CityROCK's Blog

By Lara Grosjean

Just over 17 years ago, on Valentine’s Day in 2003, I was at a lovely little wine bar in Colorado Springs called Shuga’s, talking to an attractive man at the bar. Over the course of the evening, he told me that he was an engineer but wanted to quit his job and sail around the world. He had grown up in Portland, Oregon and had been sailing since he was a young boy. He read Joshua Slocum’s book, Sailing Alone Around the World, and had dreamed of doing something similar ever since.

By Ciara Abeyta

Honestly, this isn’t ideal.

This situation isn’t ideal at all, and my heart goes out to those who have been greatly impacted and affected by the world’s current condition. Where did it all go wrong?  Where did this all begin?

By Noah McKelvin

Photo Credit: Luke Negley

To set a goal for yourself that seems so beyond your comprehension of ever achieving is one of the many gifts we get in life. To achieve something not many people have done usually means you must put yourself through something others aren’t willing to do. In all my years of climbing, this concept has remained a constant for me. Simply put, I must give it my all. I think climbing is about pushing well beyond your mental and emotional barrier. In those moments, you find out who you really are.

By Larissa Phillips

Have you met Arlo? He teaches Intro to Top Rope, Boomers, Gym-to-Crag, and Learn to Lead. He's been crushing routes indoors and out for longer than anyone else on staff, and 2020 marks his 50th climbing anniversary! I sat down with him for an interview to find out how he got started and what his plans are for the future. There were more stories than we could fit in this article, so remember to say hi and pick his brain the next time you see him. I hope you enjoy getting to know this amazing, old school climber!

By Ange Tysdal

We drove by and saw the raised fist with the setting T-wrench painted on the lime green background. A pillar as the centerpiece between walls with hard, right-angled roofs, flakes, cracks, splattered with holds and tape. “Looks pretty sweet,” Eben said with his stoic psych.  We’d both learned to climb outside on granite cracks, plugging gear.  Our only gym experience had been a humbling one for me, struggling up 5.8s and wondering why it felt so much harder than outside? I’d give indoor climbing one more try before writing it off altogether.

By Leila Hallenbeck

“Lower please!” I’m so scared I feel like I’m going to puke. 

My forearms are about to explode and my feet are well above the bolt. My brain is spinning. My heart is beating out the rhumba. I know that as soon as I make another move, I’m going for a nice, long ride. I might scream. I am definitely not excited. 

By Gretchen Merten 

“So, what about Mt. Baker?” Pete, chief guide and owner of Pikes Peak Alpine School, asked my husband and I over beers at a local brewery.  We had thought about a multi-day hut trip in the San Juans, but the logistics didn’t work out.  “This would purely be a skiing objective with a little bit of roped snow climbing near the summit.  We’d need to do some crevasse rescue training and learn to work as a rope team, but we could do this on Pikes.”  

By Ian Richards

Does one of these scenarios sound like you: you just signed up for your first climbing gym membership; you have been climbing for a year; you are stuck climbing the same grade; you don’t know how to climb better but would like to climb harder grades; you feel like you need to work on technique and footwork; you want to find ways to connect with other climbers in the gym; you’d like to learn how to train for climbing.

By Lucas Bundy

As Head Routesetter at CityROCK, I’ve had a goal of wanting to host an adult sport climbing competition with a number of strong competitors, great sponsors, and a somewhat familiar redpoint format with a unique twist. I envisioned a competition that would be a highlight of our event schedule every year.