Peninsula Pulldown at Vertical World Kitsap

First off, since I haven’t done an update on the issue in some time…

The Vertical World location in Kitsap is OPEN.

The gym is still on the market, but the owners have kept the gym open instead of closing their doors (which was the talked-about plan last year). The local community is growing, and with some staff changes the gym has become more like the place we all knew and loved when I first started climbing. The sense of community is back, we’ve got tons of new climbers just getting started, and the place has been hopping a lot of the time.

So – if you haven’t been in because you thought it closed, come visit! We’re open, and would love to have you.

Right now is a great time to come for a visit, Seattle-area climbers. Yesterday was our Peninsula Pulldown — a non-ABS, local comp. The gym crew worked their butts off, so the entire bouldering area is new, high quality routes. Alex, Tyler and Kelly even put up some new features on the vertical bouldering walls — a HUGE improvement, that we’re all super excited about. The routesetters did a truly amazing job this time around, putting up challenging, fun and inspiring problems at all levels.

When we have comps here in town, I sometimes climb, sometimes work. I climb in comps because…

well… it’s just so much fun. I’m not a very accomplished boulderer — I took a bad fall from the top of the bouldering wall maybe two years ago, and wound up with bone bruises in my ankle. That was a reality check for me about the importance of remaining injury-free, if I wanted to climb the way I want to climb. I took a long break from bouldering, and especially in the last year have gotten into much better shape. Now, I boulder a few times a month, but am still pretty chicken about dropping off, because I’m afraid to hurt myself.

Comps are gloves off, though. There’s just something about the vibe… about being surrounded by other amped climbers, with a panoply of freshly taped and bolted problems all spread out before me… I take risks, and commit, and try, harder than any other time. I even took drops from the last hold or 2nd to last hold on some problems, because I was so dialed in it was worth trying, even if it meant big falls. The sign of a really good bouldering problem is when *I’m* willing to fall off it, it’s that good!

I’m not competitive… I just get a chance to dial in my internal motivation, and have fun. I also tend to meet great folks at comps — In “normal” life, I climb with partners with a broad range of skills, but very few who climb right at my level. Most climb harder than I do. Comps are a fun way to meet other climbers who are working problems right at my grade, and yesterday was the jackpot for that.

Anyway – I’d strongly encourage you to turn out for the next Kitsap comp… the guys are talking about doing one this summer. And, in the meantime, come pay us a visit while the holds are all shiny and new. You won’t be disappointed.

Filed under: Climbing Photos, Comps, In the gym, VWSale

Peninsula Pulldown at Vertical World Kitsap

First off, since I haven’t done an update on the issue in some time…

The Vertical World location in Kitsap is OPEN.

The gym is still on the market, but the owners have kept the gym open instead of closing their doors (which was the talked-about plan last year). The local community is growing, and with some staff changes the gym has become more like the place we all knew and loved when I first started climbing. The sense of community is back, we’ve got tons of new climbers just getting started, and the place has been hopping a lot of the time.

So – if you haven’t been in because you thought it closed, come visit! We’re open, and would love to have you.

Right now is a great time to come for a visit, Seattle-area climbers. Yesterday was our Peninsula Pulldown — a non-ABS, local comp. The gym crew worked their butts off, so the entire bouldering area is new, high quality routes. Alex, Tyler and Kelly even put up some new features on the vertical bouldering walls — a HUGE improvement, that we’re all super excited about. The routesetters did a truly amazing job this time around, putting up challenging, fun and inspiring problems at all levels.

When we have comps here in town, I sometimes climb, sometimes work. I climb in comps because…

well… it’s just so much fun. I’m not a very accomplished boulderer — I took a bad fall from the top of the bouldering wall maybe two years ago, and wound up with bone bruises in my ankle. That was a reality check for me about the importance of remaining injury-free, if I wanted to climb the way I want to climb. I took a long break from bouldering, and especially in the last year have gotten into much better shape. Now, I boulder a few times a month, but am still pretty chicken about dropping off, because I’m afraid to hurt myself.

Comps are gloves off, though. There’s just something about the vibe… about being surrounded by other amped climbers, with a panoply of freshly taped and bolted problems all spread out before me… I take risks, and commit, and try, harder than any other time. I even took drops from the last hold or 2nd to last hold on some problems, because I was so dialed in it was worth trying, even if it meant big falls. The sign of a really good bouldering problem is when *I’m* willing to fall off it, it’s that good!

