CO Springs gyms

There’s also a bouldering gym on 8th below a second hand outdoors shop.  I tried that briefly when I used the gym down the road on 8th street which is now closed casualty of covid.  Bouldering in a gym isn’t my deal so I gave up on it quickly, didn’t think it was great; at least not for my needs, mostly younger crowd with typical theatrics .  Owners are nice folks, good place to buy used ski wear type clothes etc for your kids.

  There’s a gym on post with (4) autobelays & you can lead there too. wall’s 40’? maybe, there’s a bouldering wall with mats parallel to that wall, free standing hangboard set up.  I use that cause there’s rarely anyone on the wall so I can ARC till my heart’s content... units reserve it mornings, as does 10th I think... I go afternoons so not sure.  It’s in Ivy fitness center which is the family gym, the climbing area is it’s own little wing so it’s good for your kids as they’re not out with all the machines, soldiers etc.  That‘s not the best gym to use for reg lifting if you do that.  I use Waller, there’s couple more...obviously this is where unit training/ PT goes on....

City Rock is the gym to go lead and meet folks (or was precovid) currently it’s got a bunch of restrictions like everywhere else.  I’ve not been for a while so not current...But as above it’s a gong show at high peak and they’re not attentive at all to route setting impacting the off hour users. Most of the major construction seems done, but the amount of events detracts from general use.    My pet gripe is the setters taking breaks to work on their “proj“ in open areas while they have a ton of real estate closed off... i can’t believe management thinks that’s ok....I go with friends at night so the ability to eat & have a beer post climbing is nice...   it’s the best closest to post, but the Denver/Boulder corridor has nicer gyms- which are equally crowded.  There’s a military discount... don’t recall amount but I use punch passes as I don’t go all that frequently currently.  Solely to train the wall at Ivy & then gym apparatus works great if not a bit for off on your own.  I’ve a buddy PCs ing from 1st to 10th so that‘ll change...  They’re over the close for cleaning every 45 mins finally on post.

Never been to the Northern gym... I live way south by gate 10... not worth it for me to drive that far.  So no idea.

I‘m sure you’ll come across it but Fountain (East) has lotsa problems with the water... as in you can’t drink it.

 I’m sure you’ve got lotsa info but if you have any Q’s I’ll help if I can.

 Cheers

Michael

Hello Folks,

I read a lot of the posts from 5-8 years ago and the new posts.  It has been very informative.  I am one of the owners of CityROCK so that is out there.  Setting during the day is always a struggle for the setters and management.  Setters are very creative people who are typically somewhat introverted, hardworking, and very valuable human beings.  Our head route setter has been invited to become a level 5 USAC route setter and we work hard to employ female setters and males who are not over 6' tall.  Our routes are technical and if you are smart about your climbing, easier.  Covid has been a challenge but we are now back to our 6-week setting cycle.  Our team consists of 2 women and 2 men.  We are adding more setters soon as we are opening a 2nd location in the springs.  The land is purchased and the construction will start this summer on a larger facility up north.    

First, on the setters working during the day - we are not heartless.  We are open from 6am to 10pm most weekdays.  I used to work nightshift.  I don't want to do that to the setters and their families. The boulder and the rope wall are divided into 6 sections so the majority of the walls are open from 8:00am to 3:30pm.  After 3:30pm the walls are open.  There is no projecting by the setters during this time.  Fore-running or warming up to fore-run, not projecting.  We might allow them to eat.  Setting is difficult work.  As we get the resources to help them we invest in them.  The Nifty Lift was one of those investments.  The new gym will have two lifts.  The setters are being asked to come in earlier when the new gym is built.  That said, setters are living, breathing, hard working humans and they deserve consideration too.  Anyway, I will pass this post on to them and know we are working to reduce the intrusion.      

Second, on comps, team and other events - We are toning this down a lot after Covid having put the brakes on all our extra curricular activities (Team, Club, Adaptive Climbing, Birthday Parties.....).  Our members and day passes are our base.  The other activities help introduce and support climbing but we always know who the established climbers are.  This has been evident and magnified by the pandemic.  Education is important to us and developing new climbers is too.   We will still do this and we will be more aware of the impact on the members.

Construction - We learned a lot from the $1.5M remodel in 2019.  We are more aware of the atmosphere in the gym and work hard to make it more pleasant.  We are always willing to stop our activities of continual improvement if they are bugging you during a session.  Just let us know.  On the other hand we think variety is the spice of life and will will continue to improve the current gym.  The new gym has been designed with separation of kids, families and climbers.  The plans for the current CityROCK are pretty novel.  Stay tuned for the results.  Please keep posting - we really appreciate the feedback.     

Joe Grosjean wrote:

Hello Folks,

I read a lot of the posts from 5-8 years ago and the new posts.  It has been very informative.  I am one of the owners of CityROCK so that is out there.  Setting during the day is always a struggle for the setters and management.  Setters are very creative people who are typically somewhat introverted, hardworking, and very valuable human beings.  Our head route setter has been invited to become a level 5 USAC route setter and we work hard to employ female setters and males who are not over 6' tall.  Our routes are technical and if you are smart about your climbing, easier.  Covid has been a challenge but we are now back to our 6-week setting cycle.  Our team consists of 2 women and 2 men.  We are adding more setters soon as we are opening a 2nd location in the springs.  The land is purchased and the construction will start this summer on a larger facility up north.    

