The December 2011 issue highlights the high performance climbing wall at Drexel University, a 2011 Athletic Business Facility of Merit. The climbing wall is an architectural centerpiece of the facility and is prominently displayed on the cover of the magazine. The wall uniquely includes a painting of the school mascot, the Drexel Dragon.

Click to view the issue.

Another Eldo wall, West Metro Fire Rescue, was featured on the cover of the January 2011 issue of Athletic Business.  Click to view.

Jason talks about how something as simple as a piece of paper gave him the idea for the lead wall in the Earth Trek Climbing Center expansion. He shares the creativity behind the design at Earth Treks, including an 18 ft “soccer ball” feature that has never been done before.

Young people in northern Uganda were born into a conflict zone. Since 1986, the Lord’s Resistance Army has abducted and killed tens of thousands of young people and displaced nearly 90% of the population in northern Uganda. Relative peace has finally come to the region and the youth who have endured this conflict are now in charge of rebuilding a hopeful future.

While young people in northern Uganda remain extremely resilient in overcoming adversity, the conflict has caused significant psychosocial and economic hardship. Lack of opportunity for education and employment are widespread, yet the youth are working tirelessly to consolidate energy and resources to press forward. This is rare opportunity to motivate youth to build a society of peace and stability.

The experiential learning model of The Recreation Project is one the most powerful and effective methods for teaching trust, self-belief, and hope. TRP uses a guided ropes course and outdoor adventure excursions as tools for learning.

Click here to find out more.

The new design is the work of new apparel company Blue Sun Designs, established in 2011 in Fort Collins, CO. Blue Sun was launched by two climbers looking to get more functionality out of their climbing apparel, and the company is dedicated to climbers. They integrate the sport of climbing into their core business values including community, quality and passion.

In addition to soft apparel (including t-shirts, hoodies, beanies), the company offers custom designed chalk bags. Blue Sun plans to offer full technical lines of hardshell jackets and outerwear in the near future.

Check out the Blue Sun website at www.bluesundesigns.com to learn more about their custom designs.

No matter what stage your climbing wall facility is in, marketing your climbing wall is an ongoing challenge. View our informative webinar and learn creative ways to attract more participants, increase revenue and promote your brand.

Hosted by Jerad Wells, Director of Sales and Business Development for Eldorado Climbing Walls, this webinar will include a panel of industry experts at various stages in their facilities:

Michael Fortunato
Owner, Rockville Climbing Center
Hamilton, NJ - Built in 2000

Andrew Kratz
Managing Partner, Triangle Rock Club
Morrisville, NC - Built in 2007

John Gross
Owner, True North Climbing Gym
Toronto ON - Built in 2009

Andrew Coffey
Owner, The Hive Climbing
Vancouver, BC – Opening in 2011

The panel shares their secrets for success and answer questions from the audience about marketing their climbing walls.

Eldo was on hand for the unveiling of the transformation to students and faculty, which was covered by the Chicago Tribune. Click to access the full article.

Want to see the final product? The episode airs on ESPN on October 4 at 7 pm ET. Click here to learn more.

The preliminary tests in May were a precursor to more extensive testing during NEEMO 15 – the 15th mission of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) program, currently scheduled for October17-29, 2011.  The primary objective of the NEEMO 15 mission will be the testing of techniques, tools, and communications protocols that have been recently developed for human exploration of Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) in a simulated microgravity environment.

In training for the mission, the team is using our Gecko modular climbing wall panels to simulate the surface of an asteroid.

Recently, the team needed to order some Franklin Handholds climbing holds for their panels.  Our Sales Director, Jerad Wells, took the call while simultaneously viewing the underwater team at the Aquarius Main Lock on their live stream.  Check out the video:




View the NASA team live

More information about the mission:

The prototype tools and techniques will be used to evaluate operations concepts for sampling, translating, anchoring, and deploying instruments on NEAs. NASA engineers and scientists will work with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) staff, that operates the Aquarius Reef Base on behalf of NOAA, as part of NOAA’s Undersea Research Program.  The NEEMO missions are a cooperative project among NASA, NOAA and UNCW.

Click here for more information about the Aquarius Reef Base

Central to the new facility is Eldo’s 39 foot REALRock climbing tower positioned at the entrance to the facility.  UTEP students will also enjoy a 45-linear-foot-by-12-foot PerformanceRock bouldering wall, combining our REALRock and High Performance products.

Watch the video

Read the El Paso Times’ article

Check out the UTEP Facebook Page

In the book, Eldo is featured in an article that discusses combining climbing wall products to satisfy stakeholders.  TRUBLUE Auto Belays are featured in another article on boosting your climbing wall’s potential.

Setter: Brent Ng
Years setting: 2
Years climbing: 14
Favorite crags: Rifle, Fontainbleau

I love setting technical routes that make you think about body position, and if done the correct way, flow very naturally. I often gravitate towards slopers and pinches because they are more demanding when it comes to proper body position, but lately I’ve been making lots of crimp routes… which tend to mimic outdoors a bit more and, therefore, are better for training. A well made route, is a lot like a well choreographed dance, there is involved footwork, a steady flow, good movement, balance and tension, and some artistic flourish.

Three tips I’d offer for the novice setter are:

1. Set a specific hand sequence – know which holds are supposed to be for right and left hands and which are matches… this can involve underclings, crossthroughs etc… but there should be a specific sequence that makes the climb the grade it is if done correctly.

2. Add foot jibs accordingly - after considering the body position of each hand move. sometimes previous hand holds work for the footholds, but where they won’t, add footholds, and BE GENEROUS… all sizes of people climb, and, especially if you are a taller setter, make sure nothing is TOO reachy.

3. Set your gym climbers up for success - the goal is to set a flowing climb with interesting and fun movement… NOT to make a climb no one can get up. The crux of your route should be no more than one V-grade harder than any other moves. Consistency is huge, keep the movement and size of holds similar, all the way up. This puts a focus on endurance and flow more than bouldering power, which is what your typical rope climber will be looking for.

In addition to climbing, I’m a professional musician, an avid blues dancer, barefoot runner and i love clipping draws outside.  I’ve bouldered up to v9 and climb 5.13.