Climb Max

Are all the gyms in Phoenix this nice? It was to hot to climb out side at my favorite crag a couple of weekends ago so we went to Climb Max and I was blown away by how good it was. Im from Boulder and thought that we had the best gym's in the US but I guess I was wrong. No wonder the PHX crew climbs so hard. Where do you climb when you are in Phoenix and its fickin Hot...Steller staff. Owned by a local legend. Steep. What more can you ask for!

They did a great job huh...I'd love to be abit closer. When are they going to open ClimbMax South! hehehe......

Sounds like a great gym. But, can you take your shirt off?

Mark Roth wrote:Sounds like a great gym. But, can you take your shirt off?

rofl

Roach wrote:When are they going to open ClimbMax South! hehehe......

yeah for serial. =|

Mark Roth wrote:Sounds like a great gym. But, can you take your shirt off?

Nice one Mark!!

Looks like a nice gym, but we don't need one in Tucson. Rocks&Ropes is a happy place.

Rocks and Ropes is a great place, but it sure gets crowded in there in the afternoon/evening. A new gym on the east side of town would probably make R&R much nicer.

j zollinger wrote:Rocks and Ropes is a great place, but it sure gets crowded in there in the afternoon/evening. A new gym on the east side of town would probably make R&R much nicer.

hmmmm.. R&R east = less crowds. so crazy it just might work! maybe they could get one of those cool auto belay things.

Jeff S wrote:maybe they could get one of those cool auto belay things.

I was up there today thinking the same thing.

I was hoping this was about Max Kendall. Darn it!

For your info we ordered three auto belays and they have all arrived. We are working over the logistics of getting them up and running over the next week or so.

For all of you who are so keen on them, try not to leave the ground without clipping in. In researching these things, and then deciding to go with them I found plenty of horror stories from gyms around the country, and most involved people completely forgetting to tie in.

Auto belays are a mixed blessing. Useful if you are without a partner, sure, but I've used them plenty and in terms of training for climbing I think you get more out of low grade bouldering and traversing. Most gyms set up easier routes on their auto belays, because you can't hangdog to work a difficult sequence, so higher level climbers probably wont get much use out of them. Back in Chicago I usually used the auto belays to warm up before bouldering or before my partner arrived or before I got bored and was forced to make friends and ask for a belay from a human climber. Anyway, I don't know how much one of these rigs costs a gym. Maybe more than it's worth.

I really think the system is designed for new climbers anyway - it eliminates the need for any technical knowledge (belaying, tying a knot). With the pneumatic systems that I have seen, the line is always under load. This means a carabiner on the user end of the rope must be clipped into a bolt low on the wall when the system is not in use. When in use, this same auto-locker gets clipped to the climbers belay loop, so the climber never needs to actually tie in. This set up should be backed up with another auto-locker on cordelette to help prevent loss of the line, which requires someone to lead up and retrieve it. I've seen this happen several times, always accompanied by general giggling.

As with most things involving potential user error, the only way to protect your own ass from liability is by using waivers and large signs with big friendly easy to read words.

And back to the point, I guess an east side Rocks & Ropes would be pretty cool. Or maybe just a super secret awesome bouldering gym.

Mark Roth wrote:Sounds like a great gym. But, can you take your shirt off?

yes

Mike Covington wrote: yes

Mike,

Am I crazy or has your website been hijacked. I looked up Climbax for directions, and the website, claims there is a new website, but that sends you to PRG. I hope there is more to this story.

The way I see it, that is some shady stuff if the PRG is claiming to be you. Someone please clarify.

google.com/search?sourceid=…

EDIT: If you click on the link for Climbax you get promted to PRG

So PRG has gobbled up: climbmaxgym.com and climbmaxrockgym.com

Climbmax is climbmaxclimbinggym.com

Mike you might want to adjust things so people don't get promted to PRG.

Judging from what I see: Not very good business pratice by PRG. Pretty cut throat if you ask me.

I appreciate your concern, but I am no longer associated with climbmax.

As far as cut throat business practices, theres a lot of that going around.

Hopefully Climbmax won't become as dirty as PRG...that place is a dirty dump. It needs cleaning.

Rick Percival wrote:Are all the gyms in Phoenix this nice?

No. Glad you enjoyed your visit. Too bad you were here in the summer and not now. Come back in the winter and get on some of the killer winter climbing!

Tradster wrote:Hopefully Climbmax won't become as dirty as PRG...that place is a dirty dump. It needs cleaning.

