Member Spotlight: Momentum Indoor Climbing

Young in my career at the Climbing Wall Association, I traveled to Salt Lake City for the IFSC World Cup Championships and to visit the venue for the 2022 CWA Summit. On that adventure, I visited many local gyms to gather stock photography for some of the many CWA articles we run. It was on this mission that I first was introduced to, and quickly was impressed by Momentum Indoor Climbing.

The concept of Momentum was founded by Jeff Pedersen and Kevin Bradburn in 2004. Like many who open gyms, the idea came while climbing. They were about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City in Santaquin Canyon. Two years later, their idea had transformed into a building: Momentum Sandy.

Momentum Sandy was the first gym I visited in Utah, during that trip. Fast forward 19 years, and Momentum has opened four facilities in Utah, two in Texas with a third on the way, and another one in Washington State. Their newest location, Momentum Fort Union, showcases one of the truly incredible things about this company: their routesetting takes the front seat in nearly all discussions.

“We build very thoughtful facilities,” says Eliza Keegan, their new CEO. “We’re definitely trying to bottle up what makes Momentum so special.”

The “core product” for Momentum is their routesetting. Investing in routesetting leads to a high-quality experience, they say. “That goes hand in hand with the design of our facilities.”  They spend a lot of time thinking about and being intentional with their wall angles, trying to create thoughtful spaces that lead to high-end amenities.

This is truly on display at the Fort Union location. At 47,000 square feet, the entire gym, every single T-nut, has an LED in it. This means harmonized LEDs, and that the entire gym can be turned into a spray wall.

Fort Union is also the location of the official CWA Summit After Party: the Walltopia Rattlesnake Rodeo.

Get Tickets to the 2025 CWA Summit Here

As a company, they aren’t afraid to take risks to imagine a new experience for the climbing community they’re rooted in. They are currently in the throes of launching their ‘every micro gym concept’. In essence, these are small footprint purposely-built training facilities. They’re opening their first one this year, with many more planned.

“These small footprint training-focused facilities will provide a new experience to urban neighborhoods."

Bringing Adaptive Climbing to the Community

“We are not so unique that, two years ago, we had no idea where to begin when building an adaptive program,” Eliza tells me. 

Adaptive climbing has many, many avenues and ways to get started. Momentum’s start in the long, meaningful journey can be a guide.

Momentum Fort Union will be the host of the official 2025 CWA Summit After Party, the Rattlesnake Rodeo..

A passionate group of managers put their heads together and formed a committee to make their facilities more accessible. Their extremely intentional first step: accessibility audits. These audits assessed each facility, its equipment, and resources, and resulted in standardized checklists that were then vetted by external community partners. From there, Momentum invested in the necessary equipment and employee training to begin hosting regular adaptive meetups.  

Today, Momentum hosts adaptive climbing and yoga meetups, free for members,  at all of their Utah locations.

The 2025 IFSC Paraclimbing World Cup season opener will be hosted at their newest location, Momentum Fort Union.

“We don’t like to just throw events, we like to throw parties,” says Eliza.

The 2025 CWA Summit official after party, The Walltopia Rattlesnake Rodeo, will be held at their brand-new location: Momentum Fort Union.

The party will be western-themed, open to all CWA Summit attendees. DJ, prizes, a raffle, a speed tattoo artist, and – you didn’t guess it – a mechanical bull. The After Party will take place Thursday, from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm with transportation provided by the CWA.

In terms of the CWA Summit, Momentum sends almost all, if not all, of its managers. They view it as investing in their staff, allowing them to participate in industry conversations.

In 2025, Momentum will be sending 30 employees to the CWA Summit. Their involvement in the CWA Summit reaches into multiple corners, as many will be presenters and have served on committees shaping the event.

When asked what she sees Momentum get out of their membership with the CWA, it’s access to knowledgeable individuals in the indoor climbing industry. Not to mention the CWA Summit.

“My experience working with and going to the CWA Summit has given me huge resources I can tap into whenever I need it.”