BOISE, Idaho — The Commons Climbing Gym on the Boise Bench held their grand opening on February 22, however the elation from years of hard work quickly turned to uncertainty as the rock climbing gym shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As we enter Governor Little's phase two gyms can reopen, and the Commons Climbing Gym will do so on Saturday.
"We have tried to stay positive," said Clinton Cowell one of the owners. "We look at it like if we didn't open, then we would have earned zero revenue and we were actually able to showcase our product."
It took eight different owners pooling their resources and years of hard work to make this gym a reality, but that doesn't mean the owners are in a hurry to fill the gym back up.
The Commons is taking several preventative measures because of the coronavirus, and some of those include requiring climbers to wear masks, taking the temperature of everyone who enters the gym and they will have hand sanitizer readily available.
Rock climbers can secure a 90-minute slot on their website, but the gym has also set a limit of 40 climbers at a time.
"We started this because we love the community," said Cowell. "We are about the people, and if we can do something that inconveniences us a little bit but possibly saves lives, there's not really a question there."
At the same time, Cowell and the other owners look forward to reopening, and they hope they will be able to relax some of their protocols, but they tell us it all depends on what happens with COVID-19.
"I know you can't tell, but I'm actually smiling," said Cowell, who was wearing a mask during the interview. "I am very hopeful the community has been fantastic, I think we can climb and make it ok we just have to change a few things, it's not a huge deal."
In addition Meridian's new climbing gym Vertical View will also open on Saturday, here's a link to their websiteand the protocols they have put into place.
Here is a link to climbing terminology put together by gotoclimb.com.
