Grand Opening
The Gravity Vault Poughkeepsie is officially open.
Experienced climbers and newbies alike came out on a warm March Saturday to try out the Walltopia walls, and the Elemental holds.
The GV route setters put up booty routes the night before the party. The first climber to get up the five 5.12 and 5.13 routes won prizes like climbing shoes and chalk bags.
Some of the older routes are still un-sent. Owner Mark Davidson pointed out a route of blue holds.
"Nobody's gotten up that yet," he remarked. "And the big crack only has chalk about 10 feet from the ground".
There were plenty of kids and parents trying climbing on for size. Owners Mark and Karen are hoping introducing kids to indoor climbing will eventually lead them outdoors and instill a lifetime love of nature.
Experienced climbers and newbies alike came out on a warm March Saturday to try out the Walltopia walls, and the Elemental holds.
The GV route setters put up booty routes the night before the party. The first climber to get up the five 5.12 and 5.13 routes won prizes like climbing shoes and chalk bags.
Some of the older routes are still un-sent. Owner Mark Davidson pointed out a route of blue holds.
"Nobody's gotten up that yet," he remarked. "And the big crack only has chalk about 10 feet from the ground".
There were plenty of kids and parents trying climbing on for size. Owners Mark and Karen are hoping introducing kids to indoor climbing will eventually lead them outdoors and instill a lifetime love of nature.
The Gravity Vault is Open
2.22.16
The Grand Opening of the Poughkeepsie Gravity Vault is planned for March 12th but they are open every day Monday through Friday from noon to 10pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 8pm. Their Facebook page is Gravity Vault Poughkeepsie. Monday night is buy one get one free adult day pass special. They will be have a student discount night Wednesday and Friday nights are the lady's night discounts. Also, anyone buying a 1 year membership between now and the Grand Opening on March 12 is entered into drawing for a prize of 2 free domestic round trip airline tickets. There are various specials across the membership products. They are ready to start hosting Birthday parties!
The Grand Opening of the Poughkeepsie Gravity Vault is planned for March 12th but they are open every day Monday through Friday from noon to 10pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 8pm. Their Facebook page is Gravity Vault Poughkeepsie. Monday night is buy one get one free adult day pass special. They will be have a student discount night Wednesday and Friday nights are the lady's night discounts. Also, anyone buying a 1 year membership between now and the Grand Opening on March 12 is entered into drawing for a prize of 2 free domestic round trip airline tickets. There are various specials across the membership products. They are ready to start hosting Birthday parties!
Gravity Vault Comes to Poughkeepsie
1.11.16
Indoor climbing in the Hudson Valley is about to get a lot bigger. The Poughkeepsie branch of the Gravity Vault will open in March behind Bounce on Neptune Avenue.
“There’s 13,000 square feet of terrain,” owner Mark Davidson, said enthusiastically in his Scottish accent, over the sound of the impact driver as workers built the internal structure for the climbing walls.
Davidson knocked down part of the shorter existing structure and built a taller addition to make room for the 35-foot tall climbing walls.
The large open space will be made up of three climbing walls with an island in the middle.
On the left as you enter the gym will be the ‘party wall’ with easier routes and top rope anchors for learning to lead. In most climbing gyms, beginning leaders have no choice but to learn to lead on 5.10s, according to Davidson. With the easier, leadable routes new leaders will be able focus less on the climbing and be able to focus more on lead skills.
The Poughkeepsie gym will be the first Gravity Vault to use Walltopia climbing walls. Here is a story in Bloomberg Magazine about the growth of this company from Bulgaria.
Indoor climbing in the Hudson Valley is about to get a lot bigger. The Poughkeepsie branch of the Gravity Vault will open in March behind Bounce on Neptune Avenue.
“There’s 13,000 square feet of terrain,” owner Mark Davidson, said enthusiastically in his Scottish accent, over the sound of the impact driver as workers built the internal structure for the climbing walls.
Davidson knocked down part of the shorter existing structure and built a taller addition to make room for the 35-foot tall climbing walls.
The large open space will be made up of three climbing walls with an island in the middle.
