Cycling and Outdoor Gear

Price: $219.95

Regular Price: $280.00
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Price: $268.44

Tags: climbing, cycling, Mt. Everest, swimming
Posted in Bike, Climb, running | 1 Comment »

Too Young to Push the Limits?

July 8th, 2010

Fifty hikes. Fifty states. Fifty days. That’s the plan for a dad and son from Honolulu, Hawaii. Mike Lindley and his son Jackson started their challenge this week with a trail on Maui. After that, they’ll fly to Anchorage, Ala., and begin their quest around the country. (They’ll tackle their Colorado trail – Mount Cutler in Cheyenne Canyon – in August.)

Jackson Lindley is 11, and his family says he is an experienced hiker. Still, his involvement might stir up the same criticism as two other teenagers did recently.

In late June, 16-year-old Abby Sunderland was rescued at sea while she was trying to circumnavigate the globe alone in her sailboat. She traveled more than 12,000 nautical miles, but in the southern Indian Ocean, her boat was rolled by high waves and winds.

On May 23, Jordan Romero, a 13-year-0ld from California, became the youngest climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In each case, the teens’ parents were criticized for allowing – even encouraging – their children to take risks. These young adventurers are all experienced and well-equipped.

But are they too young to set out on journeys like this? The government of China has announced it will set new age limits on mountaineers climbing in Tibet. Do you think a rating system is necessary? Can a climber or sailor or thru-hiker be allowed to push the limits in the outdoors even they can’t get into an R-rated movie back home?

– Deb Acord

Price: $219.95

Regular Price: $280.00
$209.95 on sale

Price: $268.44

Tags: hiking
Posted in Climb, Hike | No Comments »

Goodbye, Pinnacle

June 11th, 2010

Several years ago, it was unusual for my family to go shopping at REI without all of us coming home with something new. But the small climbing wall at the REI store at 1376 E. Woodmen Road called the Pinnacle changed all that.

Our daughter loved that wall, which was her introduction to rock climbing and she would choose to wait in line for a turn at the wall over any purchase.

Since then, the Pinnacle has served as a safe, free intro to climbing to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of young (and not so young) climbers. Now, it’s being torn down as REI remodels.

Say goodbye to the Pinnacle with a final climb from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call REI at 719-260-1455.

– Deb Acord

Tags: REI, rock climbing
Posted in Climb | 2 Comments »

Free Indoor Climbing This Weekend

March 11th, 2010

City Rock is having their Grand Opening this weekend and climbing will be free Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. They will provide a harness and will have people available to belay if you aren’t with someone who knows how to belay. If you don’t know what belaying is, don’t worry but it involves keeping you safe. You can climb in your sneakers but if you want to try out the rock climbing shoes, rental is $5.

The main wall at City Rock has been open for a couple months already but until recently the bouldering wall wasn’t finished. I saw it when they first opened but haven’t seen it since everything has been finished.

In addition to free climbing, they have membership specials this weekend. The initiation fee for monthly memberships will be waived and there’s also special pricing on annual memberships. See their rate page for more details.

With free climbing, it could be busy so you may need to be patient especially if you don’t have someone to belay. City Rock is at 21 N. Nevada, which is right across from the downtown city bus station.

More Goodies

Mountain Chalet will be giving away coupons for 20% off any one item which must be used this weekend. They will have other giveaways and put anyone who joins their mailing list in a raffle for gift cards ($100, $75, and $50).

ClimbAxe will be present and will give T-shirts away to the first few folks that sign up for memberships that weekend.

Friends of Red Rock Canyon and Friends of Garden of the Gods will be registering climbers for free outdoor climbing permits.

For a minimum of a $5 donation, you can “Buy a Piece of the (City)Rock” and go behind our wall to sign your name by a t-nut. Donations will go to local climbing-related non-profits.

– UltraRob

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Price: $219.95

Regular Price: $280.00
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Tags: City Rock, Colorado Springs, deals, rock climbing
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City Rock Climbing Gym Opening in Downtown Colorado Springs

December 24th, 2009

Update 3/12/10: Free climbing at City Rock this weekend (March 13th and 14th) for their Grand Opening.

I got into rock climbing when I was in college. I was one of the first couple dozen climbers to sign up before the Sport Climbing Center was officially opened. I quit climbing because it was taking away time from training on the bike. I also bulk up easily and the extra weight was hurting my mountain bike racing.

I may not be climbing any more but I’ve been following the progress of a new rock climbing gym in downtown Colorado Springs, City Rock. I got a sneak peak of it a couple weeks ago.

It will be opening this Saturday, December 26th, and will be open from 10 AM to 8 PM. The bouldering wall isn’t built and not all of the main wall is completed. Their goal is to have everything completed by the beginning of February.

They are having membership specials just on Saturday. See their website for the specials. The membership also includes their Monument location.

The City Rock membership costs more than the Sport Climbing Center. City Rock does have a much higher wall that is 45 feet high and they’ll also have a crack climb. I don’t know if Sport Climbing Center has added one.

In addition to the climbing, there is also a CrossFit center (SoCo CrossFit has moved to a different location) with coaching and group workouts. It is a separate membership but they’ll have a discount for those that want to do both. Group workouts are free through the end of the year. See their website for schedule. LifeQuest Transitions is also in the building.

Yesterday I chatted with the owners, Lara and Joe. They were very friendly and showed me around. Lara said they want to have a cafe area something like Kinfolks at the front where people can hang out and meet for outdoor adventures.

You can see more City Rock Climbing Gym photos on SmugMug.

– UltraRob

Price: $219.95

Regular Price: $280.00
$209.95 on sale