Post by jrblack on Nov 6, 2017 14:19:36 GMT -7
A lot of pro climbers don't climb in commercial gyms. Joerg Verhoeven explains it best in his TBP interview... commercial gyms are focused on entertaining the general public. They host birthday parties, rent shoes, sell yoga classes, etc. Although most Colorado gyms devote some space to climbers who are serious about training, they often devote most resources to the general climbing population and that makes sense! After all, they are trying to run a business.
A high-end climber, like Adam Ondra, tends to climb in a private or semi-private gym (he mentions this in his TBP interview in fact). These gyms can have a bunch of V8+ routes, a Moonboard, campus boards, a variety of hang boards, liberal hours (often the users are given a key to the place). In other words, it's like your home gym, but bigger and better with multiple users.
I started dreaming about building something like this in Colorado. Not because I can boulder V8, but because I find myself in a small townhome without the space to build the things I'd like to have and with the gyms around here not being ideal (in terms of equipment, crowds, hours of operation) that would make a private gym really attractive.
I fully acknowledge that this would not be a money-making enterprise, but I can afford to spend a good amount on something like this... I'm just here asking people to talk me down.
The main problem I'm having is space. I don't have room to build something like this at home so it would seem options are:
1) Buy a large house and repurpose a big part of it to build a gym. This seems a little silly since (a) houses aren't the perfect setup for a gym since they were designed to be... a house, and (b) zoning might be an issue, and (c) buying a house to build a climbing wall seems inefficient
2) Buy a plot of land nearby and just build a building like Mark's Lazy H. I know nothing about this kind of project. I live in a suburban neighborhood, but within a few miles there is farm land and open space and commercially-zoned property. Is it realistic to find a small lot (say 40' x 40') and put a 25' high building on it with plumbing, heat and power? Can this be done for something like $200-400K?
Is there a better venue for this kind of question?
And finally, I'd be happy to give free access to anyone in the Colorado Front Range who wanted to train, set routes, hang out, etc.
A high-end climber, like Adam Ondra, tends to climb in a private or semi-private gym (he mentions this in his TBP interview in fact). These gyms can have a bunch of V8+ routes, a Moonboard, campus boards, a variety of hang boards, liberal hours (often the users are given a key to the place). In other words, it's like your home gym, but bigger and better with multiple users.
I started dreaming about building something like this in Colorado. Not because I can boulder V8, but because I find myself in a small townhome without the space to build the things I'd like to have and with the gyms around here not being ideal (in terms of equipment, crowds, hours of operation) that would make a private gym really attractive.
I fully acknowledge that this would not be a money-making enterprise, but I can afford to spend a good amount on something like this... I'm just here asking people to talk me down.
The main problem I'm having is space. I don't have room to build something like this at home so it would seem options are:
1) Buy a large house and repurpose a big part of it to build a gym. This seems a little silly since (a) houses aren't the perfect setup for a gym since they were designed to be... a house, and (b) zoning might be an issue, and (c) buying a house to build a climbing wall seems inefficient
2) Buy a plot of land nearby and just build a building like Mark's Lazy H. I know nothing about this kind of project. I live in a suburban neighborhood, but within a few miles there is farm land and open space and commercially-zoned property. Is it realistic to find a small lot (say 40' x 40') and put a 25' high building on it with plumbing, heat and power? Can this be done for something like $200-400K?
Is there a better venue for this kind of question?
And finally, I'd be happy to give free access to anyone in the Colorado Front Range who wanted to train, set routes, hang out, etc.
