// Hey, climber.
SafeSport certified member of USA Climbing
Served as an inaugural member on USA Climbing’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEITC) from 2019 - 2023
Make climbing accessible and achievable by anyone wanting to enter and thrive in the sport.
The need to seek out the best athletes for Team USA became even more important to the country when climbing became an official Olympic sport at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Whether a climber is entering a competition for the first time or walks into a new gym to train, we are working to build the right culture and support system to make anyone feel like they belong and are welcomed into the climbing community.
Frequently on the road and grateful at the chance to try sending at the growing network of gyms around the world, crossing literal paths with the routesetters, local athletes and climbing communities that I encounter during my travels.
While I’ve ascended (as well as not ascended) too many boulders to keep track of, I continue to be mesmerized each time I stare up at a new wall of problems, flocks of v-shaped route tape in reds, greens, yellows, soaring up the side of a rock that doesn't know it's not a rock.
I started jotting down logistical notes about each gym I visited to I’d remember how to prepare for future return visits. Sharing some of those notes here.
// Aiguille Rock Climbing Center (Orlando, FL)
Central Florida’s oldest climbing gym, opened in 1997, is a compact space inside an industrial park. Nice routesetting and a common host grounds for USA Climbing sanctioned competitions.
One main lead wall section, 2 main bouldering slab walls and a challenging comp-ready overhang area called The Wave
During my visit, walls were still set up from a recent comp, so it was cool to try your hand(s) at some competition level routesetting
Wall in training area was set up with 3-4 problems designed for dyno practice.
Visitor Beta
830 S Ronald Reagan Blvd #252,
Longwood, FL 32750
URL: https://www.aiguille.com/
Climbing: Lead/Belay, Bouldering
First Time Visitors:
Electronic waiver; verbal orientation and guided walk-through of facilities
No chalk bag rentals; chalk bricks and liquid chalk for purchase
Lockers: No
Open cubbies throughout the space
Locker Rooms/ Showers: No
Restrooms only; recommend coming dress out and ready to climbg
Weight Room/ Fitness Area: Yes
Hangboards: Not sure
Training Boards:
Campus board
Tension board
The gym’s name “Aiguille” (ah-gwee’) comes from the term for the sharp pinnacle of a rock found in a mountain range (Thanks, Google.)
// Phoenix Rock Gym (Tempe, AZ)
For historical purposes, getting to climb at the first climbing gym in Arizona (opened in 1992, a decade which was the dawn of large scale indoor climbing gyms in the US) was a reward in itself.
Like many gyms opened in the early 1990s, bouldering was likely considered more as a warm up area for lead climbing, top roping and belaying than as the standalone discipline it is today. This is reflected in the two cozy but efficient bouldering spaces here, one on the main floor, the other in its own mezzanine area.
Boulder problems are taped, so follow the tape patterns instead of the colors of the holds. My personal take on route grading is that their V4s, for example, are more akin to V4+ - V5 difficulty at other gyms.
And the Karabin Climbing Museum located at Phoenix Rock Gym is alone worth the trip to this corner of Tempe. It’s a mini Hard Rock Cafe style memorabilia meets the history of climbing gear through the ages and is worth spending some solid time exploring. You get to survey the evolution of climbing gear alongside donated shoes, helmets and chalk bags of climbing superstars like Chris Sharma.
Visitor Beta
Phoenix Rock Gym
1353 E University Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85281
URL: https://phoenixrockgym.com
Climbing: Lead/Belay (Primary); Bouldering (Secondary)
First Time Visitors: Hard copy (!) waiver; Orientation video
Lockers: Yes; small cubby style lockers in main lobby area. BYO lock.
Locker Rooms/ Showers: No separate locker room, no showers. You can change in the restrooms, but recommend showing up ready to climb.
Weight Room/ Fitness Area: No
Hangboards: Sort of. There are a few mounted in the upstairs bouldering mezzaine, but not as a standalone hangboarding area.
Training Boards: No (technically, there is a campus board style setup in the downstairs bouldering nook, but not as a standalone training area).
