Welcome to Climb Max

If asked, I am relatively certain that nine out of ten people would not know the amount of time and energy that goes into constructing and running a climbing gym.  Every little detail of these gyms is planned out, on point, to ensure that the environment is perfect for it’s users.  At any given point of the day, climbing gyms house an extremely diverse, social group of people.  This group of people is what makes climbing gyms so appealing.  From fans to grips, pads to lights, climbing comfortably and successfully indoors is the result of a substantial amount of thought.

Choose Your Path

Not everyone enjoys climbing up a vertical wall, but the walls are designed to cater to any kind of climber.  In the picture above there are different colored pieces of tape marking different grips.  Each color represents a different path, which may or may not be considered difficult.  For most people, like tourists, the colors mean nothing; these people just come in for the thrill of climbing.  However, for those who are veteran climbers these colored pieces of tape are a way for them to challenge themselves both physically and mentally.   You may wonder what I mean by mentally challenging themselves.  Speaking as someone who has climbed and watched people climb, rock-climbing is just as much a mental sport as a physical one.  It is very easy to convince yourself that you cannot do it, but if you believe you can do it then it is easy for one to overcome their own mental blocks.  

The designs of these grip-holds are not just random.  They are intended to make the climber’s brain work.  They have to think about where they are going next.  In my opinion, climbing can serve as a form of meditation.  Meditation is focusing a small portion of the mind on one simple task, in order to let the rest of it be at peace.  While the climber focuses on where they will reach or step next, the rest of their mind is not worrying or stressing about anything.  I sat down for awhile on one of my visits to observe a couple experienced climbers.  It seemed like their brains were on cruise control and their bodies were just going with the flow.  They moved very gracefully up and down the walls and even when they missed a grip or slipped, they still looked agile as if they planned it out.  The grips on the walls looked faded at first, but after touching a few and seeing climbers with their chalk bags, I realized that they were covered in climbing chalk.  The chalk had been used so many times on the holds that it literally had been ground into the plastic.  The larger, more used grips were much more worn down.  The smaller, less used ones were much brighter and not worn down.  The condition that the grips were in represented, to me, that these grips were doing their jobs.  What I mean is that if there was a rock wall grip that looked brand new and no one had been using it, then it was either too tough to reach or unnecessary to use.  But when the grips are faded, that means they have helped many climbers to achieve their goals, whether it is getting off level ground or ringing the bell at the top.  

Entrance

Rock climbing is a rigorous sport and needs to be done in a safe and comfy way.  Immediately upon entry, people are greeted with a rush of cool air from all the fans in Climb Max.  These fans make the room temperature very comfortable.  In addition to the many large fans, the door and windows at the front of the store were all open, which creates nice air circulation.   The combination of the fresh air and the fans morph the entire place into an ideal climbing spot.  The climbers have the luxury of being indoors, protected from the elements, while at the same time they get to experience something that originated outdoors.  This is a good characteristic for a climbing gym to have.

            The entrance to the gym is positioned so that the first thing you see is a rack of t-shirts with climbing walls as a backdrop.  These shirts must have been strategically placed so that people walk in and want to look at them (obvious marketing technique).  Standing in the doorway, there are bleachers to your left.  These are for climbers to put their possessions on or for people to sit and watch others climb.  This builds more onto the social aspect of climbing.  Climb Max wants to make it easy for people to sit down and talk about things.  This set up forces people to be close with one another which inevitably creates interaction.  Over by the desk, there are supplies for sale, but most are things that only qualified climbers would need.  These items include chalk for your hands, shoes, rope and so on.  Rarely would anyone ever really buy these things, but Climb Max keeps them up because it adds to the atmosphere in the room.  

The Cave

        There are many measures taken to make climbing a safe sport.  Pictured above is the “Bouldering Cave”.  This is an area of the climbing gym that is for experienced climbers.  The way this area is constructed allows those using it to climb at a much more difficult angle than the generic vertical rock wall.  The pads on the floor serve an obvious purpose: To break climber’s falls.  These crash pads are required when a climber is using the Bouldering Cave.  Crash pads are one of the many parts of rock climbing that help with safety.  People also use harnesses, ropes and helmets to prevent themselves from injury.  The Bouldering Cave is often less busy than the other parts because of it’s challenging nature.  Many daily climbers will sit around looking at this area and talking about how to successfully climb it.  These discussions are another example of the climbing community being an extremely social one.

            Inside the Bouldering Cave the wall is gray but around the outside it is red.  All along the walls of the gym there is either a red section or a red line.  Which stretches between ten and twelve feet.  This section is the “Free Climbing” area.  This means that people are allowed to climb to the top of the red line without a harness or ropes.  The color red was chosen for obvious reasons, because red is associated with warnings more often than not.  Many experienced climbers use this area for reps, meaning they go up and jump down over and over.  Repetition helps contribute to successful meditation, which as I mentioned above, is the goal of many climbers.  These reps not only give them practice and peace of mind but it also helps them to build physical strength.  These training exercises definitely make the climbers swifter.  Like any other sport, the objective in participation is to better your physical and mental body in every way.  Now, even though technically the free climbing zone is open to anyone, it is really only used by veteran climbers.  It is a liability for Climb Max to allow people who do not know what they are doing to free climb.  Even though not allowing inexperienced climbers is a self-defense mechanism for Climb Max, it is also a way for them to promote the importance of safety for rock climbing.  

Rock Climbing Food

         

         Cliff Bars are a climber’s dream food.  They are loaded with vitamins and other things that your body needs to be a successful, health-oriented athlete.  Climb Max also sells candy bars and all sorts of sports drinks.  The prices on these items are extremely high compared to if one would buy these foods in a regular grocery store.  For some climbers, having these things in the gym is convenient, but in my opinion they are sold at the gym as a part of the ambiance.  Climb Max wants people to see them and ask about them so they can promote the climbing food products, and therefore promote the sport as one centered on health and athleticism.  The climbing community is one that spends a lot of time outside and it is safe to assume they like to be healthy.  Cliff Bars are additive-free and contain no high-fructose corn syrup.  If someone is outside scaling rock walls for an entire day, they need these energy bars to keep their momentum.  

            When I was doing a solo sit, observing what was going on at Climb Max I was amazed by the amount of people I saw buying these food items.  The majority of them just walked up, looked at one of the various consumable items, read the label, shrugged and then went and purchased it.  This is probably the affect Climb Max is going for.  I couldn’t help but notice the design on the wrapper too.  There is a man hanging off a rock face similar to that of the Bouldering Cave.  This wrapper enhances the idea that rock climbing is a thrilling sport that only the strong willed can do.  In my opinion, many people buy these because subconsciously they believe it makes them appear to be more experienced climbers.  On the other hand, many people use these bars as a good source of energy when they are packing light for climbing trips.

Between birthday parties, youth group events and outdoor experiences; I have seen my fair share of rock climbing gyms.  Of all the gyms I have been to, Climb Max is definitely one of the better ones.  It combines alluring rock walls with an atmosphere that could impress a veteran climber or invite a novice to try it out.  The best part of sitting and observing the activities in the gym was having the opportunity to think about why people were there and what their stories were.  There was so much effort invested into making Climb Max such a social, fun place to hang out.    Climb Max is a great place to be and I know I will be spending some time there during my college years.