Southeast : ROCK CLIMBING

Downtown Long Beach is about as flat as anywhere in Los Angeles County. Come summertime, however, it may become a hot spot for the county’s rock climbers.

On the second floor of the Buffum-Downtown Long Beach YMCA, construction crews are preparing to build three walls, two monoliths and caverns designed for scaling by expert and beginning climbers.

Safety measures will include a floor of cushions or gravel and ropes that reach to the top of the structures and back to the ground so that monitors can lower anyone who slips.

Dubbed the Rock Gym, the county’s first climbing facility will hold classes for all levels and ages, YMCA Executive Director Pete Smargon said. He said entrance to the center will cost about $14 a day or $45 a month.

Climbers will be able to choose from more than 250 different routes, including some meant to be traversed while climbers are hanging by their fingertips.