The bouldering nook on the main floor. Notice that there’s technically a campusing area on the left side of the entrance, but on crowded nights, can be hard to train there.
The Karabin Climbing Museum is itself worth the Day Pass cost to visit Phoenix Rock Gym. It’s Hard Rock Cafe’s celebrity props and gear meets an “evolution of climbing gear” exhibit you’d see at a museum.
The vibe stays true to their slogan, “Where friends hang out. Since 1992”
// Black Rock Bouldering Gym (Phoenix, AZ)
Founded by a military veteran, this all-bouldering gym is also a regular host of local and regional comps and has some great routesetting for challenging (and poor technique punishing) problems.
Visitor Beta
Black Rock Bouldering Gym
10436 N 32nd St
Phoenix, AZ 85028
URL: https://www.blackrockboulderinggym.com
Climbing: Bouldering only
First Time Visitors: Digital waiver; Staff-guided orientation; Staff will ask you to demonstrate how to fall safely
Lockers.: Cubbies and unlocked cabinets in main rooms, no locks
Locker Rooms/ Showers: Showers and changing area, but no lockers in the shower area. Think of it as a restroom that happens to have showers.
Weight Room/ Fitness Area: Yes
Hangboards: Yes
Training Boards: Moon Board; campus wall
// Gecko Climbing (Phoenix, AZ)
Gecko Climbing Gym prides themselves as being community and cleanliness focused. The place is pristine, from the sleek wooden climbing walls to the strategically placed Chalk Eater air filters located throughout the gym. Spacious and inviting and problems/ routes are graded on a scale.
Visitor Beta
Gecko Climbing Gym
24400 N 19th Ave Suite 115
Phoenix, AZ 85085
URL: https://www.geckoclimbinggym.com
Climbing: Auto belay and bouldering
First Time Visitors: Digital waiver; Staff-guided orientation; Staff will ask you to demonstrate how to fall safely
Lockers.: Open cubbies in main room, no locked storage
Locker Rooms/ Showers: No. Restroom can be used as a changing area, but recommend showing up ready to climb.
Weight Room/ Fitness Area: Yes
Hangboards: Yes (including their own Gecko board!)
Training Boards: Kilter Board, campus wall
// Training Day(s)
Started a formal training program as part of my 2022 goals and have seen immediate results from the coaching. Definitely had hit a performance plateau but after 12 weeks, I am pulling off movements and gained finger strength to an extent where I had previously always doubted myself.
// Climbing fueled by Cajun Food
Reviewing the morning’s climbing performance over gumbo and collard greens was a good distraction from a focused day of training.
// Dogpatch Boulders (San Francisco, CA)
A quick scan of the space makes it obvious why Dogpatch is a regular host site for local, regional and national climbing competitions.
Definitely in the top largest bouldering-only sites I have ever visited. According to the Touchstone site, Dogpatch has 20,500 feet of climbing terrain which translates into 300+ boulder problems.
Add in a well maintained spray wall, Kilter board and campus area and it can be a one stop training stop.
Barely, barely sending this problem at Dogpatch because of my weak crimpiness.
Visitor Beta
Dogpatch Boulders (Touchstone Climbing)
573 3rd St
San Francisco, CA 94107
URL: https://touchstoneclimbing.com/dogpatch-boulders
Climbing: Bouldering only
First Time Visitors: Digital waiver
Lockers: Yes; BYO Lock
Locker Rooms/ Showers: Yes
Weight Room/ Fitness Area: Yes
Hangboards: Yes
Training Boards: Kilter Board, Spray Walls (with problems on Stokt app), campus wall
About to collect a lot of training footage of me flailing and falling.
Jotting down some training and performance notes after my session at Daily Driver bagels next door.
// Mission Cliffs (San Francisco, CA): The OG San Francisco Climbing Gym
Love that the original logo still makes an appearance on the caution signs.
Doing my baseline testing for an upcoming training program.
Primarily a lead climbing focused site, square footage wise, there is a nice bouldering mezzanine tucked away in a loft of Mission Cliffs. Can feel crowded as the morning goes on, so the early bird gets the send here for sure.
Should hold me (but just barely).
