While the concentration of climbers in Boulder is obviously quite high, I’ve wondered on the sustainability of all the gyms.

I just read an interesting post from the BRC (which is located literally one block away from Movement) in which they describe their new pricing changes. The summary: they’ve reduced all their prices.

When Movement opened, the lowest monthly rate for the BRC was $60 while Movement was $62. Two dollars extra a month for a shiny new gym and all their extras (full fitness center, yoga classes) was an easy decision for me to check it out for a few months. Now, the BRC’s lowest monthly rate is $55, about 8% less. But comparing apples to apples, that rate is for a 12 month commitment. The comparable rate to Movement’s $62 is now $58. While officially lower, for most people that’s a wash. And while this was more expensive than The Spot, the added fitness center justifies the price in my opinion.

These moves were obviously made to counter the new gym’s presence. The question for the BRC is will it be enough? I’ve heard a few rumors (likely just pure speculation) that Movement’s goal is to put the BRC out of business and then raise their rates. Personally, I find this hard to believe as it wouldn’t necessarily be the best business idea.

My membership to The Spot is ending soon and I’ve decided to switch over to Movement for now mainly because I need to be climbing more routes with my finger injury. I felt quite limited at my rehab efforts in a bouldering-only gym (yes, I know, nice problem to have). But if Movement eventually raises their rates too high, I would quickly go back to The Spot no questions asked.

Competition in all industries in good – it promotes innovation, better service, and a competitive price structure. For Boulder climbers, let’s hope all the gyms can continue to coexist and thrive.

So far, I’ve enjoyed climbing at Movement, but I’ve been limited in my climbing due to the finger injury rehabbing. Peter Beal has a good review from the perspective of someone who can hit the hard stuff there.

If you’ve been to the new gym, what were your thoughts?

The post The Effects of a New Climbing Gym first appeared on All Climbing.

There are some amazing photos of climbers’ home gyms in this very long thread. If I ever get around to putting up a wall in my house, I’ll be using these for ideas.

The post 8a.nu Asks Who has the Best Home Gym in the World? first appeared on All Climbing.

The Movement gym’s blog has an update on the ongoing construction and I thought it was interesting to take a brief behind the scenes look at a climbing gym being constructed.

Construction Progress from Movement Climbing + Fitness on Vimeo.

The post Construction of a Climbing Gym first appeared on All Climbing.

Why is this news? There’s already three good sized gyms in Boulder already. But as I found out in my trip to Boulder a couple weeks ago, everyone you meet there is a climber. I’d love to see actual numbers on what percentage of the population in Boulder actually considers themselves a climber though.

It’s a safe bet that the founders of this new gym did their research and the demand is there. On a personal note, now that I’m moving out there, I welcome more indoor climbing gym opportunities!

To be honest, I’m having a hard time going to my local climbing gym with the prospect of having bigger and better gyms available in the very near future. Ahh, a tough problem to have, right?

The post Another climbing gym in Boulder? first appeared on All Climbing.

Routesetter.com teaches how to stop climbers from using the bolt hole as a mono in the gym. At first I thought this was humorous, then I remembered how many times I’ve seen climbers try using them as pockets (especially those with tiny fingers).

1. Take a two-foot (or so) long piece of standard issue setting tape.
2. Loosely bundle the piece of tape into a cylinder-shaped ball that is longer than it is wide.
3. Stuff it. Shove that ball of tape into the offending bolthole. Be careful not to pack it in unless you never plan on moving the hold again.You may have to put more tape in the hole to fill it up. But using one single long piece will make it much easier when its time to get it out. Try to make the tape flush to the holds as best you can.

Check out the article for pictures on their steps. There’s also a nice follow-up discussion in the comments.

The post How to stop climbers from using bolt holes as mono pockets first appeared on All Climbing.