Climbing Gyms ‘In’ for Upwardly Mobile

In a valley surrounded by breathtaking mountains, Wendy Howell and a dozen other climbers were indoors one August afternoon, scaling the artificial rock walls of the Estes Park Mountain Shop.

Howell and her husband, Galen, of Moab, Utah, were on a climbing vacation when the rain drove them and others off the summits around Rocky Mountain National Park and into the gym.

“It’s kind of fun,” Wendy Howell said. “It’s super-safe--that’s what’s nice about coming to a climbing gym. You don’t have all those natural elements that are out there.”

The gym is one of hundreds of commercial climbing gyms nationwide catering to climbers who want a sheltered, convenient place to practice. In 14 years, indoor climbing has grown from a single gym in Seattle to an industry with annual revenues of up to $24 million.

“Climbing gyms are popping up all over the place,” said Nate Postma, president of St. Paul, Minn.-based Nicros Inc., which manufactures climbing walls.

The last industry survey, done in 1997 by the Boulder-based Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America, found 343 climbing gyms. The coalition now estimates the number at 400. At least 40 states have them, from Maine to Hawaii, Alaska to Florida.

The gyms have wood, concrete or foam walls up to 50 feet tall that often look and feel like rock. Plastic handholds and footholds are attached with bolts.

Climbers use similar gear indoors and out, including special shoes and harnesses around their waists. As climbers ascend, they thread a rope tied to the harness through anchors in the wall. A stationary partner holds the other end of the rope to break any falls.

Gyms usually charge $10 to $15 a day. Rental gear and training are extra.

The Estes Park Mountain Shop is at the doorstep of Rocky Mountain National Park, where climbers have sharpened their skills before such challenges as Mt. Everest. Just across town is Lumpy Ridge, another climbers’ haunt.

Amid this climbing paradise, the gym draws regulars from up to 150 miles away, employee Dave Watosky said.

“It’s good for training, it’s good for strength, it’s not weather-dependent and you’re still climbing,” he said.

Gyms attract everyone from hard-core climbers to curious families. “I think they’re usually very interested in the outdoors, and this is just an extension of that,” said Rich Johnston, founder and president of Vertical World climbing gym in Seattle.

Johnston opened Vertical World, the nation’s first climbing gym, in 1987. “I wasn’t a rock climber. I was quite familiar with the health club industry and I thought maybe you could apply this to climbing.”

The early years weren’t encouraging. “It was a wacky idea at first and people didn’t accept it,” he said.

But in the 1990s, wacky sports found an audience on cable TV, climbing gym managers said. Advertisers discovered a model dressed as a climber lent a rugged, youthful aura to nearly any product. Extreme became mainstream.

“It’s OK to skateboard, OK to mountain bike, OK to be extreme, where in the past a guy who was extreme was an odd guy,” Postma said.

The number of gyms skyrocketed in the first half of the ‘90s. The total is still growing, but the rate has slowed since the middle of the decade, said Norma Hansen, of the Outdoor Recreation Coalition. Now the fastest-growing market for climbing walls is among fitness centers, amusement parks, universities and youth centers.

“Climbing is a great metaphor for life, to help kids get focus and direction, and to teach team-building,” Postma said.

The 1997 survey found commercial climbing gyms generated average annualized revenue of more than $263,000 each. Postma, president of a separate company that operates three climbing gyms, speculated that figure could be closer to $300,000 now.

That would translate to $12 million in annual revenues industrywide. Postma said climbing wall manufacturers probably generate an equal amount.

A small climbing wall can cost $20,000 to build and install, while larger setups can cost $500,000 or more, but Postma said Nicros has all the work it can handle.

“Growth is way up,” he said. The privately held company doesn’t disclose its numbers, but Postma said he turns away eight out of 10 jobs.