Over Three Decades of Building Climbing Walls

Over the last few decades EP has seen a life cycle or two within the indoor climbing world and rock climbing in general. As we head into on our 5th week of remote work time here in the USA, we’ve started a photo archive clean up.I’m sure there are some earlier #EPbuilt images out there to be shared – post them, tag them if you like! Here are a few that got set aside, now ready to make their way back to the 30+ year office wall to providing a much needed make-over into the office.

Images date back to the late 90’s showcasing what some of us remember as the concrete bunker panel systems – