Boulder’s Newest Climbing Gym Set To Open Soon

CLASSIC: “We may be at gym saturation now, but I thought we were at Tibetan knick-knack store saturation after the first 10 opened – and I was wrong about that.”

i’d have to admit, i too thought climbing gyms were a total waste of time and money when so much outdoor climbing existed. this is what has kept me climbing v7s instead of progressing. i used to climb outside 4 to 7 days a week on sharp stone in all temperatures. this made me “fit”, but i was never very strong. even if i was strong, my finger skin was so gnarled that i couldn’t climb without pre taping a few tips on each hand, which made difficult boulder problems nearly impossible.

honestly, after having ticked off the vast majority of my after-work-possible ticklist, i’ve come to grips with the idea of a gym. i always have fun, get a better workout, see more friends, and without trashing my tips, wasting tons of gas and time, and battling snakes, ivy, ticks, bees, and choss.

i never thought i’d say it, but there have been a few times over the last 12 months when i had the chance to climb outside after work, but chose to climb in a gym instead. those decisions are probably what helped me actually send a project or two on the weekend… gameday.

plus, gym rats keep our crags less congested. double bonus!

i haven’t been there in years, so my opinion is highly outdated, but the brc patrons had the glory of being the highest concentration of dooshbags i have ever encountered [save only for rifle]… which says a lot since even the spot has been known to lure a pretty obnoxious scene…. but whatever, shirtless skilless fools need to try to get the attention of the co-eds somehow, right.

cestlavie

i hope the new gym can avoid this unfortunate situation.

Funny one James! The climbing close to Boulder may not be great but it’s a lot better than most of the cities of its size in the world. The main issue will be cost, cost, cost as 70 dollars a month is a lot of money.

If I could make the choice again, I would move to Boulder again. Because of CATS. Second best area in the country, but with a much better concentration of problems than Hueco.

Variety is always a good thing. Though I’ve never been to CATS, the Spot and the BRC are fun and it seems having another option would just be sweet. Hopefully it will reduce the crowds slightly at all the existing gyms, and give us another option when it’s raining/snowing//tornado-ing/we’re feeling too lazy to hike with crashpads.

The workout/climbing gym combo is interesting… I have a feeling that Movement draw a rather unique crowd because of that.

Narc – nice website – I visit often.

Rhoads, just to clarify – Justen Sjong is the Head Routesetter and Coach at Movement, and they will have a strong routesetting team that will serve the variety of clientele (expert climbers, fitness climbers, recreational climbers, new climbers, etc) quite well I am sure. He and Mike Moelter have been routesetting for probably close to 3 decades combined, and that’s just the two of them. I will likely assist with some start-up routesetting – it should be really fun.

One note regarding Movement and the general topic regarding climbing indoors or out, is, as Rhoads noted – a great number of climbers who climb in the gym may never or rarely climb outdoors. In Boulder, I suspect there is a higher rate of crossover than in some areas, though certainly there will be some “gym” exclusive clientele.

Regardless of the percentages, in terms of the question of whether gym climbing hurts the sport or is dumbing down climbing in general – I think to make that conclusion presupposes a direct comparison and judgment about whether climbing indoors or outdoors is “better,” whether as a sport, a culture, or any other activity. Certainly anyone has the right to make that judgment for themselves. As some people think climbing on a rope is better than bouldering, or climbing with traditional gear is better than clipping bolts – some will always have the opinion that climbing outdoors is better or a more pure pursuit than climbing indoors.

I personally think they are just different types of climbing activities and stand on their own. While some people “train” in the gym for climbing outside, it is probably true that vastly more people climb indoors as an end in itself, and if that activity is of value to them, I hope they enjoy it.

For each climber, the goals and motivations are different. For me it’s mostly about isolated movements, which I can enjoy indoors or outdoors. For others it may be risk or adventure or the excitement of exposure or the natural environment, and those people may logically prefer the outdoors all the time. Others may prefer the social atmosphere, the ease of access, or simply the fact that it seems safer, indoors.

I think it’s just a very personal thing what people’s preferences are, and of course, like you said Rhoads, it’s smart to consider those personal preferences in business planning.

A funny analogy though, that I often use in this conversation – is whether when people started swimming in man-made swimming pools… did the people who had been swimming before only in the ocean or lakes or ponds think the new users were dumbing down the activity of “swimming.” Of course that’s just one example and does not translate exactly – but still, amusing to consider.

For my part, I think only ocean swimmers are real swimmers… everyone else is just splashing around making noise and pissing in the pool.

Kidding of course… crossing the english channel is perhaps like climbing everest. Doing canon-balls or racing your friends underwater in the rec pool does not prepare you for crossing the english channel, but who cares – isn’t it fun for some people? And I guess, for my part, I don’t even think about whether they are ruining the sport of swimming… it just seems to me they are doing something fun that they enjoy… and most of them will never venture out for any “real swimming” anyhow.

Excellently said Chris.

Please let me clarify my “dumbing down” comment.

I would like a “climbing gym” to focus on climbing. Climbing has certain lifestyle qualities that I would like to see preserved. I think the problem with portraying climbing exclusively as fitness is that it creates a set of people who do not respect the inherent dangers of the sport or the environmental consciousness we have as climbers. There was a comment under the news article “I remember a time when 5.9 was considered tough…then along came climbing gyms and 5.11 climbers who don’t know how to coil a rope ”

It is important to remember that climbing is much more than physical activity or a workout, it’s better than that and that is why I like it.

Movement can go either way, it is the whole package that creates the atmosphere that I look for when choosing a great climbing gym from a lame one, the facility itself doesn’t really matter.

A troubling trend that I saw at the CWA conference was that everyone was asking “How can we make more money?” instead of “How can I make my climbing gym great?” I say with greatness money will come.

I think all the silver spoon fed trusters in Boulder will flock to Movement because they want to be seen by the Boulder elite. $70 is a pretty cheap pricetag considering the status a membership brings.