// Stone Summit - Midtown Bouldering (Atlanta, Georgia)
I am typically used to climbing gyms being built inside converted warehouse or industrial spaces. So Stone Summit’s midtown location was a first for me where a gym is built inside a corporate building, sharing space with small business offices and a WeWork-esque coworking space.
This bouldering only location is roughly the size, if not a tiny bit smaller, than the bouldering room at the main Atlanta location. Given its location to so many apartments and Georgia Tech housing, dawn patrol is the best time to come. On the days the gym opens at 6:00am, getting here in the first hour seems like the way to go; by 7:30am, the walls get pretty busy here.
My first visit to a climbing gym that’s not built into a converted building, warehouse, hangar or industrial site.
Corporate, Christmas, Climbing.
To the early bird goes the problems.
Going from the x-y axis to the z-axis.
Found a cool spot to practice scumming, smearing, stemming.
The only direction is up.
See you next time, midtown boulders.
// Stone Summit - Original Atlanta Location (Atlanta, Georgia)
With Atlanta’s oldest climbing gym, Atlanta Rocks!, closing in 2018, Stone Summit is one of the remaining long-time gyms and up to a point, wore the crown for largest indoor gym in the US for a while. Was definitely excited to finally visit their main location, which I have buzzed by on I-85 for years whenever I’m in town.
The first gym I’ve been to that has a full-on speed wall. Speed will be its own discipline in the next summer Olympics, breaking apart from the three-discipline format when climbing debuted at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Warmed up and ready to head upwards.
Enjoyed projecting this (V2-V4) blue problem. Also wanted to try out these puzzle-piece holds near the top that I hadn’t encountered before.
I like the V-range school of routesetting. Helps me zone in on a good set of problems with some nuanced challenges baked in.
Post-climb performance eval session and notes review on the way home.
// High Point Climbing (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Got to return to the very gym where I first started climbing several years ago.
Problems aren’t any easier, but I’m slightly less clueless on the wall these days.
This beige wall might be the exact spot where I climbed my very first route in any gym many years ago.
// Synergy Climbing & Ninja (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Founded by a former World #1 climber and a past American Ninja Warrior $1M champion, partners Lisa Rands and Isaac Caldiero created a training spot where one could train in both disciplines. Joining forces with Ben and Stephanie Sutton of Tennessee Bouldering Authority (TBA), one of Chattanooga’s oldest climbing gyms, their collaboration resulted in this cool spot just on the outskirts of downtown.
Lots of problems and hold designs to practice, practice, practice.
The start of a dyno attempt…
…and the glorious fall resulting from failing in that attempt.
The ninja warrior training room
Practice and train, all under the same roof.
// The Boulder Field (Sacramento, California)
Have been wanting to visit this well known gym in Sacramento for the past few years and finally got my chance to climb here. What I love the most about The Boulder Field is their innovative approach to routesetting where problems are set as circuits with a variety of difficulty throughout the circuit. Really great way to train on different strategies, hold types and try new beta.
Heading into The Boulder Field all smiles and ready to send.
The Boulder Field has one of the more innovative routesetting approaches I’ve seen in any gym I’ve visited. Instead of thinking about problems as standalone routes, they are set in circuits that have a range of difficulty build into them. So climbing every yellow problem in the gym will give you a range of problems from V2 to V5 with nuances in hold design and route strategy. Really makes training here so helpful when trying to up your game. Love this approach.
Got a nice session to work on side pulls and crimp strength on this yellow problem, which rounded out my day here in Sacramento.
Ready to get clingy.
Stopping at Temple Coffee to go through my performance notebook and jot down some comments for the day. I’ve found it helpful to reflect on the problems I sent or failed on, noting strengths and weaknesses during today’s climb and what things I’d want to try next time.
// Homecoming at Planet Granite (Santa Clara, California)
First day back in my home gym in Santa Clara in almost two years pre-COVID.
It’s been a while since I first walked into Planet Granite Santa Clara’s opening weekend, but everything from the slabs to the path to the locker room felt so familiar. Loved some of the new things the routesetting team is doing here with targeted practice areas for certain techniques. Running across a wall (and falling lots of times, including narrowly missing headbutting a volume) made for a great homecoming.
