Rocked out: The River Rock climbing gym is open for adventure

Roanoke developer Ed Walker is known for projects that transform old warehouses into trendy livings spaces.

When the latest project opened this week in Roanoke, the interior had a different feel.

Instead of condos or apartments, the interior of a large section of a former ice plant on the banks of the Roanoke River is filled with large, stonelike walls dotted with thousands of colorful climbing handholds and footholds.

When The River Rock climbing gym officially opened Wednesday morning, Emily Hairfield was one of the first two customers.

Hairfield had already been at the gym during an open house, so she knew what to expect.

“I think the space is really well used,” said Hairfield, a 25-year-old Virginia Tech graduate student who lives in Blacksburg.

The gym is part of a unique complex that includes the River House apartments and the Wasena City Tap Room.

The decision to put a gym into the space was confirmed last year after hundreds of people pledged to support the project after a social media-based campaign.

Brent Cochran, the gym’s general manager, said construction delays led to a later opening than was hoped for.

“We’re dealing with an old building,” Cochran said Wednesday morning as he labeled files for business-related paperwork.

The River Rock held two low-key open houses last week, allowing climbers to come in and use the facilities without charge.

The primary goal of the open houses was to get the staff used to working with customers.

“They were great training rounds,” Cochran said. “We learned a lot of things.”

About 300 people attended the open houses, he said.

The gym offers two types of climbing.

Half of the gym features walls up to 39 feet tall for rope-protected climbing.

The other half is for bouldering, during which climbers ascend shorter routes without any type of roped protection.

Both sides have routes suitable for all levels of climbers, from novices to experts.

The floor in the bouldering area is covered by thick padding, while the floor beneath the bigger walls is firmer, though still bouncy.

Both floors are blue.

“Any time you’re on blue, you’re in a drop zone,” employee Emily Drinkwater warned a group of aspiring climbers during a tour during the Saturday open house.

Drinkwater, 17, started climbing as a youngster.

“When my dad found out about this place he said, ‘You have to apply there,’ ” Drinkwater said.

The gym will employ four full-time employees and about a dozen part-timers, Cochran said.

A number of access options are available.

Memberships are available for individuals and families, on both monthly and annual plans. In addition to allowing anytime access to the gym, membership benefits include free access to classes.

Punch cards for a certain number of visits are another option, and the gym also offers daily entrance fees.

An adult day pass is $15. Memberships are $65 a month, with discounts for those who pay a year in advance or by monthly bankdraft. Discounts are also offered for youth 17 and under, students, military and public safety employees.

Climbing shoes, harnesses and chalk bags are available for rent.

The gym offers a learn-to-climb course for first-timers for $10, with rental gear included in the price.

Hairfield didn’t need that course.

An avid climber for about six years, she geared up quickly Wednesday morning and hit the bouldering area first.

Hairfield seemed to effortlessly glide up moderately difficult routes, her shoulder muscles tensing as she reached higher and higher.

“I prefer to climb outside, obviously,” said Hairfield, who purchased a monthlong membership. “But so far I think it’s really great.”

Routes on the boulder walls are marked by colored tape, and the routes’ footholds and handholds are color matched.

Routes are marked with the initials of the person who set the route, and also carry a difficulty rating, which starts at VB — for beginner.

The most difficult bouldering routes require a climber to hang nearly parallel to the ground on overhanging walls.

Roped routes are also rated and color-coded.

Professional route setters with Rock Werx, the contractor who built the climbing area, designed many of the routes, but many were designed by River Rock employees.

Sadie Giles said she likes to lay out likely holds in a pattern on the ground before starting.

“Then I get excited and start screwing them in,” said Giles, a Hollins University student.

The larger walls are all top rope protected, meaning the rope runs from the belayer to a pulley at the top of the route and then down to the climber.

The walls feature a number of auto belayers, self-contained units that function on friction, similar to systems used in auto seat belts.

When a climber falls, the brake engages and halts the fall.

Falls are part of the sport as climbers challenge themselves.

After pitching off a tough boulder route and landing on her feet, Hairfield smiled.

“That’s really hard,” she said.

Then she dusted her hands with chalk, got back on the wall and tried again.

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