COLORADO SPRINGS — In our exclusive new series Adventures with Alan, we'll travel across Southern Colorado week-by-week to show you everything from hidden gems to well known spots.
This week, we visit CityROCK, one of Southern Colorado's best indoor rock climbing gyms.
CityROCK can be found in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs. It's a massive and sprawling facility that has so much to offer for rock climbing enthusiasts.
Indoor rock climbing
Entering the gym, you'll be amazed at the massive 43 foot climbing walls. This is where our adventures begin, and I cannot wait to get started.
After a short orientation video and some instructions from the staff, I'm off on my first route. That's what they call a course in rock climbing.
I haven't been rock climbing in years, but after a few warm-up runs, I reach the top and get a taste of sweet success.
With my adrenaline now pumping, I move onto a more challenging route where the wall is angled out towards me as I ascend.
This one requires much more leg and forearm strength and I make it a little past the halfway point before stopping to belay back down to the padded ground below.
Now that I've "conquered" rock climbing, it's time to take on bouldering.
From rock climbing to bouldering
Boulding is a form of climbing that's done without the use of ropes and harnesses.
The walls in this section of the gym are 14 feet high, and the ground below is padded and soft.
Bouldering courses are called problems, and range in difficulty from V0 to V12.
Tired from rock climbing, I start out on the basic V0 problems first, and do quite well here.
As I move on to more challenging V1 and V2 paths, I figure out why they're called problems. The higher the number, the more difficult the spacing of the climbing holds.
That's not all this gym has to offer though.
With a day pass or membership, there's everything from yoga to weights to cardio equipment to an indoor cave, which is closed on our visit due to the pandemic.
There's even The Ute & Yeti, an on-site restaurant that offers healthy food and craft beers. A perfect way to end your visit after a tough afternoon or evening of climbing.
All of the staff at CityROCK are super friendly and helpful.
CityROCK co-owner Joe Grosjean tells us that his rock climbing gym will only get busier in the months ahead.
"With the outside temperatures getting colder or wetter, then people want to come indoors to work out so we get about twice as busy in the winter," said Grosjean.
During the current pandemic, Grosjean tells me that his climbing gym is taking all of the necessary precautions to keep his clients safe and happy.
Max capacity has been reduced to 100 guests, and on their website, you can check in real time to see how many climbers are there before making your way over.
Overall, this place blew away my expectations and was really, really fun! Make sure to tune in next week to find out where our next adventures will take us.
