BOISE, Idaho — The Commons Climbing Gym hosted their members-only weekend before Boise's newest climbing gym holds their grand opening on Saturday, February 22.
The gym, featuring a 45-foot wall, top rope, lead climbing, crack climbing and bouldering, has a unique story.
Eight different owners have been working since 2018 on this dream to fill the void left behind when Urban Ascent closed its doors.
"It is almost surreal, we have been working so hard to get here," one of the owners, Clinton Colwell, said. “I don’t know if it has completely set in yet, but it is pretty amazing to see the reception and we look forward to starting a whole new fleet of of Boise climbers.”
The Commons was truly a labor of love as eight climbers with ties to Urban Ascent pooled their resources to build this gym. Because the group didn't have much money to make it happen, they had to put in a lot of work.
"Essentially, to save on the pocket book, we took on a little more than $250,000 of work ourselves," said Colwell.
The gym is a big hit for members who showed up this weekend. Now these climbers have a place of their own on the Boise Bench.
“I like it a lot actually, the walls are nice and big, the routes are good, and it seems like they have a pretty good community of people here which is very important," said young climber Luke Radovich.
The owners wanted to thank their donors who sponsored holds and other amenities in the gym.
To learn more, check out the gym's website here.
