secondly: I am an ignorant foreign student, and I would like to learn more of your ways. You guys seem like experts on the subject, so maybe you could enlighten me on the matter of where I can find the best combo of climbing (preferably rock AND plastic) and attending a university (industrial design to be specific)?

thirdly: you are all retards for not converting to the metric system.

http://coloradomountainschool.blogspot.com/2009/06/brc-facelift.html

why is this rad, you ask?

well, because v7 sending will always be impressive to these folks. therefore, v7 senders have a niche where they can still feel good about themselves and share beta and feel like a superstar, even though the baseline has now been risen to v12+.

so, while the gym-only folks may not show up to stewardship events, neither do the strongmos, and at least the gym-only folks still think that i… er… v7ers are ULTRA FRIGGEN RADGNAR!

the newest bouldering gym in denver is $55 a month with a $150 start up fee.

Rockn and Jamn in Denver, has a 70 month pass, and 60 dollars a month membership with a 25 start up fee.

Sorry folks out there, Denver/Boulder has a price to play indoors. The spot is $15 a session, and this in all honesty is nothing compared to the $20 a session in the gym I visit in St Louis when I visit my parents.

Fact – Climbing gyms are built to make money, and owners will do what it takes to make that money. Wouldnt you in their place? To quote “Make money, money, take money, money!”

Andrew

Rhoads – I am in total agreement. The best climbing gyms will be those that create the most complete package and offer the best products to a wide range of users based on their market, and if they do that well – money will come indeed. Maintaining and promoting the unique nature of climbing as an activity is essential and even more than that – a great opportunity for climbing gyms to make money. That is part of the reason why I am such an advocate of very well-developed movement instruction programs that share that unique nature with new climbers.

And I also agree that the most important crossover with the indoor and outdoor world revolves around the question of inherent dangers of the activity and environmental stewardship.

I think some people may see a gym like Movement and think it will have as it’s primary mission, “simply” climbing as fitness, in part because the non-climbing oriented workout spaces (fitness apparatus, yoga, etc) are so substantive. I totally agree that selling or portraying climbing only as, or primarily as fitness, would limit not only the presentation of the activity to experienced and new users, but the opportunities for the business.

Since we’re talking about Movement in particular, I think (and this is my own perspective – not me speaking for the gym) the people running the gym, in strategy and operation – will not in any way “push” climbing simply as fitness, but rather have the goal of having a comprehensive fitness facility where climbing is central. Climbing + fitness, rather than climbing = fitness. For some, in Movement and elsewhere, climbing may be just a fitness work-out and businesses may be smart to at least serve those customers as they do others, but I don’t think Movement will focus on doing that as any substitute for offering climbing as a primary, exciting, and entirely unique activity in itself – far more than just fitness.

We’ll see when they open! It will certainly be an exciting year in the indoor climbing world in Boulder.

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.

this is strange to me, since in-person smack talk was so important in shakespearian times and to rappers. you know, history.

interestingly, climbing gyms are a great place to practice talking smack to real people, but in a practice environment that is more real than the internet. it’s like a freaky middle earth. it’s not not real, yet not real ‘cuz it’s a climbing gym where nothing counts. this may be like swimming in man-made reservoirs? not really a pool, not really a natural lake, but great practice. weird.

my face hurts from fiduciary accounting and now i will go have a cookie.