Outdoor Bouldering Wall

Hey all,

I'm writing from Binghamton, NY the nearest worthwhile rock is 2 hours away and the nearest plastic is over an hour away.

With that in mind I would like to build my own training wall. I am quite fond of the moonboard design that would allow me to train great boulder problems with my non-existant setting abilities.

Does anyone here have any experience with outdoor freestanding climbing walls? will this thing still be climbable in the winter?

I will admit that the weather around here isn't the greatest and it gets cold in the winter, but I need something to climb, and the cielings in my house are 9ft tall in the apartment and 8 ft in the basement which would probably be where the wall gets built.

Any ideas and recommendations are appreciated!

If you had any productive plans and or work in the next day or so, I apologize.

Here ya go ;)

mountainproject.com/v/what-…

I've read through the whole thread before, but I'm still left with a few questions

A) is there anything special I have to do to make the damn thing survive the winter/rain/weather?

B) Any tips on freestanding outdoor walls?

C) Any tips on keeping it climbable in the cold?

WillamR wrote:I've read through the whole thread before, but I'm still left with a few questions A) is there anything special I have to do to make the damn thing survive the winter/rain/weather? B) Any tips on freestanding outdoor walls? C) Any tips on keeping it climbable in the cold?

1) My wall outside is 18+ years old, painted treated plywood and it's in great shape. 2) 4by4's planted 5-6 ft deep in ground, I used bags of concrete mix to anchor them in. My wall standards/frame is 12 ft high, and the plywood boards anchor it in plenty solid. I also had a roof over my wall, and upper extension boards to make it about 20 ft. high total, but again, my 'wall is 4 sided and roof framed out. At least a Triangular shape would help to give you more solid anchor, or some people just find a tree or two to anchor it all to. Bottom board at least 6-12 inches off the ground to keep from rain-snow rot. 3) Natural stone holds were cold in winter, so I kept mostly plastic up, and not using tiny crimpers in the cold. Most of my holds stay up year round, all seasons. Texture of some has taken a beating, but the plastic can be sanded if it gets too rough from all the UV and weathering. OR I used dry tooling on the cheap or rock holds for winter workouts.