Finished the session by trying out a few different hold designs.
// Hollywood Boulders (Los Angeles, California)
L.A. marked the first time in 14 months that I have stepped inside a commercial climbing gym. My main takeaway is what most climbers have known forever. You can do HIIT workouts, you can weight train, you can do body weight exercises, but nothing prepares you for climbing like climbing. After my visit, I was sore in all the right places for all the wrong reasons.
Some new things in my post-COVID climbing world was getting to try liquid chalk for the first time. I used the one from Friction Labs and loved it, “chalking up” twice in the same time frame where I would have required multiple dips into the chalk bag. And as far as packing for travel is concerned, the compactness of a small tube of liquid chalk can’t be beat.
It was also nice to be back amidst the climbing community again. With social distancing and masking policies in place, the limited number of climbers allowed in for two hour blocks at a time still felt like a reunion: climbing, traversing, falling, all together.
Worth every callus and knuckle scrape.
Welcome to Hollywood.
First time using liquid chalk. Friction Labs’ Secret Stuff works wonders and I “chalked up” only twice in an hour and a half vs. countless times that would have occurred with loose chalk. Winner.
By Hollywood’s “UFO” wall.
A fun V3 (green) next to a sloper-fest V5 (yellow).
// Split Rock and Day Hikes Around Ring Mountain Preserve
On one of the first sunny days in a while, I got to check out Ring Mountain Preserve in Corte Madera for the first time. It’s a breathtaking hike that brings in the bay and a distant SF cityscape. And extra cool is the top-roping at Split Rock or some pleasant V1 - V3+ routes on Turtle Rock a bit further in.
Feels kind of strange at first because you feel like you’re driving into an exclusive neighborhood and parking on someone’s curb, but then you see the signs for the Preserve and all is ok. For next time, looking forward to bringing sunscreen, a picnic and a crash pad to take in the incredible sweeping view.
“Mount Everest is a really, really, really, really bad place for control freaks. In a matter of minutes everything can change. But everything is temporary. Clouds will go away, everything will look a whole lot better. You have to take action on the situation at the time, not based on the plan.”
Alison Levine on her way up Everest with her team on leadership, resilience and the public perceptions in distinguishing real success from real failure (From the keynote presentation of ASQ.org’s inaugural Women in Quality Symposium December 2020)
After her team was turned away by weather conditions 100 feet away from the summit, Levine returned 8 years later to finish the deal in honor of her late friend. This Everest Summit put her name on the map as one of the 21 people in history of any gender to have completed the full Explorers Grand Slam: climb the Seven Summits and make it to both the North and South Poles.
// COVID-19 Hangboard Project
My Eva Lopez hangboard mounted to plywood mounted to a pull up bar mounted to a door frame. This involved multiple trips to Cole Hardware because I somehow still don’t know the difference between metric and English units, I needed an excuse to buy a new power drill, and I wanted further validation that I would make for a truly terrible carpenter.
// Cabin Fever Climbing
From a Bold Italic article on overcoming stir-craziness, including this difficult ascent of kitchen appliances.
From a Guardian article on trekking the elevation of Everest…at home!
// Love in the Time of Coronavirus
Got to get in one last solitary climb in early March before taking a self-imposed pandemic-induced hiatus from climbing gyms. Until the world re-opens, climbing will mean hangboards and pull-up bars.
// Coastal Climbing (Charleston, South Carolina)
In the final hours of Coastal Climbing’s 2019 calendar year, I was grateful at the chance to come climb here with friends and family before the gym closed for their holiday maintenance. Constructed in the place of what I can only assume used to be a former auto-body shop, this bouldering-only gym was a real treat to find tucked away just moments away from Charleston’s historic riverfront charm, its foodie-centric restaurants, its urban living revitalization.
Coastal Climbing has made terrific use of their space by focusing its routes heavily on traverses. If you’ve ever wanted to build basic climbing endurance while sharpening your footwork across a technically diverse set of problems, these routes are for you. As an early winter rainstorm barraged the Holy City outside, we took shelter within and atop Coast Climbing’s walls, traversing merrily along.
