The Climbing Wall Association's blog is a place for indoor climbing professionals to find useful and relevant information from industry and business experts. Stay on top of best practices, thought leadership, and trends by subscribing to our newsletter!
The CWA's Industry Survey, which will be transformed into an interactive report of the indoor climbing industry, is taking submissions currently. We sat down with CWA Executive Director Paula Horwitz to go through the benefits and changes the survey's newest year will have in store for both... Continue Reading
Routesetting is the product that ultimately pays most of the bills in the indoor climbing industry. Regardless of your title or role, it almost all comes back to how Johnny Boulder and Jane Team Kid grab those grips. Boulders or rope. Competition style vs. replicating outdoor boulders. Each time... Continue Reading
Thinking about building an indoor climbing gym or expanding your business to another location? Have you gotten to the most important step - the ask, and had looks of puzzlement, distrust, or complete disbelief? You’re not alone. Pitching an indoor climbing gym to stakeholders can be one... Continue Reading
As we learned from the CWA Summit, more routesetters are transitioning roles and switching companies than ever before. Whether it be for higher pay, better benefits, or to be closer to outdoor climbing, routesetters have limitless options to move considering we’re currently seeing gyms pop... Continue Reading
Training youth climbing program staff can be a challenge. Staff with varying levels of experience, high turnover, and lack of time are common obstacles to creating and implementing high-quality staff training. Quality staff training is an important element in creating high-quality youth programs... Continue Reading
The past three years have presented a litany of big-picture, global circumstances that conspired into a perfect storm of challenges affecting the indoor climbing industry. Chief among them: staff shortages. Not to mention, of course, the global pandemic, growing anti-work sentiment, Cold... Continue Reading
You need any help finding anything? No, I’m just looking. This may be the most common first interaction between a retail employee and a customer. The employee is trying to help while the shopper is usually just getting their bearings and figuring out what they want. There’s no harm... Continue Reading
Recently, I had the exciting opportunity to attend the 2022 CWA Summit for the first time in Salt Lake City. Compared to the schedules from 2018 and 2019, it was inspiring to see so many routesetting sessions that were focused on the professionalization of our facet of the indoor climbing... Continue Reading
Let’s be honest, we have all envisioned ourselves riding off into the sunset. Modern-day cowboys (see: dirtbags) in a kitted-out Sprinter van instead of a horse with no name. The flip side is that in the indoor climbing industry, we often see our best employees making that a reality,... Continue Reading
The lights dimmed, the music flared, and a silver mohawk walked out on stage. Paula Horwitz pumped her fist to the music and the crowd was stoked. As I looked across the hall, I knew I was with my people. Before she introduced our keynote speaker, Kevin Jorgeson, Paula shared a heartfelt story... Continue Reading
There are three “angles” to look at great wall design, according to The Pad Climbing team. Setting, climbability, and aesthetics. Typically when we design walls, it starts with taking the space and visualizing the best use based on the flow of climbers, then designing the... Continue Reading
There are many reasons we work at climbing gyms, and no matter where you are on the career ladder, there are several skills and abilities we can develop to enhance our lives and strengthen our resumes.As we explore some of these areas of growth, we discover their interconnectedness and how they... Continue Reading
