Saturday you’ll be able to get high in Morrisville.
Really high.
Saturday is the grand reveal for the Triangle Rock Club’s Morrisville expansion, an additional 17,000 square feet of climbing surface, some of which reaches as high as 55 feet. That’s more than twice as high as the walls in the existing gym, which opened in 2007. The original gym, which will focus on youth programs and classes, has 9,000 square feet of climbing space.
Last September, TRC opened a gym in North Raleigh with 13,000 square feet of climbing space. Combined the two gyms offer 39,000 square feet of indoor climbing.
“We’re excited about people getting to see the gym,” Managing Partner Joel Graybeal (Andrew Kratz and Luis Jauregui round out the management troika) said on a preview tour this morning.
The expanded gym reflects how far the TRC has expanded the concept of indoor climbing in the Triangle. Before entering the market seven years ago, indoor climbing here was done in converted warehouses with holds bolted into plywood. Amenities? Bathrooms.
The expanded Triangle Rock Club includes:
- A bouldering section with built-in 15-inch padding (no crash pad required).
- Lead climbing in more than half the gym.
- Systems wall, which Graybeal describes as a workout wall with holds placed symmetrically.
- Reactor wall, a new feature to TRC: On the 36-foot wall, the bottom third is slanted inward, the middle third is flush and the upper third is an overhang.
- A surprise, to be unveiled Saturday, that is less about the going-up part of climbing, more about the coming down.
Non-climbing features include:
- 1,500 square feet of multipurpose space that can be used for group exercise classes to corporate meetings.
- A cardio room with two treadmills, two exercise bikes, a Jacobs Ladder and an elliptical trainer.
- Wifi and workspace off the back of the gym.
- A back deck and outdoor grill.
- Another surprise to be reveled Saturday evening, that’s more about the apres-climb experience.
- Bathrooms, including “foot showers and dryers.”
“That’s a first in a climbing gym, says Graybeal. Never again will you have to leave with smelly gym feet.
The star of the expansion, though, are the 55-foot walls. What’s it like climbing that long on an indoor wall? Check back with us Monday to find out.
Here’s the schedule for Saturday’s grand opening:
9 a.m. – noon: Free Open House. To include tours, kid-centered games and activities, raffle drawings, climbing demos and membership incentives.
11 a.m. Carolina Celebrity Climb for a Cause Fundraiser. Five local charities — he Ronald McDonald House of Durham, JDRF, YMCA of the Triangle, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters) — have recruited local celebs to compete on the 55-foot wall.
Noon-7 p.m. Member and Day Pass Climbing. Tours, hourly raffle drawings, climbing demos, membership sign-up perks, a VIP area for members.
7 p.m.-11 p.m. TRC Summer Block Party. Food trucks, local breweries, live music, tours, giveaways. $15 for members, $25 for non-members.
* * *
Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.