I’m not competitive… I just get a chance to dial in my internal motivation, and have fun. I also tend to meet great folks at comps — In “normal” life, I climb with partners with a broad range of skills, but very few who climb right at my level. Most climb harder than I do. Comps are a fun way to meet other climbers who are working problems right at my grade, and yesterday was the jackpot for that.

Anyway – I’d strongly encourage you to turn out for the next Kitsap comp… the guys are talking about doing one this summer. And, in the meantime, come pay us a visit while the holds are all shiny and new. You won’t be disappointed.

Filed under: Climbing Photos, Comps, In the gym, VWSale

By the way: Kitsap Vertical World is open.

I keep forgetting to mention that Kitsap Vertical World in Bremerton is indeed still open. Despite the owners several months ago telling the local paper that if they didn’t have a buyer they were closing the gym (not the best idea, either for the sale of the business or sales of memberships… for months, the staff had to answer call after call of “Hi! Are you still open? I read in the paper that the gym was closing.”), the gym has — due in part to the efforts and dedication of the staff — remained open and programming is scheduled through the summer. There are a bunch of friendly new faces among the membership, and despite the fact that summer is usually dead, the place has been hopping a lot of nights I’ve been there.

So, if you’re one of the many folks who haven’t tried indoor rock climbing, but who have always wanted to, and then heard that the local gym was closing or closed…

it’s not. Come ‘on in. We’re a friendly bunch, and we’d love to get you hooked.

Filed under: In the gym, VWSale

By the way: Kitsap Vertical World is open.

I keep forgetting to mention that Kitsap Vertical World in Bremerton is indeed still open. Despite the owners several months ago telling the local paper that if they didn’t have a buyer they were closing the gym (not the best idea, either for the sale of the business or sales of memberships… for months, the staff had to answer call after call of “Hi! Are you still open? I read in the paper that the gym was closing.”), the gym has — due in part to the efforts and dedication of the staff — remained open and programming is scheduled through the summer. There are a bunch of friendly new faces among the membership, and despite the fact that summer is usually dead, the place has been hopping a lot of nights I’ve been there.

So, if you’re one of the many folks who haven’t tried indoor rock climbing, but who have always wanted to, and then heard that the local gym was closing or closed…

it’s not. Come ‘on in. We’re a friendly bunch, and we’d love to get you hooked.

Filed under: In the gym, VWSale

In the gym

The weather crapped out, so my hopes of being outside today were thwarted. But, we headed into the climbing gym and actually had a good day despite being indoors. I’ve been climbing with a wide range of partners for the last few weeks, including some of the world’s most perfect belayers as well as new partners, and learning to trust my belayers and be less picky about the belay. I’ve also been trying to work a bit on my strength, and I’m already noticing a difference. I’m climbing hard (for me) and having a lot of fun…

I’m trying to lead as much as possible just in case, goodness forbid, the local climbing gym does ultimately close, in which case I’ll be able to keep my strength up with regular exercise and various friends home bouldering walls; but other than weekends outside I won’t get time to work on leading. On Friday, I did my hardest ever gym lead, and then went back on Sunday for more. I warmed up on lead and then enjoyed a few favorite lead climbs that I’d done before. Then, I got the idea to try a harder route that I did onsight on toprope — but at a grade that I’ve never lead before. I got really nervous right at the very beginning just because of the adrenaline, but worked my way up the climb as efficiently as possible. I didn’t worry about my belayer, I just focused on the climb. I breathed a lot, and enjoyed the climb all the way up to the last bolt. My fingers and hands were starting to tire, and I did ask my belayer to watch me, because I felt like I may come off making the last few moves up to the finish. The watch was unnecessary, and I didn’t come off — I upped my “hardest ever indoor lead level” twice in one week, and am very proud even trying. Mostly, I was proud of the feeling that I would rather take the risk with making the move than “cheat” or “take” or back off. I wasn’t actually afraid of falling, even when I thought there was a really good chance my hands were going to give out. I enjoyed the climbing, and my head was in the right place.

For someone who’s really struggled with lead climbing, that was one of the larger successes I’ve had in awhile.