On the left as you enter the gym will be the ‘party wall’ with easier routes and top rope anchors for learning to lead. In most climbing gyms, beginning leaders have no choice but to learn to lead on 5.10s, according to Davidson. With the easier, leadable routes new leaders will be able focus less on the climbing and be able to focus more on lead skills.
The Poughkeepsie gym will be the first Gravity Vault to use Walltopia climbing walls. Here is a story in Bloomberg Magazine about the growth of this company from Bulgaria.
“We like it because it’s new and also we’re trying to build a brand,” Davidson said about Walltopia. “It’s not the real rock feel that Rockworks has. There is not much Walltopia in the Northeast. There are new products; different style holds from Europe. Eighty percent of the gym holds from Europe people haven’t seen before".
Walltopia has moved beyond the idea that indoor climbing should mimic rock climbing and embraced it as its own sport. Open, airy spaces filled with brightly colored walls and a good flow is the new standard.
Gunks climber Andy Salo, the former route setter for Gravity Vault, helped Davidson with some of the feature design.
“Plastic climbing has evolved to me to be more aesthetic and comfortable. Walltopia has taken this and gone with it,”he said. Moving around the room to the right in the first corner is a 12 foot overhang. The routes on this section of wall are lead only; there are V-chains at the top. “
Salo suggested that the boulder overhang has fewer features and is more sustained; a suggestion Davidson took. Salo also suggested the overhang section on the lead wall.
Davidson wants the gym to attract recreational climbers and kids, summer camps and also to partner with the climbing community. He wants the Gravity Vault to evolve into a place where the biggest and the best want to be too.
As climber and mountaineer, and a former guide in Scotland, Davidson sees his Gravity Vault as a transitional place where people can get comfortable getting off the ground before venturing outside. He volunteers in Catskill Mountain at fire towers teaching tourists about the history and geology of the mountains. After moving a number of times, he and his family are happy to be putting down roots, and routes, in the area.
Another improvement Davison is making at the GV Poughkeepsie are the colored holds.
“We have 10 different colors of climbing hold. Each color will signify a climbing grade level or range of grades. This is just like taping each hold with colored tape except we use the hold color itself, so the walls are much cleaner and routes easier to follow. We haven't finalized the colors versus grades yet but as an example maybe yellow will be 5.8 and red a 5.12. If climbing a 5.12 route, you'd climb the red holds, if climbing a 5.8 you'd climb the yellow holds,” Davidson explained.
Colored holds make route setting easier as well as finding the holds when climbing, according to Salo.
Davidson plans to use locals to set routes; this should happen toward the end of this month.
Moving on through the gym to the right of the overhang wall is a three-inch crack that extends the height of the wall. It’s an off width unless you have hands Davidson’s size.
Past the crack in the back right corner of the room will be the site of Little Boulder and Big Boulder. Little Boulder is 16-feet high and 30-linear feet. Big Boulder is also 16-feet high but 60-linear feet with an overhang that approaches 30 degrees.
“For the bouldering wall they were more curious of my thoughts. I suggested cleaner angles and a top-out able boulder. I suggested a ladder to get down from the top of the boulder,” Salo said.
The two bouldering walls will allow competitions and regular climbing to happen at the same time.
The more difficult routes in the gym will be concentrated in the back of the gym. Davison put a lot of thought into the flow of the space and how best to manage the space for use by kids, recreational climbers, and those getting after some hard stuff.
The island in the center of the gym will have a 1.5 inch crack, a chimney and a 22 foot lead arch. All in all, there will be 70 top-rope lines, 15 lead only routes and nearly 100 linear feet of bouldering wall.
In addition there will be men’s and women’s locker rooms, a party room and a retail space selling harnesses, shoes, helmets and some hardware as well.
The Poughkeepsie location is part of the Gravity Vault franchise owned by Lucas Kovalcik and Timothy Walsh.
“We will have the same membership and programming products (under options to climb on the website) as the other Gravity Vault locations. We will be offering membership specials through our Grand Opening day which we'll release in the next few weeks when construction is complete,” Davidson said.
The skeleton of the walls are installed. The wall surfaces are mostly in place. Barring any SNAFUs with inspections, the Poughkeepsie Gravity Vault should open in March.
With the way the winter of ’16 is going that ought to be right about when the snow starts to fly.
