The Waiting is the Hardest Part

I am very excited about this project, but this month has been the toughest part so far, because I have needed to wait for a bunch of things to happen. The loan has been fully approved, but it took a little longer than I had expected. And the money isn't actually available to spend until I have a lease signed. I am working through what I think are the late stages of negotiating the lease, but it's 43 pages long and pretty complex. The site survey was done last week, and it took a few days for those measurements to find their way into CAD drawings. There are no bad guys here, just a lot of things that need to be done, and usually in a certain order, and of course I am eager to jump in and get started building the joint. It's frustrating because I am actually mostly idle until the lease gets signed, and we start building stuff. So this is my theme song for this phase of the project.

The Site Survey

Things got started today.

I met at the site with the architect, a few of his engineers (structural, mechanical, ...) and the contractor he is recommending. The purpose of the visit was to get measurements of the space (including all the obstructions in the high ceilings), and discuss the project in more detail. The measurements will be shared with Eldorado so they can get going on the climbing wall design. It was also a chance to meet the contractor for the first time, show him the space, and get his impressions. We were discussing all the non-climbing parts of the construction (i.e. everything except the climbing structures that Eldorado will build, and the padded flooring system I'm still researching).

It was an exciting and stressful meeting. The building is old, there are no existing plans, and there are some "interesting" issues:

• the lack of adequate plumbing in the space
• the need to remove some girders from the high ceilings to open up more space for walls to go up and around in there
  
• some questions about the existing heating system
• the need for air conditioning. I am convinced I need to install it; the others were thinking about ways to avoid it. None of them have climbed to the top of a 36' wall in a hot gym in Toronto in August; I have.
• the time line is tight
• I have set aside a good chunk of change in my budget for this work, but I won't know for a few weeks how much it will really cost. The contractor did not allow me to tell him how much I have in my budget for this work, because he doesn't want that biasing his bid.

I learned a lot about industrial construction today, and it will take a little while to digest it all. And then I'll have to learn a lot more. Three years ago I acted as the general contractor for a major renovation project on my house. I gutted and redid the kitchen, took out 2 bathrooms and installed 3 new ones, replaced the furnace and A/C, redid all floors, replaced most of the windows, upgraded the plumbing, replaced every light fixture and painted the whole house. Almost all of that got done in about 2 1/2 months. I know this project is bigger than that (and a lot more expensive), but I didn't think it would be terribly more complex. I'm starting to think that it might be, because so much about industrial construction is different from residential. Good thing I really like to learn.

I'm a little anxious right now mainly because I am not busy enough yet. I've spent much of the past few weeks waiting for the loan to be approved, and now I need to wait a little more for the CAD drawings to be done, and then we get to iterate on the design of both the climbing and other areas of the gym. That should be the most creative part of the project. In the meantime I'll finish negotiating the remaining details of the lease and get that signed. And I'm sorry for being paranoid enough to probably wait until the lease is signed before going public with the fantastic location. It will be worth the wait...

Great Article on Bouldering

I got my Climbing Wall Association newsletter today, and saw a great article on bouldering by Chris Danielson that I want to share. Chris is a renowned climbing consultant and routesetter, and he writes about some issues with bouldering that have been on my mind as I plan my new gym. Hop on over to the CWA newsletter, and scroll down a page or so to the article titled "Building Bridges for Bouldering".

The Online Forums are Up!

OK, I've enabled the online forums. Please help us make True North Climbing a great gym by joining the forums and sharing your thoughts of what would make for a great climbing gym.

http://truenorthclimbing.com/forums/

True North Climbing: The Vision

I'm waiting for the loan to be approved. Once that happens, we can get started on the design of the climbing structures, and the other parts of the facility (change rooms, party rooms, staff lounge...). In the meantime, I'd like to share some thoughts about what True North Climbing aims to be.

A clean, bright, large, comfortable modern gym
I've chosen Eldorado Climbing Walls to build the climbing structures. I met John McGowan and Steve Holmes at the Climbing Wall Association Summit conference in Boulder this spring, and was impressed with them and their company (also located in Boulder). They have many years of experience doing this, and I'm confident they're going to help me put together a state of the art facility that will make you say "Wow!" when you walk in the door. The building has great character, and amazing natural light coming in from high windows. The change rooms and other parts of the facility will be built to make sure everyone is comfortable. I've got over 11,000 square feet of space to work with, so there will be plenty of room for amazing walls and bouldering terrain. I'll be sharing design ideas in the coming weeks (and I'll want to hear yours!).