Anyway, I’m just trying to get as much out of the gym as I can, and trying as hard as possible to get through this few weeks without getting outside (work, and a training I’m doing for work are interfering with my outdoor schedule). Bugger.

Filed under: In the gym, VWSale

Dashed hopes and shameless commercialism: bad weather and New England Glider, Metolius Porta-Cord, and Evolv Hera

This is yet another weekend of dashed hopes and pity party… the weather sucks. It has been … no kidding … snowing the last few days. I live in Western Washington. Snow! Nothing sticking around, just slush coming down, but it’s enough to thwart yet another weekend’s climbing plans. I was hoping to get out to Exit 32 (unlikely, I know)… with Vantage as a backup. Oh well. We did have a great day in the gym today, so there was some consolation. I decided on today to take practice lead falls, and emerged unscathed and thankful for climbing partners willing to risk bruises for my mental climbing training. The falls were funny… one and two weren’t that bad, although I do make quite a squeal on the way down. Three was by far the worst… I didn’t think I’d be able to let go. Four was fine, but even after four, I was still squealing on the way down. Chris’s comment was that at least he knows he’ll hear me if I’m falling.

In other news, the Central Kitsap Reporter covered the climbing gym asset sale in today’s paper. Most of the article was really good, although I take issue with the catchy lead:

Katie Perrone and her family began climbing at Vertical World six years ago.

Come the end of April, the Bremerton family will either have to give up rock climbing or find another indoor climbing gym.

If you make it past the first two sentences, you learn that come the end of April, the Bremerton family may have to find another climbing gym. There is a lot of room for optimism here… I’ve had a number of folks get in touch with me in the last two weeks about the potential for this gym. So, this particular piece of news doesn’t fall into the dashed hopes category.

In other news, everybody we know is off for spring break and outside somewhere. I guess there’s consolation in knowing that we’ll get to see pictures of other peoples’ trips after the fact. How sad. The upside is that I still have my fingers crossed for an outing next weekend, and then the following we’re headed to Smith for Girlcation 2008 (plus Chris). After that is, hopefully, Leavenworth. So, if the weather gods cooperate, I’ll get a chance to get caught up on outside in the next few weeks.

Revisiting the topic of REI Dividend season, we followed up today’s climbing day by a trip to the Mothership. After much debate and research, I picked the New England/Maxim Glider 10.2 Bi-Pattern dry rope as our second rope. I fell in love with the Sterling line during our last few trips with friends, but REI for some reason doesn’t carry Sterling. After researching all the options and deciding I didn’t want to mail order a rope sight-unseen, the New England looked like the best compromise. It’s a bit lighter than other 10.2s, and it has a nice feel/hand (at least, right out of the bag — haven’t yet climbed on it). It seems much thinner than our other 10.2, possibly due to New England’s “TPT Sheath design.” I don’t know yet how that will affect joining the rope with our old rope for two-rope rappels, but perhaps reading up on joining ropes will be my next little Mountaineering Bible reading project at bedtime.

Chris also made a good find… the Metolius Porta-Cord rope bag. After a few seasons of occasional climbs with a one-shoulder-strap rope bag as a summit pack, this will be a big treat. It’s basically a combo top-load duffel and rope bag, with a tarp attached, external pockets, and … two straps!

Since I’m apparently on the topic of gear, I may as well post my initial thoughts on the Evolv Hera climbing shoes that I recently received (thanks, UC). I was a bit nervous about them out of the box… they’re a size 8 womens, which is my typical shoe size; according to Evolv’s size chart they’re the right size; but they are quite a bit larger than my stand-by climbing shoes (Mad Rock Frenzy EZs mens size 5.5, Five Ten Anisazi womens size 8). I wasn’t sure they were going to work, because they are roomy compared to my usual snug-but-not-tight shoes. After three days in the gym in them, I have to say… I’m really impressed. They edge fantastically, they’re effective with toe-ins and heel hooks, and I don’t have to pry them off after every climb. I really haven’t thought about my feet or shoes while climbing in them, which is a good thing and is high praise. Yes, I climbed today with all the grace of a drunken clydesdale (thanks, Mr. Campbell, for my new climbing mantra) but that’s not the shoes’ fault. I’m going to keep putting them through their paces while my Frenzy Velcros are out for resoling and will post again with broken-in thoughts, but I’m actually glad to have these in my arsenal for the gym and for day three of a trip when my feet are swollen and I can’t stand the thought of smooshing them into my smaller shoes.

