RRC Archives

Seeing that there is no Lex Rocks , I wanted to know what people would put on their "Rock Gym Wish List" if they could build their own rock gym. What would make the rock gym really cool and attractive to you? What services should they have? What products should they carry? How far would you be willing to go to get to one? Should the rock gym solely be devoted to bouldering or should it combine a toprope/sport wall and a bouldering area? Would a restaurant do well as part of the gym? How much would you be willing to pay to use the facility?

Any other areas of concern or ideas would be cool to add to the discussion. Thanks

ED
cling to the ROCK

VE in Warrenville Illinois would be a great example.

Huge gym, great route setters, a seperate area for gumbys, a slack line, a bouldering cave. It's a popular place so you can always get a belay. A nice mix of natural rock and flat board. Let's the climbers pull the top ropes, so you can lead the route.

No need for a resturant, but the thing every gym really needs is exposure. VE has huge windows so the gym is visible from the highway at night. It is also attached to a LifeTime fitiness center, and they make huge bucks off birthday parties.

$10 is a good price to pay, enough through VE is $15.

I think the biggest thing is quality of routes. I climbed in a gym in Atlanta a few weeks back and was thoroughly impressed with the facility itself but the entire gym could be so much better. Their routes didn't show much creativity and were geared heavily to beginner climbers with very few 10s, 11s and 12s. I'm a big fan of HH here in Bloomington. It's a bit bohemian, but the atmosphere is great, the people awesome, and the routes show a lot of creativity and aren't just mindless hauls. If I had to make a list of things I'd like to see in a gym:

1. Quality routes
2. Useful and friendly staff that can not only show you how to belay, but also offer technical advice to more experienced climbers including climbing and training tips.
3. Keep things fresh and change routes regularly.
4. Design a system that allows you to change the outlay of the walls to give new aretes/dihedrals/overhangs/etc.
5. Dedicated bouldering area that doesn't interfere with route climbers.
6. Sound system for some tunes.
7. A padded cage to put little kids in who are more interested in playing on the padding than climbing. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against kids in the gym. But when the parents are tied into a rope and the kids start running around as they get tired of waiting, things can get a little dicey. I'd hate to see someone fall and land on a 3 year old!

I like the idea of mixing routes along the wall so you have a 5.5 next to a 5.12. That way you get a more intimate feel and the new people don't feel corralled into a corner and get to watch people climb things they dream about. I'm not so sure about the restaurant unless you're talking some place where I can get a few beers and maybe shoot some pool.

At this point, the mere existence of a rock gym in Lexington would be nice.

Would, and have traveled 1.5 hours to hang out with the fun bunch from Lexington. No one from Cincy has invited me *sniff*

dipsi wrote:Would, and have traveled 1.5 hours to hang out with the fun bunch from Lexington. No one from Cincy has invited me *sniff*

oh baby girl I'm up there every Tue/Thur after 7:30...I'll climb with you anytime you wanna come up!! and some sun. too....

Oh, thank you! *sniff* That's so sweet! Actually, I will most likely be up for the meeting on the 15th. Maybe you could watch me fall a lot then!

My wish list is similar to what has been said. 1. good routesetters who change the routes regularly. 2. don't change the routes on popular nights, do it during the day when no one is there. 3. the retail side doesn't really interest me. I think carrying ropes is a suckers bet b/c you can usually get a good rope online for about $100. If you could carry a limited selection of shoes i.e. muiras b/c you have to mail order them in Lex., then that would be great. 4. Keep the kids out of the way. That was a huge issue at Lex Rocks.

the hardest thing to build, but in my opinion the most important thing to have, is community at a gym. often good route setters go hand in hand with good community. its not something that you can simply put into place. i'd agree that it's important to be careful with retail items b/c you can really get screwed over if they don't sell and you have to put them on clearance. my gym in Milwaukee shares a building with a Subway and there's a fast food burger place across the parking lot, plus they sell cliff bars, candy bars and drinks, all of which makes it easy to get a good snack or meal. the gym i climbed at in New Zealand had some couches and an airhockey table on the stage above the gym floor (it was an old movie theater) which was a great place to just hang out and talk between climbs, that place had a great community.

VE sucks.

The only thing it has going for it is that it is tall.