Vegas Finals). Photo by David Becker/NBC
Synergy Climbing and NinjaChattanooga, TN
Specs: This new facility is a revamped and expanded version of the Tennessee Bouldering Authority, a popular Chattanooga gym that has been in existence since the year 2000 with 3,000-square-feet of “indoor rock climbing walls and dedicated training space.”
Synergy Climbing and Ninja is a collaborative effort between legendary climber Lisa Rands and American Ninja Warrior champion Isaac Caldiero. As the gym transitions from being Tennessee Bouldering Authority (TBA) to Synergy, it will “preserve TBA’s original character and dedicated training space.” In fact, a “TBA training zone” will be modeled after the original TBA space to provide climbers with a familiar climbing area and training boards. The facility will also feature a ninja obstacle zone designed by Caldiero, a fitness area, yoga room and cafe.
Lisa Rands on Crimp Ladder at the Way Lake area of California. Photo courtesy of Wills YoungArchitecture: Bloom ArchitectureWalls and Flooring: Active Build
Website: synergyclimbingandninja.comIn Their Words: “We’re really excited to team up with TBA, Chattanooga’s original and most respected climbing gym. We’ll have a bigger space but preserve the awesome routesetting and sense of community that makes TBA such a great place to train. It’s also amazing to work with our long-time friend, Isaac Caldiero, to bring his vision of an authentic ninja gym to our home city.”
—Lisa Rands
Le Crux Laval concept art. Image provided by Le Crux
Le CruxLaval, Quebec, Canada
Specs: 17,000-square-foot facility will feature 10,000 square feet of bouldering terrain. Other amenities will include a gear shop and a training area with weights, campus boards, two hydraulic walls (Kilter and Tension), and other accoutrements. The floorplan will also include workspace, according to the gym’s co-propriétaire, Jean-François M. Carrier: “There will be a lot of students nearby, so we’re going to have a student or professional area with coffee and bistro snacks, tables and work spaces with Wi-Fi. It will be for students and professionals who want to come in, get some coffee, finish their work, and then go climb.”
The gym in Laval (which is the third largest city in Quebec province) will be the second Le Crux facility. The first Le Crux is located in the Boisbriand region of Montreal; it was a revamped version of a gym that originally opened in 1998 called Action Directe. The Le Crux climbing team based out of the Boisbriand gym is one of the most decorated in Quebec, having been cited as the best provincial team (and more recently the best youth team) for several years in a row. The new Le Crux location in Laval will continue to have a competition and team training focus, while also appealing to the casual and student base.
Bouldering at Le Crux’s Boisbriand location; youth team banners adorning the walls. Bouldering photos by Nicolas VerstraelenWalls and Flooring: DelireCRM Software: Rock Gym Pro
Website: lecrux.comInstagram: @lecrux.escalade
In Their Words: “The new gym will be in the center of Laval’s downtown. It will be a 10-minute walk from one of the biggest metro stations connecting to Montreal. It will be close to a popular college called Collège Montmorency, and the University of Montreal has a campus [in Laval] too. It is going to be well-placed. So we’ll have two gyms—the biggest bouldering gym on the North Shore of Montreal at Laval, and the only all-around rock climbing center on the North Shore of Montreal [with the Boisbriand location].”
—Jean-François M. Carrier, Co-Propriétaire
Rock Gym Pro (RGP), the popular customer management and point of sales software for climbing gyms, announced in a January update that it now has an application programming interface (API). The API enables gyms using RGP to connect their activity in the RGP software with external marketing services.
Already, the API works with Zapier, an integrations platform that automates actions between web applications. Gyms can now set-up the sending of “events” in RGP – such as check-ins or bookings for a specific facility or customer – to Zapier which then trigger actions within 3rd party applications like Google Docs, MailChimp and others. Identified examples of use include managing a list of active members in RGP within another system or automatically sending new guest details to an email campaign or SMS messaging system.
“We’re super excited about the Zapier integration,” says Andy Laakmann, Founder/Developer of RGP. “We’ve had a number of gyms request a way to connect RGP data with apps they use outside of RGP…It will be fun to watch how our savvy customers put this tool to use.”
Kristin Horowitz, COO of The Pad Climbing in San Luis Obispo, California says, “The integration will save us hundreds of hours over the course of the year and give us a much better picture of our operations across every single touchpoint with potential and existing members…The less ‘busy work’ someone has to do to produce results, the happier they are – and everyone at The Pad Climbing is pretty happy.”
The first iteration of the API will be read-only, meaning gyms will not be able to alter their records inside RGP through these applications. The RGP newsletter carrying the latest updates confirmed the company plans to develop “more robust capabilities” in the future, following further feedback from its clients.
One of those capabilities currently in development is using the API to offer climbing gyms 24/7 door access and turnstile entrance management, a project which Laakmann confirms is coming soon.
“The basic read-only API released in this latest update is really just the foundation for bigger things to come,” continues Laakmann. “We’ll be gathering feedback in the coming months to see how gyms want to use it – the possibilities are almost endless!”
Image by Climbing Wall Association
The annual gathering for climbing gym industry professionals, which is the largest of its kind in North America, is scheduled to kick-off on May 11, 2020.
The CWA Summit, hosted by the Climbing Wall Association, will consist of pre-conference workshops to begin the week, followed by a keynote speech and a welcome party on May 13. Roundtable discussions and panel talks continue throughout the remainder of the week, as well as product presentations. Topics to be discussed this year include gym development and management, routesetting, competition, training and gym member inclusion.
The CWA Summit will be held at the Embassy Suites in Loveland, Colorado. Click here for more information and to sign-up to attend, the registration price goes up February 1st.
We are pleased to recognize Joe and Ed Hardy of Central Rock as Climbing Gym Developers of the Year 2019! We reached out to Joe Hardy to learn his secrets…
CBJ: How did you pull off 5 gym openings in one year?
JH: Anyone who has developed climbing gyms, or real estate in general, knows that hitting a time table can be extremely difficult. We actually set out to open 4 gyms in 2018 and 4 gyms in 2019. However, as different hurdles presented themselves and several project timelines were shifted, we ended up opening 1 gym in December of 2017, 2 in 2018, and 5 in 2019.
CBJ: What were the biggest challenges?
JH: Anytime you have 8 gyms to open, organization becomes a huge key to success. At various points in the process we had gyms that were about to open, gyms that were newly opened, gyms that were in planning, and gyms that were receiving materials. Tasks that are normally difficult with 1 gym opening, like setting, get much more difficult when you are opening 5 gyms in 5 months.
CBJ: What’s easier now with your scale?
JH: That’s a great question, and not really how we think about things. What makes things easier is having a team that you trust and a team that has been tested and works well together. We have the benefit of very low turnover and working with a team that has been together for a decade or longer in some cases. This has given us the confidence to take on greater challenges.
CBJ: Anything exciting coming at Central that you can tell CBJ readers?
JH: We have several projects in the pipeline, some are expansions of existing gyms, and some are brand new locations.
CBJ: What drives CRG?
JH: A deep, deep love for the sport of climbing, up and down our chain.
Rock Gym Pro (RGP), the popular customer management and point of sales software for climbing gyms, announced in a 