First, on the setters working during the day - we are not heartless.  We are open from 6am to 10pm most weekdays.  I used to work nightshift.  I don't want to do that to the setters and their families. The boulder and the rope wall are divided into 6 sections so the majority of the walls are open from 8:00am to 3:30pm.  After 3:30pm the walls are open.  There is no projecting by the setters during this time.  Fore-running or warming up to fore-run, not projecting.  We might allow them to eat.  Setting is difficult work.  As we get the resources to help them we invest in them.  The Nifty Lift was one of those investments.  The new gym will have two lifts.  The setters are being asked to come in earlier when the new gym is built.  That said, setters are living, breathing, hard working humans and they deserve consideration too.  Anyway, I will pass this post on to them and know we are working to reduce the intrusion.      

Second, on comps, team and other events - We are toning this down a lot after Covid having put the brakes on all our extra curricular activities (Team, Club, Adaptive Climbing, Birthday Parties.....).  Our members and day passes are our base.  The other activities help introduce and support climbing but we always know who the established climbers are.  This has been evident and magnified by the pandemic.  Education is important to us and developing new climbers is too.   We will still do this and we will be more aware of the impact on the members.

Construction - We learned a lot from the $1.5M remodel in 2019.  We are more aware of the atmosphere in the gym and work hard to make it more pleasant.  We are always willing to stop our activities of continual improvement if they are bugging you during a session.  Just let us know.  On the other hand we think variety is the spice of life and will will continue to improve the current gym.  The new gym has been designed with separation of kids, families and climbers.  The plans for the current CityROCK are pretty novel.  Stay tuned for the results.  Please keep posting - we really appreciate the feedback.

Hi Joe, thanks so much the thoughtful response and thorough reply. If you don't mind my asking, where are you building the new gym that you said you had already purchased land for? The new gym begin up North somewhere would be really exciting for my fiancé and I who live off of Northgate. Either way, we really look forward to hearing more about the new gym and what that will look like. Take care!

Buck Rogers wrote:

Bumping this thread back from the dead!

I did an aarchive search and there did not seem to be any info on someone moving to Colorado Springs for the long term.  Many short term visit questions about gyms but I'm looking for a gym for years to come.

I would ideally like a gym with both a lot of bouldering and lead climbing and that has a kids team as well as my 12 and 14 year olds love to climb and are decent at it.

Any updated info would be great.  I'll be most likely living in the western part of Colorado Springs and happy to drive up to 30+ minutes for a good gym.

Thanks!

Hi Buck.

The obvious answer is you should check out all the gyms in person.  

Gripstone up north is the newest gym, only a couple years old.  Although it has a large space, their use of space is a little perplexing.  They could have made their walls 20ft higher if they used the tallest part of the building, but they didn't.  I'd estimate they only have 2/3 the bouldering and 1/2 the roped climbing of CityROCK.  I'm not familiar with their programs.  The first time I went there, they blew off my girlfriend when we were trying to complete the waivers, so she wanted to leave before we climbed. I've never been able to get her to go back.

However, I've climbed several times at Gripstone with a friend who lives nearby.  The route setting is different than CityROCK.  I prefer CityROCK's setting, but whether you like the setting or not depends on your personal style relative to the setter's style. I still have fun climbing there.

If family is important to you, CityROCK has historically been very supportive of families, and have special areas setup for children.  Some climbers complain about the children.  Personally, I like having youth around - they are the future of the sport!  The youth competition team had several members make it to regionals and one to nationals.  Before Covid, the coaches were Mike and Janelle Anderson.  Mike wrote "The Rock Climber's Training Manual" with his brother Mark, so the coaching is high level.

CityROCK had occasional comps, which is a little disruptive.  However, it was always fun after the comps to give the comp routes a try. They are numbered from 1 to 20 with no grades.  I would look at a route a think I could climb it based on the holds.  I often made harder routes than I usually could because I was intimidated by the grade.  Eventually they post the grades.

I think the setting is some of the best in any gym.  One of the reasons is you will encounter the setters at local climbing areas such as Shelf Road.  As Joe mentioned, they have a variety of setters with a variety of styles. They have employed nationally certified, high level setters.  The styles vary from flowing, technique-oriented to endurance test pieces to power routes.

CityROCK just finished a remodel, which was disruptive.  But it made some new walls and they tried to design it so it would separate the more experienced climbers from classes and younger climbers.

An advantage to CityROCK is they have a restaurant and pub in the front.  They have delicious and healthy food as well as a variety of beers.

I suggest you also check out the Google reviews.

Best Regards,

Arlo

Hello Collin and Buck,

CityROCK 2 will be publicized soon.  We will break ground this fall, knock on wood....  The pandemic and world events have us not wanting to tempt fate.  We share parking with the new ENT Federal Credit Union and are across from Great Wolf Lodge and Scheels.  35K sqft base floor plan with a separate kids area.  55' walls since setting is arduous with higher walls.  Sorry for the late response.

Regards,

Joe   

Joe Grosjean wrote:

Hello Collin and Buck,

CityROCK 2 will be publicized soon.  We will break ground this fall, knock on wood....  The pandemic and world events have us not wanting to tempt fate.  We share parking with the new ENT Federal Credit Union and are across from Great Wolf Lodge and Scheels.  35K sqft base floor plan with a separate kids area.  55' walls since setting is arduous with higher walls.  Sorry for the late response.

Regards,

Joe   

Hey Joe, any idea when CityRock 2 will be open?

Ryan PK wrote:

Hey Joe, any idea when CityRock 2 will be open?

The latest is CityRock will break ground in October.  Don't know the exact schedule but probably open in the spring of 2023...

Will membership in the downtown location give you access to climb at the new center?

The last I heard they will either let you climb at either gym or give you a few passes every month for the gym which isn't designated as your "home" gym.

Arlo F Niederer wrote:

The latest is CityRock will break ground in October.  Don't know the exact schedule but probably open in the spring of 2023...

This would be the fastest ground breaking to opening timeline I've ever heard of.