Our plan for growth has three phases, the first of which started Autumn of 2016.
Phase 1: Build core membership. In Autumn 2016 a core of dedicated members began to formally established the organization with LLC and 501c7 status, and purchase gymnastic mats and climbing holds. Because Climb Athens does not yet have a climbing facility, we worked cooperatively with community members to provide benefits to members via home bouldering walls, taking local bouldering tours, and offering skill and training workshops.
We estimated that we would need 40 to 50 local members who have also paid the 9 month access fee for fall 2016 through Spring 2017. We reached our goal of 40 active members and were able able to offer 2 regular weekly climbing events at Beta Fish, in addition to informal events at The Dojo and at local bouldering areas.
Phase 1 leverage existing resources to grow climbing community: Climb Athens utilized home bouldering and local sandstone boulders as climbing resources during our initial phase of organization.
Beta Fish was the main resource, located in the corner of Bryant and Jamie's very large garage with a 12ft tall ceiling. The main walls included an 8ft wide 40 degree wall with overhanging aretes, a 20 degree wall, and a couple dihedrals. The 40 degree wall included a Moon / Kilter hybrid board allowing for both extremely difficult problems and easier juggy ones too.
An early view of the Moon/Kilter board
at Betafish, before the gymnastic pads were purchased.
Phase 2: Sustain a more active climbing community with a bouldering gym in the Athens area. We had expected that Climb Athens would need to open a bouldering gym However, a much better solution emerged in the Summer of 2020 when Kate and Zach Bernans opened Blockhouse Bouldering in The Plains. This means that the most important part of sustaining and growing climbing community in our region has been established.
An early view of the Blockhouse space,
prior to building the 2020 walls.
Phase 3: Foster the sustainable development of outdoor climbing resources. Winter of 2020 brought renewed focus on exploring climbing resources in and around Athens County. We purchased 4 bouldering pads to start our gear lending library for members. We also began exploring existing and new climbing resources.