Walltopia has moved beyond the idea that indoor climbing should mimic rock climbing and embraced it as its own sport. Open, airy spaces filled with brightly colored walls and a good flow is the new standard.
Gunks climber Andy Salo, the former route setter for Gravity Vault, helped Davidson with some of the feature design.
“Plastic climbing has evolved to me to be more aesthetic and comfortable. Walltopia has taken this and gone with it,”he said. Moving around the room to the right in the first corner is a 12 foot overhang. The routes on this section of wall are lead only; there are V-chains at the top. “
Salo suggested that the boulder overhang has fewer features and is more sustained; a suggestion Davidson took. Salo also suggested the overhang section on the lead wall.
Davidson wants the gym to attract recreational climbers and kids, summer camps and also to partner with the climbing community. He wants the Gravity Vault to evolve into a place where the biggest and the best want to be too.
As climber and mountaineer, and a former guide in Scotland, Davidson sees his Gravity Vault as a transitional place where people can get comfortable getting off the ground before venturing outside. He volunteers in Catskill Mountain at fire towers teaching tourists about the history and geology of the mountains. After moving a number of times, he and his family are happy to be putting down roots, and routes, in the area.
Another improvement Davison is making at the GV Poughkeepsie are the colored holds.
“We have 10 different colors of climbing hold. Each color will signify a climbing grade level or range of grades. This is just like taping each hold with colored tape except we use the hold color itself, so the walls are much cleaner and routes easier to follow. We haven't finalized the colors versus grades yet but as an example maybe yellow will be 5.8 and red a 5.12. If climbing a 5.12 route, you'd climb the red holds, if climbing a 5.8 you'd climb the yellow holds,” Davidson explained.
Colored holds make route setting easier as well as finding the holds when climbing, according to Salo.
Davidson plans to use locals to set routes; this should happen toward the end of this month.
Moving on through the gym to the right of the overhang wall is a three-inch crack that extends the height of the wall. It’s an off width unless you have hands Davidson’s size.
Past the crack in the back right corner of the room will be the site of Little Boulder and Big Boulder. Little Boulder is 16-feet high and 30-linear feet. Big Boulder is also 16-feet high but 60-linear feet with an overhang that approaches 30 degrees.
“For the bouldering wall they were more curious of my thoughts. I suggested cleaner angles and a top-out able boulder. I suggested a ladder to get down from the top of the boulder,” Salo said.
The two bouldering walls will allow competitions and regular climbing to happen at the same time.
The more difficult routes in the gym will be concentrated in the back of the gym. Davison put a lot of thought into the flow of the space and how best to manage the space for use by kids, recreational climbers, and those getting after some hard stuff.
The island in the center of the gym will have a 1.5 inch crack, a chimney and a 22 foot lead arch. All in all, there will be 70 top-rope lines, 15 lead only routes and nearly 100 linear feet of bouldering wall.
In addition there will be men’s and women’s locker rooms, a party room and a retail space selling harnesses, shoes, helmets and some hardware as well.
The Poughkeepsie location is part of the Gravity Vault franchise owned by Lucas Kovalcik and Timothy Walsh.
“We will have the same membership and programming products (under options to climb on the website) as the other Gravity Vault locations. We will be offering membership specials through our Grand Opening day which we'll release in the next few weeks when construction is complete,” Davidson said.
The skeleton of the walls are installed. The wall surfaces are mostly in place. Barring any SNAFUs with inspections, the Poughkeepsie Gravity Vault should open in March.
With the way the winter of ’16 is going that ought to be right about when the snow starts to fly.
Related Stories
New Fixed Anchors
There are five new fixed rappel anchors in the Trapps. The tree anchors on the Mohonk Preserve climbs No Picnic, Double Chin, Jackie, Betty and Baby were removed and half inch stainless steel bolted rappel anchors were installed in their place in mid-July.
There are five new fixed rappel anchors in the Trapps. The tree anchors on the Mohonk Preserve climbs No Picnic, Double Chin, Jackie, Betty and Baby were removed and half inch stainless steel bolted rappel anchors were installed in their place in mid-July.
|
Gunks Apps
First there was the Trapps App, then came the Nears App and, coming this spring, there will be two new apps- the Peter’s Kill Bouldering App and the Peter’s Kill Climbing App. |
|
