Free Gym Climbing August 18 for Global Climbing Day
The North Face is partnering with gyms around the world to offer free climbing on August 18
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As part of their Walls Are Meant For Climbing campaign (yeah, you’ve seen the shirts), The North Face and participating gyms around the world are offering free climbing all day long on Saturday, August 18. In addition, for every person who climbs at one of the 150 participating gyms around the world during Global Climbing Day, The North Face is donating $1 to the Khumbu Climbing Center in Nepal, up to $100,000.
Domestically, The North Face and The Trust for Public Lands are also partnering to build free climbing walls around the country. This story is covered in part in the upcoming issue of Gym Climber, Rock and Ice’s new auxiliary publication. Notably, the first of these walls, a large bouldering structure in Montbello Open Space Park in Denver, Colorado, is built and ready for use when the 4.5-acre park opens to the public early next year.
The boulder is based on designs from local kids in the Montbello community. The kids, most of whom were from low- to moderate-income families and had never climbed before, attended a workshop at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, where they climbed with pro climbers Margo Hayes, Daniel Woods and Matty Hong. “Then, the kids got to use clay and drawings to design the climbing feature with the athletes,” said Emily Patterson, the Trust for Public Lands Parks for People Program Director. “The boulder was custom-made to include all of the kids unique ideas, all these little features that came from the workshop. The little alcove underneath the boulder, the little sitting nook on top, everything.” The boulder is completely naturally featured, stands almost twelve feet tall, and contains thirteen routes. -Owen Clarke
TABLE OF ALL PARTICIPATING GYMS IN THE USA
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