Bouldering Gym in Saint George?

I am looking at different markets to start a bouldering gym. What are your thoughts on the possiblity of a gym in St. George? Great idea? Terrible idea? It appears that there are currently no indoor climbing options in the area; can anyone confirm this? Also, does anyone know why the Spot bouldering gym closed down several years back? 

confirmed.  There are no gyms in the area.  Not sure why the spot closed down..   The one thing I will say though is that there is VERY easy access to plenty of sport, trad, and bouldering to where your gym will be full of newbs which would change the local scene a lot.  You can drive 5 minutes, and then hike 2 minutes and be at the base of a splitter 11- crack or a highball V3 which begs the question: (besides rain) why would you even want a gym?  Just my personal opinion of course - I've never liked pulling on plastic, but those are my two cents. 

Actually, there are huge limestone caves, so nevermind about the rain. 

I have looked into it as well, and if you had a separate area specifically for birthday parties and kids stuff, with the propensity for young Mormon families in the area, it could probably do quite well.  Plus having easy access to  outside climbing does not hurt gym attendance....look at Boulder CO for reference.

Mike Womack wrote:

confirmed.  There are no gyms in the area.  Not sure why the spot closed down..   The one thing I will say though is that there is VERY easy access to plenty of sport, trad, and bouldering to where your gym will be full of newbs which would change the local scene a lot.  You can drive 5 minutes, and then hike 2 minutes and be at the base of a splitter 11- crack or a highball V3 which begs the question: (besides rain) why would you even want a gym?  Just my personal opinion of course - I've never liked pulling on plastic, but those are my two cents. 

As a St. George resident, there are plenty more reasons I would want a gym.  First off, your 5min/2min numbers are bit optimistic.  Most crags are 15-20 min drive from my house, and since I don't crush 5.12 (or even 5.11) many of those that close only have a handful of routes that I can climb so need to go further for variety.  So getting a reasonable amount of climbing in requires a multi-hour commitment.  When I lived in a town with a gym I could get in, knock out 5-10 new-to-me routes, and shower all within 1.5 hours; meaning I could do it in the morning before work without having to wake up at 4am. And speaking of getting up at 4am, many months are way too hot to climb past sunrise so you have to either wake up at 4am and/or chase shade which further cuts down your route options and thus time commitment. There's also my kids who struggle to get up a 5.6 so the choices of routes to take them on is extremely limited and its very difficult to take them on a quick 1 hour climbing trip after school, which is something that we did a lot when I lived near a gym.

Note that I'm not really complaining, I love the easy access to climbing here.  Just giving reasons why I would use a gym when there is such easy access.

And then there are all the reasons beyond that that people go run on a treadmill instead of on the street... paying a monthly membership helps motivate you to actually go in, convenience of showers/etc., the social scene, etc.

So while I have no idea if a climbing gym would make economic sense here, I'm at least one resident that would make use of it and probably get a membership for myself and maybe wife and kids.

There was one in the nineties.  

Eric Carlos wrote:

....look at Boulder CO for reference.

Sorry, but Boulder shouldn't be a reference for anywhere else.  People go to Whole Foods to hang out for god's sake.

Luke Bertelsen wrote:

Sorry, but Boulder shouldn't be a reference for anywhere else.  People go to Whole Foods to hang out for god's sake.

OK.... Flagstaff has 3 gyms, also with very close proximity to actual climbing.  

Jared Casper wrote:

Just giving reasons why I would use a gym when there is such easy access.

I hear you Jared!  I'm sure tons of people agree with you, just stating my personal opinion is all. 

These posts have been helpful. It seems like the proximity of crags elevates awareness in the area and creates a large group of people who are interested but still intimidated by outdoor climbing. Perhaps even for the most hardcoore climbers, the gym could still be a place for supplemental training and a hub for meeting other climbers.  

Gyms can be great community centers if operated correctly. Not everyone is into hanging out at Chuckwalla to meet new people. 

With any luck we will be open in Fall 2018. Be on the lookout for more info!

Chris Horton wrote: With any luck we will be open in Fall 2018. Be on the lookout for more info!

Be sure to stock lots of cold milk for the local teens. Those St. George kids sure love to hang out and drink milk.

with the close proximity to so much climbing, what about making a gym thats more focused on the training side? 

I'm not sure if Paragon Adventures owned it, or whether they were just located there, but it's worth a call to see if they have more info on why it closed. Also, it's possible that the folks that own The Spot gym in Boulder owned The Spot gym in St George.  Last resort do some digging at Desert Rat.

fossana wrote: I'm not sure if Paragon Adventures owned it, or whether they were just located there, but it's worth a call to see if they have more info on why it closed. Also, it's possible that the folks that own The Spot gym in Boulder owned The Spot gym in St George.  Last resort do some digging at Desert Rat.

Unrelated, but closed due to an injury so the person at Paragon told me.  

Soulless Ginger wrote: with the close proximity to so much climbing, what about making a gym thats more focused on the training side? 

That’s the idea! We’re in the beginning of the design phase. The space will have something for everyone but especially those looking to train or get a quick burn despite the weather and/or time constraints.

As you all have surely noticed, there are more and more access issues popping up in the area. We hope to be at the forefront of fighting for access and sustaining the climbing community.

More info to come as soon as I can release it. Hold tight...

Not that it matters. Dixie State University is currently building their new health and human performance building which when complete will have the tallest  indoor climbing wall in Utah (or so I have heard). Now I don't know if that means it will be small with 4-5 routes, but I know that is in the works. I also don't know if it will only be available to students and employees, or if there will be options for external entities to use it.

I think it is a great idea. There are days I would like to go climb but can't because by the time I get off it is just too hot outside.

We're in the loop on that, Eldo is building it and I'm sure they'll do a great job. It'll be good for the campus and students, but won't be everything SG needs.

I know we've been talking about a bouldering gym, which was the original plan but what's now in the works is a full-on climbing/fitness/yoga facility with everything you could ever hope for in a climbing gym. We hope to make an announcement after the CWA Summit. Be stoked, be very stoked.

Getting ready to move west to Hurricane.  I was considering building a gym in St.George.  If not me, (early bird gets the worm), than I am very happy for you and your venture.  Best of luck and I will be glad to be a member.

I have had an outdoor adventure business here in the east and building gyms and Ropes Courses was what I did.  I am now retired and will be looking into finding work when I head west this fall.
Maybe by then you guys will be up and running.  Best of luck!

With as hot as it gets in Saint George for the summer months, a gym would be greatly appreciated.