RRC Archives

agreed on the steepness! big walls! tall walls!

and for the love of god: do NOT build an angled wall that switches to vertical halfway up. (switching angles is cool, actually, but NOT to vertical--ever. it creates an awkward transition, and you'll be horribly limited in the holds you can use there)

i'm just a nobody... but, i'll give my opinion since i'm a part of the lexington climbing community and a potential user of this facility.

first off, i think the owners need to decide if they want to bring in the core climbing community or the general public... one or the other... i don't think the gym will be able to appease to both communities... if it's going to appease to the general public (i.e. - gumby climbers, birthday parties, etc...), then you won't see me at this gym, i'll just keep training in the garage gyms of lexington and you don't need to read the rest of my post. (and i think if you try to appeal to both communities, the place will flop)...

if this gym is going to appease to the core climbing community of lexington... then it needs to be a serious training facility. things to avoid would be:

1) birthday parties with little screaming annoying kids
2) vertical walls (sorry folks, but vert walls don't get you strong)... especially if you're trying to do some interval training or something of the sort...

the gym would benefit from a design similar to CATS or to The Spot out in Boulder.

-a 10 or 15 degree overhung wall should be the slab in this place
-a big 30 degree wall
-a big 45 or 50 degree wall
-hangboards
-system board
-campus boards
-treadwall
-etc...

if this is the type of place that's getting put up... i'd be psyched, and i'll catch you there!

the above is true. Don't go from 45 to vert. or anything to vert.

We have a small section of that at CT and it sucks.

I know everyone will ask for something a little different, but trust me. No vert unless you are hosting b-day parties. 30 degrees should be the least steep angle you have, and absolutely no roofs.

I have been setting for 8 years now, at 4 different gyms. I have set for more comps than I can remember and climbed at even more. You want big, open, steep, walls with movable features. Check out any of the most recent bouldering comp vids, and they are all big, open, walls.

everyone has an opinion!

ugh I cant wait...either way i will be a patron as long as it stays at least above 35 degrees in the place

Appreciate the input everyone. The gym is for training and climbers having a good time, not birthday parties. The trend in gyms for quality route setting is less radical angles and movable features allowing better route setting and that is the model we will be going with. There will be no steep walls going to vertical. There will be plenty of steep real estate and the most vertical wall will be the area with campus rungs. The 0 degree wall was going to be in an area has been cannibalized by another wall. Some of the bouldering will top out with options for different features at the lip. The open date will be somewhere around the 14th. Maybe a little sooner, maybe a little later. Big thanks to all those who have offered to help with construction and/or route setting. More info on that will be posted on Monday.

sounds awesome. Good luck. Don't forget lots of Rockcandy holds. Project also.

I saw the place.
Buy Sell or Trade?

e-grips!!!!!

dustonian wrote:everyone has an opinion!

I wonder how many have had to pay the bills at an actual gym.