Two local climbers are building Squamish's first climbing gym and perhaps the country's first legal indoor climbing venue owned and operated by a co-operative.Jeremy Smith and Tyson Braun came up with the idea in late August, but already a 366-square-metre (1,200-square-feet) unit on Loggers Lane downtown is being shaped into a cavernous cloud nine. Not only will the gym provide climbers with a dry space to keep in shape throughout the cold and rainy months, it will build and strengthen bonds within the climbing community, said Smith, manager of Climb On."Other than the crags themselves there's not a spot where all climbing groups meet and see each other around," he said. "So this creates a social forum for people to meet new climbing partners and tighten up the community."Construction of the gym started last week and expects it to be fully operational by Nov. 1. Ceilings range from five metres (16 feet) to three and a half metres (12 feet) high and the walls will vary from almost vertical to overhanging in order to accommodate climbers of all skill levels. The gym will also have a set of removable features to keep the climbing fresh. Although taking responsibility of a co-op can be risky business, Smith is confident the support is strong. The gym isn't even completed yet and 45 people have committed to the project; meanwhile, fees are in for 25 official members. "We're confident that we'll have all the money that we need and we already have enough money for the first three or four months and all the construction expenses," said Smith, adding that most of the material has been donated and the building is volunteer-driven.Members pay an initial $10 membership and a $490 annual user fee, which grants unlimited access to the gym. Members can also choose to pay $15 for a day pass (up to 10 times annually) if they don't want to fork out the money all at once. Each $15 paid goes toward the $490 user fee so the money isn't lost.Smith estimates the co-op will need about 55 committed members to make the gym financially feasible. If more people join, then members will vote on how to handle the extra funds; for example, distributing rebates or funding improvements.Smith is excited about the project and is convinced the co-op formula was the only way a long-overdue climbing gym could survive in Squamish. "There's no way a commercial climbing gym could exist in this town because there's six months out of the year that they wouldn't make a dime. When the weather is nice people just climb outside," he said. "But of all the towns in Canada this is the climbing town so it only makes sense to have a climbing gym."Climb On owner Dan Butler is impressed by Smith and Braun's hard work. Not only does creating a cooperative require taking a financial risk, it also requires pounding through loads of nails and paperwork. However, the benefit to the community is undeniable, said Butler."It's keeping people strong but also keeping up the sense of community. Once the rains start you don't get a real chance to communicate with what's going on except for rarely through the Squamish Access Society or Smoke Bluffs Committee. "But by having a central spot where the climbers can congregate in a sense then it helps pass the word about access issues and other things."
