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Now that the dust has settled and I gathered my thoughts about my experience at the Summit in boulder, I must say that I had a great experience, except for the morning after I fried my noggin on too much Petron.  Nate Postma is to blame for that episode.  Don’t ever trust him when he is responsible for ordering drinks.  That aside, I was very impressed with the number and quality of attendees at the conference.  It was also great to see sponsors such as Nicros, Enterprises, Brewer’s Ledge. Walltopia, SoIll, Asana and other exhibitors show their goods at the show. (Sorry about not listing everyone) I know that a lot of these manufacturers show up at the OR show in SLC.  I asked a few how they felt about exhibiting at the Summit.  Some of the responses were interesting.  They felt that they got more results from this small trade association conference than out of the OR show.  That sparked an idea.  Maybe the future of the Summit involves more of a trade show element.  This is a great place for wall operators to look at the goods.  It is a direct hit for the manufacturers.  I’ll pass this by Bill after he gets some R & R.

I had a meeting with my two managers that also attended the Summit.  I asked them to summarize what they brought home form the conference and how they could apply what they learned to the business.  I was surprised at all the good info that spilled out on to the table.  After being in the business for over 20 years it is nice to know that there is place to go for fresh ideas.  Mingling with new people in the business is very valuable.  For me, that is the best bang for the buck – hanging out with new people in the industry that come from all parts of the country. 

The other thing I liked was just hanging out in Boulder, or should I say the Peoples Republic of Boulder.  The place is whacked out on the PC stuff, but what a great place for climbing and food.

Can’t wait till the next Summit.  See you there.

Rich Johnston

Last year was the first try at the CWA Summit in Boulder, CO.  Bill Zimmerman came up with the idea in mid 2006 and met a bit of resistance from the CWA Board.  The CWA had never been involved in an event like that and there were questions as to whether it fit within the plan.  Bill finally broke down the resistance and pushed the event forward.  It was a feeling of jumping off the cliff, not knowing if any body had any interest, or if any one would show up.  A lot was at stake.  Well, not only did we get a good turn out of attendees from all over the country, but it came down as a hit. 

I have been in the business for over twenty years and I have never been around so many industry people who had so many good new ideas, and who were willing to share their business experience with those that were new to the game.  I personally got a lot out of the workshops and just hanging with other wall operators, listening to their stories and learning form their experiences.  Of course the nightlife helped spur things along also.  It is so easy for me to get tunnel vision when I get wrapped up in my own little world taking care of my issues every day.  It was refreshing to mingle with people in my industry. 

The OR show has traditionally been the only place for out-door industry folks to gather, but I always felt it came up short for the climbing wall industry.  It is such a hectic atmosphere and everyone is focused on getting their appointments made, and getting out of town to get the trade show air and hangovers out of their system.

I believe the Summit is one of the most important achievements by the CWA since its inception.  It is the only place where climbing wall operators can hang together, learn from each other and have a good time.  If an old haggard gym owner like myself can get a lot out of it, I am sure all others can walk away with a good experience.

See you at the Summit

Rich Johnston

We are very accustomed to a large variety of hand-holds, taped routes, and a forum for giving an opinion on the latest sandbag.  That world did not always exist, of course.  In  1987 when we were starting the first rock gym in the country there were no such things as hand-holds.  We had to use rocks brought in by our buddies that they picked up on their latest climbing trip.  Hand-holds didn’t come about until late ’88.  Metolius was the only source for holds at that time.  When we would get a new batch of rocks we would grab a batch of epoxy glue and slap them up on the brick walls or glue them into routered sections on the plywood walls.    

The scene back then was a climber standing around throwing gravel stones at the intended holds to be used on a route.  Once the holds were memorized then someone would try the route.  No one ever heard of taping a route.  That didn’t actually take hold until about ’92.  I remember trying to get the folks to try out the new way of marking routes.  That didn’t go over that well.  What a weird idea! Putting colored tape on the walls to designate a route? 

Fast forward 20 years later.  There’s a hand hold company in just about every hot shot climber’s garage and they are the best and latest shapes and better than any body else’s.  Go shopping for hand-holds at the Outdoor Retailer show in SLC sometime, or just Google climbing holds and check out the vast landscape of the latest and coolest holds available.  It will make your mind spin.  There is a significant industry of climbing wall builders and hand-hold manufacturers, and to think that we were gluing rocks on the walls back in ’87.  That is almost like going from the era of radio to introduction of television. 

One big consequence of this great evolution in the industry is the loss of the “classic route”.  These are the routes that would always be there since they could not be moved.  If you go to the U of W climbing rock you will always be able to try out classic routes that have been there for over 25 years.  You also see it at the cliffs, especially at Smith Rocks.  I remember some of my friends would always get in a run at Churning in the Wake.  It didn’t matter if they had done it 100 times.  They loved the route and enjoyed doing it.  That used to be the case in the gym back before hand-holds were introduced.  I wonder if we can bring back the “classic route” scene in a few sections of the gym? Let’s glue some rocks on the walls and see what happens. What do you think? 

Rich Johnston

Chairman, CWA 

Recently I asked a young climber at the gym, with their 20 pounds of loose chalk in a bucket, sitting on the landing mat looking at the 3 move V8, contemplating on a  strategy for reaching the extreme height of 12 feet, who was Warren Harding.  I just got a puzzled look, as if I just asked whom the 29^th President of the U.S. was.  Like a “who cares” look.  For years now I have been wondering how the new generation of climbers sees the history of this sport, or, if they even care.  It is odd for me to talk about the new generation, when I feel like the new generation.  The old generation of climbers who put up the first routes on El Capitan included the likes of Warrren Harding, Royal Robbins, Yvonne Chainard. If you look at the history of bouldering you must mention John Gill.  These people forged the way for the kid with his barrel of chalk in a bouldering room.  If you go to a Little League game and ask a kid who Babe Ruth is you will get a few stats.  If you go to a Pee Wee foot ball game and ask a kid who Joe Namath is, and you will get a knowledgeable answer.  You don’t get that in this sport.  Do I fault the young climbers?  Absolutely not.  I fault the people who grew this sport, including myself.  What has this industry done to inspire and teach the young climbers about the history and heritage of this great sport?  This sport is rich in history and great accomplishments.  We all should have some knowledge of the history and share that with our fellow climbers.  Ok, now I have committed myself to doing something about this.  I am actually interested and looking forward to this challenge.  I wouldn’t mind a little help from our community.  I want to hear from gym owners and wall operators on how we can cultivate the heritage of climbing.  Until the next blog - keep that harness tight.

 Rich Johnston

Chairman, CWA