Got a little cross in my step.
Boulderer is a word.
Part stemming, part core swings, all purple.
Corner store, over and up.
Traverse this way.
Warm up those forearms with some pre-send foosball in this cool little break nook on the gym’s mezzanine.
// Permanent Press
What’s left of my beloved, well worn, well trained-in New Orleans Bouldering Lounge t-shirt.
// Rock Away From Home (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA)
Adventure Rock in Milwaukee has become my de facto gym away from home given my increased frequency of trips to Milwaukee in 2020. The modest bouldering mezzanine, campus boards, and system board are just enough for me to stay in climbing shape when on the road. I spent most of my recent visit going straight for the V8-V9 problems, applying some of the new techniques I learned from the Bouldering National Cup in Memphis. Feeling pretty solid and looking forward to doing more of it.
Recovering and reflecting down the street at BelAir’s Water Street location where the regional chain first got its start.
// Climbing + Contemporary Art
Mishka Henner
$10,946 (from Golden Ratio) (2017)
polyurethane on plywood with climbing holds and bolts
// USA Climbing - Bouldering Open National Cup (Memphis, Tennessee, USA)
The High Point Climbing in Chattanooga was where I got my start four years ago, so it was fitting that my first national level comp also take place at High Point, but at their Memphis site. As part of the USA Climbing’s Diversity, Equity (DEI) Inclusion task force, one of our focus areas was how DEI took shape at national competitions. I’ve competed nationally as a fencer, but never as a climber, so I embarked on a trip to Memphis that was both investigative as well as competitive.
I “competed” in the most generous sense of the term, but got some great experience, learned some new tricks, and got to climb alongside the top athletes in the USA including newly invited USA Olympian, Nathaniel Coleman. Nathaniel proceeded to crush the rest of the qualifying round and headed to finals where he ultimately finished in second place behind his national teammate, Zach Galla.
And because I love giving back, not only was it a chance for me to climb with the best boulderers in the US, but I provided the chance for top climbers in the country to climb with the quantitatively verifiable worst climber in the country: me.
To keep the universe in balance, for every high point, there must be a low point.
The top men’s podium: (1) Zach Galla, (2) Olympian Nathaniel Coleman, (3) Dylan Barks
The top women’s podium: (1) Natalia Grossman (who awesomely flashed all her problems with a perfect score as if the entire tournament were a V1), (2) S.K. Ashton, (3) Norah Chi
The best of the best: the eight mens and womens finalists at Southern Grit, the final leg of the 2019 Bouldering Open National Cup series.
Final probleming.
True Grit.
Ready for the dust up.
Like their Chattanooga location, High Point Memphis has an outdoor climbing mezzanine.
Two problems I left unsolved in the qualifying round. Because arms.
// Vertical Ventures (Tampa, Florida, USA)
Vertical Ventures was founded in 1996 in an industrial park on the outskirts of Tampa. There’s a treadwall for some infinite climbing, a couple sides of the room just for auto-belay and top roping, and the remaining wall and central boulder for bouldering. What it lacks in square footage, it makes up for with the camaraderie and community feel of the space and the climbers there (or at least the ones I ran into late on a weeknight).
The freestanding * wooden * bouldering feature circa 1996 when the gym first opened. A super cool relic of early climbing gyms that’s rare to come across these day, still standing tall.
The mat’s eye view of the boulder.
The view from above after topping out on the boulder.
Wall skills.
Going for an infinite send on my first Treadwall. Turns out the more overweight you are, the better it works.
Taking care of a loose bolt.
Where parties happen.
Proud to be adding this sticker to my climbing water bottle. A new state, a new gym visited! From Vertical Ventures: an orange climbing the state of Florida
// Climb NuLu (Louisville, Kentucky, USA)
Climb NuLu (named after the local neighborhood “New Louisville” or “NuLu”) is a spacious bouldering-only climbing gym, with ample features supporting the full V-rating spectrum of problems. Plenty of room to spread out and has one of my favorite system boards that I’ve come across in my travels.
