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trad_man
May 23, 2003, 9:37 PM
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Registered: Feb 21, 2003
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hey hey, i need some help making some routes for a indoor climbing gym. i had a call from this local christian camp called "hill top" and they said they knew that i climb and wanted to know if i could help them make a wall. they have everything for the wall and stuff and it is 16 feet wide and 23 feet high. my problem is how do you set a route. there will be 3 routes on the wall and they are going to need to be easy ( its all pretty big holds considering that the kids that are going to be climbing on it wont have any shoes) i just need to know how do you set a route, what needs to be done. they need this wall to be done in a week in a half so that should be enough time to set 3 routes.... right...?!
any help would be greatly appreciated
ps. ill get the pics to ya guys as soon as its done :lol:
climb on
climb hard
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jkarns
May 23, 2003, 10:02 PM
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I don't get it... Do you physically have to build the wall, or are you just setting three routes on an already-constructed wall? If you need to build the wall, it helps to have more carpenter experience than climbing. If you're just setting three beginner routes that kids who have never climbed before will attempt in their sneakers, then just grab all the jugs that you have and put them up in a line, voila, one beginner route complete.
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trad_man
May 23, 2003, 10:51 PM
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well i said it wrong there is gonna be 3 esay one but 1 i want omething like a 5.7 - 5.9 b/c some people will want to try b/c ill have my shoes
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taraus_de_bull
May 23, 2003, 10:57 PM
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Registered: May 1, 2003
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are you just setting the routes or building the entire wall?? if you building the enitire wall, one week is afast deadline, but very do-able.
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olympicmtnboy
May 23, 2003, 11:02 PM
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I used to work at a camp in So Cal. where we had some natural rock routes for the kids out in the desert. I primarily worked with 5th and 6th graders, but we had kids as young as 3rd grade once in a while. We had three routes that we would toprope them on.
We didn't really set routes for them, it being real rock, but my suggestion is to have a couple different difficulty levels. Have a really easy route with big jugs everywhere for the timid kids, but have at least one that is 5.7 or so. As long as the holds aren't really far apart, you'd be amazed at what a little kid can climb (higher strength to weight ratio than adults). Also hold that might only be a couple fingertips for an adult, and be a jug for a little kid. So have at least one route to keep the kids interested if they aren't freaked out by the height. I had a couple of kids fly right up an overhanging start variation that I couldn't even do on one of our routes (and I'm not THAT bad).
Have fun with it. :-)
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tucsonalex
May 23, 2003, 11:45 PM
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All of the above advice is good, and I would suggest getting the falcon guide to building your own climbing wall. I has lots of advice for building a wall as well as some route setting tips. It should only run like 5 bucks at your local gear shop.
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trad_man
May 23, 2003, 11:49 PM
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Registered: Feb 21, 2003
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ok thnx for the info but the wall is already set up ei, the ply wood is ready to be drilled and holds are ready to go in. also i was wondering sicne im am afterall making this wall im gonna ask the guy if a can play around and put up a little sport route. but the problem comes to when i fall the plywood wouls bust out from the quikdraw qouldnt it . so how would i connect the "bolts" to the wall to spread out the force if a fall should happen. but yea thx again for all the help
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superbum
May 24, 2003, 12:09 AM
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Registered: Sep 19, 2002
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I am currently the Ropes-course Director for a summer camp in Idaho. in addition to the normal ropes-course elements, we have a climbing wall. It is maybe 20ft high, 9ft wide and completly vertical...no overhangs or slab. We have 57 holds and, using all of them, I have created three routes. Now, kids w/ no climbing experiance won't see three diff routes...they will see the bottom and the top and the holds. They are going to use everything they can to get to the top. Our wall is kinda skinny, so you can imagine how many options the kids have. Actually, the two routes on the outsides are for the kids, and the one in the middle is super hard and my own testpiece. I deffinately expect the kids to go off route and grab whatever they can to get up. keep that in mind...if you want them to use specific holds, make sure your routes are spread out! Or, you can always go gym style and bring colored tape...but be advised the kids might not follow it.
Are you actually going to work there and belay, or are you just the route setter? I would talk to the people hired to belay and work the gym all summer and get their input as well, especially as to taped routes.
Remember...if the holds are too big, you can always turn them upside-down!
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trad_man
May 24, 2003, 12:25 AM
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Registered: Feb 21, 2003
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yea im just the route setter... im hopefully gonna be outside at the crags this summer now that schools out!!! and the belayers have never climbed at all weither BUT... they are gettin a professional class that will be like 4 hours long and seein as you cant have too much practive i asked the guy since im setting his routes if i can join the class free so thats kinda cool. ye athats what i kinda want after a while after te routes have been up and climbed make a route i could climb thats a nice workout for me when i cant get outside.
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xanx
May 24, 2003, 2:50 AM
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Registered: Aug 6, 2002
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umm, it sounds like the wall isn't fully constructed yet? i.e. you drilled holes in the plywood, pounded T-nuts in the back, and screwed the boards to the frame? if you put the T-nuts in correctly, there will be no problem leading on it, just grap a hanger, a bolt, a T-wrentch, and a draw and put it up. just don't overtighten it and be carefull when you first put holds in - you have to set the threads the first time you use the wall, some people just put a bolt in and take it out w/out a hold to make sure the T-nuts are straight.
kid routes? jug haul. left, right, left, right...
have fun! set a nice dyno or something for yourself... make yourself look strong so u can show off... hehe....
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taraus_de_bull
May 24, 2003, 3:10 AM
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Xanx, you say if the t-nut is in properly they can take a sport fall. I work for a university gym and it was built by nicros, and they set special bolts on a section of cement wall for us and the wood sections they said do not put bolts up or it will rip through the plywood. Plywood can not take many falls. We've never tested nicros advice but we don't plan on puting bolts up on the wood section just in case they are correct.
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cadaverchris
May 24, 2003, 3:23 AM
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Registered: Feb 12, 2003
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DO NOT trust your life to a t-nut and 3/4 inch ply-
THAT IS ABSURD!!!!
I have been a climbing wall manager for 3 years- and i have seen t-nuts break, and even climbers pull the hold right off the wall- ripping the t-nut through the plywood!!!!
ask the camp who built their wall for them, and find out from the builder how they install lead anchors. You'll have to do this because of the camps liability issues. The wall has to stay as the builders made it, or approve it, otherwise the camp takes all the liability.
Climb safe
-chris
ps- all the advise above for setting routes for kids is wondeful
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