Enough about gear. Cheers to our friends headed to Denver and Indian Creek this week; cheers to our friends who are probably enjoying a chilly evening at Smith Rock as I type this right now; and cheers to the rest of you lucky enough to have a spring break to enjoy while the rest of us slave away at our day jobs so that we can hopefully make our quarterly tax payments on the 15th of April. See you out there once my bills are paid.

Filed under: Gear, In the gym, Shameless commercialism, VWSale

Kitsap Vertical World sale update: Can you help keep the Peninsula climbing?

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the Kitsap Vertical World sale, so wanted to give a quick update.

The assets of the climbing gym located just outside Bremerton city limits, in East Bremerton, is up for sale. The current owners are incredible guys… they’ve done a lot and sacrificed a lot for the local climbing community. That doesn’t change the fact that the gym is for sale, and no individual buyer has come forward, yet.

A group of members have been working toward a possible acquisition, as well as working to help increase the exposure for the sale, and have taken steps to try to attract a buyer and/or foster the interest of other potential buyers. The bottom line for us is, we want to keep this gym open in Kitsap. We are incredibly lucky to have this asset here, and we do not want to lose it.

Kitsap is a community to the West of Seattle; we’re out on the peninsula. Our gym members travel from all over the peninsula to participate; from Port Townsend and Sequim to Gig Harbor and everywhere in between. We are one of those “non-urban-area” gyms … facing “non-urban-area” challenges … with the added challenge that we don’t have any real rock within commuting distance. Our nearest climbing gym neighbor, Edgeworks, is in Tacoma; too far for most team families to travel to several times a week so that their kids can continue their training and participation in this activity.

It would be devastating to the peninsula climbing community to lose this climbing gym.

We’re working on getting some press in order to help spread the word and build support for our efforts and/or attract a buyer. We’re also still diligently working on our own efforts to try to put funding together for the purchase and operation of the gym — whether as some sort of for-profit or non-profit entity.

Our member group has identified possible strategies for closing the gap between revenue and expenses, and we have a lot of energy to devote to making this gym succeed. A number of families are willing to make a financial commitment in order to keep this gym here; but so far, we are short of what we need to make an offer to the current owners.

If you are interested in getting in touch with the group of members that is working on this project please contact me via email.

If you are interested in contacting the current owners to obtain more information about the sale, please email kitsapsale@verticalworld.com.

Thank you for your support and encouragement, and thanks to the members of Kitsap Vertical World… we’re a quirky bunch, but we’ve become family to each other, and I honestly don’t know what I would do without you all.

What can you do to help keep the Peninsula climbing? Email me.

Filed under: In the gym, VWSale

Kitsap Vertical World Concerned Citizens Meeting

Friends –

This is late notice, and I’m sorry to interrupt the opening-season revelry, but it’s time to get the word out.

Kitsap’s beloved Vertical World climbing gym, our home away from home on the Peninsula, is up for sale. Some of us members are trying to put together a plan to keep the gym operating in Kitsap.

On Wednesday, the 20th at 5pm, there will be a representative from the current ownership at the gym, available to meet with interested potential buyers. Hopefully, this meeting will be an opportunity for the current owners to share some information so that we concerned members can move forward with the steps necessary to plan how to keep the gym here.

Please join us at the Kitsap Vertical World location at 5pm on Wednesday, February 20th, if you’re interested in ponying up to help keep the peninsula pulling on plastic. If you’d like to help, but can’t attend, please drop me an email and I’ll keep you posted on the progress of the sale and on what you can do to help.

Also, if you’re serious about helping out, please join the Kitsap Climbers google group. Visit http://groups.google.com/group/kitsapclimbers and join the list, to participate in discussion among the current members and concerned citizens.

Another edit — apparently, VW’s plan is that this not be an “open” meeting, and that the participants be limited to folks who are interested in being involved in a potential purchase participate. So… we’ll honor that, and I’ve changed the post above to reflect this change in scope. Check back here for updates as they become available.

rock climbing where?

Filed under: In the gym, VWSale