Surveying one of the main crags inside Climb NuLu.
Trying out a fun feature in the back room.
One of my favorite system boards I’ve seen in a climbing gym. Great place to warm up, check out different holds, and practice some drop knees and flagging.
Post climb protein feast at a BBQ place called Feast. Local brews, Ale-8-1 ginger ale, all yours just a couple blocks away.
//ROKC (Kansas City, Missouri, USA)
ROKC has a little for everyone, including an extensive bouldering room with cool climbing features and a Moon Board.
Contemplating beta (and how much better shape I should be in.)
Wrapped up my visit with some slow and stead hangboard reps.
// Planet Granite (Sunnyvale, California, USA)
Taking in the horizon that is the 10 Degree Wall at Planet Granite Sunnyvale.
A map of the Sunnyvale location’s climbing areas. Where will you go next to up your send skills?
// New Orleans Boulder Lounge (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)
While traveling in New Orleans for a conference, I was lucky to find the New Orleans Boulder Lounge where I signed up for a class to refine my vertical/ slab climbing technique. Built out of what appears to be a former general store, the gym is a neat little spot that has fostered a friendly and supportive climbing community in this part of the city.
A festive, supportive community that’s pretty hopping, even on a weeknight.
Fun to imagine what the previous tenant (which feels like it was a general store of some sort) looked like before these climbing walls were put in.
Choose your fate.
My travel climbing shoes always wait patiently and faithfully in my luggage, serving as a source of motivation whenever they get unpacked in the hotel rooms of the world.
I missed dinner in order to make it to my climbing lesson at NOBL in time, but was able to trek down to Jackson Square afterwards for a meal at the wonderfully picturesque Tableau.
I managed to make it to Tableau before the kitchen closed and enjoyed my post-climb feast of local redfish with a greens salad and an Angel’s Envy bourbon. I ended dinner refreshed from my evening climb, spirits lifted from the delicious meal and ready for a couple of days of conference-going by the river.
// Climbing at The Peak and Attempting My First Moon Board (Fremont, California, USA)
Found my first Moon Board experience at The Peak in Fremont, California, a standardized system board with bluetooth linked LED lights that form crowdsourced boulder problems. Pretty easy to set up — download the Moon Board app, be sure the gym’s board is switched on (that turned out to be the first problem I had to solve :) and you’re off. The holds on the app correspond to the holds that light up on the board.
The Moon Board app on your phone calls out the holds for the problem you select. The corresponding LEDs light up on the board itself and off you go. The App lets you log the number of attempts and any climbing notes you may have. The Moon Board at The Peak is set up for a ~40 degree incline
You can just make out the green and blue LED lights by each hold. Standard operating procedure is a sit-start and using the small yellow holds on the kick board at the base to get going. The pleasure (and the pump) starts from there.
// Berkeley Iron Works (Berkeley, California, USA)
When I found myself commuting almost daily to Oakland for much of the Fall of 2018, I lucked out in discovering Berkeley Iron Works nearby. Another cool gym created by local climbing juggernaut Touchstone Climbing, it served as a place of self reflection as much as it did competitive practice and I was grateful to have had it to explore.
// Adventure Rock (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA)
Loved the added challenge of Adventure Rock’s grades. Their V1-V2 was more like a V3 based on my past climbing, so these problems helped push me to try a more difficult V grade than I otherwise would have. I sent a couple of them and crashed out spectacularly on several others.
Fingers aching but happy at the opportunity to have made them ache.
My favorite feature of the bouldering mezzanine at this location. Where O where has my lower core strength gone?
If the wooden benches in my sixth grade gym had faced a climbing wall instead of wrestling mats, I may have pursued a very different athletic pathway.
Happy.
// First Ascent - Uptown (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
First time in First Ascent’s Uptown location in Chicago.
The entire upstairs floor is boulder-o-rama. Super cool!
About to crush the absolute rocks out of this V0 problem.
Have started to use campus boards as interim strength training tools in the middle of my climbing sessions: One Five Nine or Bust.