When a friend of mine asked a PRG employee if they were going to clean, he told her to "F off and clean it herself." - Classy.

Lets put the rumors to bed. PRG did not buy Climbmax. (hallelujah)
Some of the original partners (that is of the new Climbmax) pulled out and moved on to other projects, but the rest of the original owners still own and operate the place. And do a fine job.

Gotta love the PRG vs. Climbmax rivalry, as well as the feuds going on in CMax ownership. It's an enjoyable gym with two things over PRG: 1) more lead space, and 2) better bouldering. The route setting lately has been stellar as well. Not anything against PRG, I just don't dig toprope / lead only areas. Though I love that extended roof at PRG and the gear shop is better stocked.

Ive known the major staff at PRG for over 10 years and I dont want anyone to think that the previous comment about "F Off and Clean it Yourself" is the attitude around there.
First of all - Dirty? If you mean dusty - Maybe. But not dirty...You make it sound like there are trashpiles everywhere...
And as far as the attitude...If you have any questions about friendly people - talk to Michelle or Jeremy - They will welcome you with open arms...
The Rivalry continues... Nice Gym if you live in Ahwatukee and Mike was always the best - but I dont like climbing in the gym...If I wanted to hear kids spew about being 5.12 climbers maybe - but I prefer being outside all year long ...hence me living in AZ and not CO

Happy New Year everyone! Climb Safe!

I find it amusing that this is a Climbmax thread, but all of you guys are talking about the Phoenix Rock Gym. Hmmmm not too much to say about Climbmax so you attack the other gyms to make Climbmax pretty. Let's first keep in mind that I worked at both Climbmax (old one) and the Phoenix Rock Gym. The old Climbmax fell to pieces since it's dedicated customer base always looked for a free ride. "Let's climb there because I can get in for free." Yes so many people got in free that it put Climbmax out of business. Mike Covington has such a huge heart, he didn't know how to charge his friends for money to climb, so his friends took full advantage of him. Besides that the old Climbmax turned into a complete dump from the customers leaving their trash all over the place. We vacuumed every day, cleaned handfulls of trash out of the couches and picked up dozens of Gatorade bottles which were thrown on the carpet and left behind buy the customers EVERY DAY!

Paul Diefenderfer who owns the Phoenix Rock Gym has a huge heart as well. He has done everything for this climbing community that he can, but yet you attack his business. The stairway trail up Camelback Mtn he built almost singlehandedly. He spent many years to rescue Pinnacle Peak from the land developers and turned it into a City CLIMBING Park, he created the Friends of Queen Creek which saved the entire Road Area (pond, atlantis) from being closed from the mine many years ago. He is still fighting to save the entire Queen Creek area from the future mine with the Queen Creek Colliation. All of this he does on his own time and has not received any pennies for efforts. Climbmax is a beautiful gym but what do they do for the community? It is just another business.

Most people come to the Phoenix Rock Gym because it is comfortable, stress free, and does not have a bunch of teenage climbers that want to show off to the crowd. The route ratings are well regulated where any kid-to-tall adult will experience the same rating while climbing. The cost is only $11 bucks per visit and there is a ton of stuff to climb. The upstairs bouldering area (even though it is limited) is listed as the best bouldering area in the state of Arizona. This is not a comment from the staff, but from climbers who are traveling in the Open Divisions climbing against the Chris Sharmas' and Lisa Rands'. Maybe these super pros make these comments due to the course setting at the PRG as well. The annual Thrash and Dangle competition at the PRG is listed as the top 10 climbing competitions in the USA The last one had 98 different sponsors and 120 competitors and it only cost $25 bucks to enter.

If Climbmax was pulling in 180-300 climbers per night, their establishment would have a little more dust as well. Most climbers go to Climbmax because it is close to their house, or because it is not as crowded as the Phoenix Rock Gym gets. I bet that the majority of the trash talk on this thread is coming from the climbers that are climbing for free at Climbmax. Once again you will see this beautiful Climbmax go By-By not due to the dust, but due to their customers who once again are looking for this free ride. At that point the PRG will be all you will have.

I encourage you climbers to keep up your trash talk about the Phoenix Rock Gym because this is a Climbmax thread. Thanks for the free advertisement! Some day I hope these trash talkers will realize that climbing is fun for all no matter what it is. The more you say that something sucks, the more you will see the out of business signs, or a sign saying "No Climbing." I encourage all climbers to enjoy climbing and promote the businesses and outdoor areas as much as you can. The more trash talk you give the sport, the more limited the sport becomes!

Rock on! Marty