Focus on climbing
I've been to a lot of climbing gyms over the past few years (including 8 last week during my reconnaissance trip to California!). Some gyms aim to be a general fitness facility, with lots of cardio and weight machines. Some have an extensive retail operation. A few have a cafe offering a wide selection of food and drinks. I aim to keep things simple and focus on providing a great and fun climbing experience. Each of those other things is really a separate business, and to be successful I would need to understand those businesses, or hire someone who does. I do not want to compete with general fitness centres. The retail business might make sense in a place where most of my business is done with outdoor climbers, but I don't expect that to be the case, and in this town it's pretty tough to compete on price with Mountain Equipment Co-op. And the building I'm in has an existing restaurant, and I'm not allowed to provide an extensive food service.

That doesn't mean I'll completely ignore these amenities. I will of course offer some drinks & snacks for my hungry & thirsty climbers. I'll have a small selection of things for sale (I'm thinking T shirts, chalk balls, water bottles, perhaps harnesses), and will listen to what the customers say they would want to buy at the gym. And while I don't expect to have weights or exercise machines in place when I open, these could be added down the line if they are important to the members. But to start off, the focus will be on the climbing.

Aiming to serve 3 market segments
I expect the business to be more or less balanced across:

• experienced climbers
• adults and youth new to climbing
• kids parties

Serving each of these well means that there needs to be a good selection of routes at each level of difficulty. The gym will be large enough that there will be plenty of hard stuff, but on the whole I plan to make sure that more than half of the terrain is suitable for climbs at 5.9 or easier. There will be plenty of bouldering (most of it top-out), and I'll make sure that there is some really easy bouldering to make that accessible to kids and new climbers. And while kids parties are an important part of a successful business, I know that the noise and commotion that come with that can be distracting to the serious climbers. An important part of the design criteria is to make sure there is good separation (both visually and acoustically) between the kids party area (which includes a place for the parents to watch) and other parts of the gym. We'll also post a party schedule on the web site for those who want to plan their climbing sessions around the parties.

Excellent customer service will be a key focus for the staff, to make sure that everyone is getting what they expect out of their climbing experience. I aim to make True North Climbing a fun place for everyone to climb, whatever their age, gender or previous experience.

Strong emphasis on safety
Those new to indoor climbing often perceive it as an extreme sport, and think it's quite dangerous. As a sport that consistently fights against gravity, it's true that there are inherent dangers to climbing, but when the established safety protocols are followed properly, the risks can be minimized. True North Climbing is a member of the Climbing Wall Association, and will follow the standards established by the CWA regarding the construction and inspection of the climbing structures. We plan to join the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, and pursue ACMG certification for our instructors. All of the staff will have first aid training. In designing the gym, I'll be looking at alternatives to the usual bouldering mats, which I believe cause more injuries than they prevent (e.g. rolled ankles due to landing on an edge, sprained arms from tipping over when landing with one foot on a mat and one foot off). I believe that safety comes first, and is a prerequisite to having fun, which is the goal of the gym.

Commitment to being a "good" company
Providing a great place for people to climb isn't quite enough. There are a few things that are important to me about how the business is run:

• Taking good care of the employees. This is important for the business to reduce staff turnover, and because happy employees will do a better job taking care of the customers. I intend to pay the staff decently, provide some additional benefits (these will expand as the business grows), and just treat them well enough that they really want to be there.

• Contributing to the community. I have a few ideas on how this could happen, including charity events held at the gym. I think it's important that a business give back to the community, and involve the staff in doing things to help others.

• Attention to sustainable practices. True North Climbing will endeavor to reduce its carbon footprint and operate as cleanly as possible. This includes attention to energy use as we design the gym, signing up with Bullfrog Power, using recycled supplies where possible, and whatever else we can do. We won't be perfect, but we'll do what we can, and will be open to suggestions on how can can do better!
  

Looking to cooperate (not compete) with existing climbing gyms
I believe there is room for a few more indoor climbing gyms in Toronto (and my demographic research supports that belief!). Our facility is not very close to any of the other gyms, and our target market area (the northern half of Toronto plus Vaughan and Richmond Hill) doesn't have a gym close by. We're looking to grow the market by introducing climbing to a lot of folks who haven't yet discovered how fun & addictive it is! So we don't see the need to be strongly competitive with the existing gyms. I've approached all the other Toronto gyms to let them know what I'm up to, and generally the response has been very supportive. I think we can help each other by working together to grow the climbing market in and around Toronto.

So that's what True North Climbing is about. I'll be sharing a lot more in the next few weeks about the plans for the gym, and the location of the facility. I really want to hear the thoughts and ideas of the climbing community, to make sure this is a gym where you'll be happy to come climb. Stay tuned to the web site for the opening of the user forums soon!