Thanks First Ascent - Uptown! Just what I needed after surviving traffic on the Dan Ryan on my way out of Chicago.
// Climbing The Castle (London, England, UK)
About a 30 minute tube ride outside Central London is a brick castle that was originally built as a Victorian era water pumping station. Today, it's an immersive indoor climbing center.
Preserving the site's history while transforming its purpose, The Castle Climbing Center exists as one of the coolest bouldering and indoor rope climbing facilities ever. When I visited in August 2018, it was a drizzly, gloomy day outside so spending a couple of hours numbing my forearms made for a great way to spend a Friday night in London.
A pro shop rents equipment, shoes, chalk and has clothing and gear for sale. Coin operated lockers let you stow your duffel bag while you're climbing. Changing/shower areas let you spruce up after your session. There's an onsite cafe, onsite garden, and a few outdoor boulders in the shadow of the castle.
Trying not to let "The Battleship" boulder in the outdoor area sink me.
The mandatory orientation video for first time Castlers.
Among the maze of hallways and staircases, you stumble into quiet bouldering nooks like this one.
On the main floor where top roping is all abuzz.
The dizzying main tower, now re-tooled as a top roper's haven.
Store your stuff, refresh yourself on the taxonomy of wall holds.
Locker 10, my home for the night.
Enjoying some fresh, post rain air among the outdoor boulders.
The way in and the way out (if traveling by Underground). The Castle is less than a 10 minute walk from Manor House Station.
// Nevada Climbing Center (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
While in town for the National Society of Professional Engineers conference in July 2018, I got to visit the Nevada Climbing Center. Hidden in an industrial park on the Las Vegas outskirts, it's a welcoming indoor climbing gym with auto-belay and top roping fun galore. The bouldering feature is the gravitational center of the room and crafted for fun and serious problems alike.
Solid advice from the Nevada Climbing Center walls.
Had a great time visiting for some calming, post air travel relaxation, despite the 103 F night temperature.
// Sacramento Pipeworks (Sacramento, California, USA)
It’s almost a point of pilgrimage to climb at Sacramento Pipeworks being it was free soloist Alex Honnold’s first climbing gym when he got his start in the sport. Fortunately for the climbing world, he progressed quickly to outdoor climbing; away he went and away we went breathlessly alongside him.
I enjoy little moments when different parts of my life intersect. Like many of Touchstone’s gyms, they give homage to their spaces that once housed industrial businesses. This massive warehouse used to be a metalworking factory that included, presumably, pipe manufacturing. Still in tact is one of the factory’s gantry cranes—that giant yellow steel bar across the top of the warehouse. I have watched modern day gantry cranes move massive piece of construction equipment from spot to spot during their assembly. To see them still looking down as I work on bouldering problems far below them makes for some pretty cool moments.
Redeye, not Popeye.
Feeling a little spacey.
Harnesses on, ropes up.
// MOST CREATIVE UPCYCLING OF A CRASH PAD (Yosemite National Park, California, USA)
Sighted in the completely refurbished canteen of the Yosemite Lodge (something by the way that just a few years ago had that homey, no nonsense summer camp feel to it and now feels like the place where hipsters go to get kale smoothies---not that I'm complaining about the chic new digs and tasty pancakes).
// PAYING HOMAGE TO CAMP 4
While in Yosemite during early 2015, I got the chance to stop by the legendary Camp 4, where modern day rock climbing got its start. While I see rock climbing more as a way for me to cross-train for my caving adventures (given my abilities, competitively rock climbing just ain't happening for me). I really admired the crowds that were in Camp 4 the afternoon I stopped in. Still high on the announcement of the successful free climb of El Cap just days before, there was not a boulder left un-bouldered wherever I looked and hikers everywhere were hauling rope packs up the trails or spreading out crash pads underneath boulders. Lots of footsteps to follow, lots of footsteps being followed.
Celebrating a first trip to Yosemite and The Ahwahnee Lodge with an El Capitini, created to commemorate the 1958 first ascent of El Capitan.
// DESPERATELY SEEKING FOREARMS (Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA)
My first gym-climbing experience at High Point Climbing - Chattanooga in 2015.
