A year after Boise’s largest rock climbing gym closed, members plan a bigger, better one

Clint Colwell was as blindsided as anyone else last spring when a popular Boise rock climbing spot closed on short notice.

As the manager of the gym, Urban Ascent, Colwell was also suddenly out of a job.

“People are going to survive and be fine, but it will leave a pretty big gap,” he told the Statesman last April.

Colwell and six other Urban Ascent regulars set out to fill that gap, forming a joint business venture and investing hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money into it. They’re preparing to open a new Boise climbing gym called the Commons Climbing Gym.

“When you look at the definition of ‘commons,’ it’s a meeting place, it influences a community,” Colwell said in an interview.

A community is what Colwell, along with co-creators Mary and Scott DeWalt, John Gandolfo, Kirk Miller, Brian Crozier and Brandon Beagles, hope to create.

How the Commons climbing gym was created

In Urban Ascent’s final days, “hundreds and hundreds” of local climbers turned to Colwell and the DeWalts urging them to act. Scott DeWalt was formerly a manager at Urban, and he and Mary DeWalt remained fixtures at the gym.

“They thought we could do something,” Scott said. “And apparently they were right. We’re doing it.”

The co-owners bought a small business park at 4795 W. Emerald St. in Boise for $850,000 with financing from Idaho First Bank. The city of Boise has approved the design plans for the gym. Colwell said building permits will be the next step. They hope to open around September.

The group was looking for a property within a mile of the original Urban Ascent site at 25th Street and Fairview Avenue, which is now being developed into the Adare Manor Apartments, an affordable-housing complex. Colwell said the Emerald Street location was ideal.

The Commons could also have a conveniently located neighbor: Bench House Brewing Co. has proposed a brewpub in a smaller third building in the business park.

If everything goes according to plan, Colwell said, construction crews will close the small alleyway between the two buildings, creating one large, L-shaped building. They’ll raise the roof of the north wing, which will become home to a series of rock climbing walls 45 feet tall — more than two-and-a-half times taller than the one-story buildings are currently.

The other portion of the building will be dedicated to bouldering, with shorter walls that don’t require ropes, harnesses or other equipment to scale. Fitness and yoga rooms will occupy the far end of the space.

Combined, the buildings are about 13,000 square feet and will feature 15,000 feet of climbable surface, Colwell said. The Commons has commissioned custom walls from Entre-Prises, a French climbing wall designer, which will cost $700,000.

The “top rope” rock walls require a climber to wear a harness attached to a rope that is secured to another person, known as the belayer, on the ground. Colwell said the walls will feature about 140 “routes,” or patterns of holds that climbers can use to reach the top, that will change every two months or so. The bouldering routes (there will be about 100) will change every six weeks.

According to Colwell, membership costs are tentatively set at $65 per month, with discounts for members who prepay annually. He also hopes to offer affordable options for first-time climbers, who otherwise might shy away from the “cost prohibitive” sport.

“What we hope is we can provide a facility that can expand on what Urban started,” Colwell said. “We hope this is the rallying point for the Boise climbing community.”

The space is bigger than Urban, and will feature more state-of-the-art equipment, such as auto-belay machines.

There will even be a little piece of Urban in the Commons — or rather, many little pieces. Colwell and crew purchased hundreds of handholds and footholds from the shuttered business.

“I think it’s cool to be able to fuse that spirit of Urban in a physical way,” Colwell said.

A gym built by Boiseans

Taking on such a massive endeavor can be a daunting task, especially financially, Scott said.

“We put in every single dime that we have,” he said. “No one has a lot of money ... and I don’t think anyone’s expecting to get rich on this one.”

Colwell echoed that sentiment.

“What I think is so fantastic about this, and also what makes it so scary, is none of us is independently wealthy,” Colwell said. “It’s a group of true Boiseans. These are people who are going to stay in Boise, and they’re struggling and grinding it out.”

Each of the seven Boiseans behind the Commons is an avid climber, but their diverse professional and personal backgrounds are a point of strength, Colwell said. He has a master’s degree in geophysics from Boise State University and plans to work at the Commons, putting to use his managerial experience and training in route-setting and other technical aspects of climbing.

Beagles, a general contractor, helped navigate the construction and design processes for the gym. Gandolfo and Crozier are “Micron engineering folk,” Colwell said, while Miller is a doctor.

But Colwell said Mary DeWalt’s background as an Ada County librarian was a huge driving force for the project, which is on track to be completed in a fraction of the time it takes many similar-sized gyms to come to fruition.

“I think (the Commons) can largely be put on her shoulders,” Colwell said. “She’s tenacious.”

Mary said she threw herself into researching every component of starting, funding and building a business.

“It’s cliche, but it is this labor of love,” she said.

Part of the draw is the sense of community, they all said.

“(Our hope is) your first time here, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a place where you belong,” Colwell said. “All you’re going to find when you come here is a group of people who are going to support you. We’re going to try to be your friends.”

The Commons creators expect the gym will be popular. The DeWalts said local climbers are constantly asking after the gym’s progress and promising support. Before Urban Ascent closed, it was pulling in more than 35,000 visitors per year, Colwell said.

“The sport is taking off,” he said. “It’s in the 2020 Olympics. I’m happy we snuck in there, and I feel grateful we get to have a crack at it before the Walmart of gyms comes.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 2:15 PM.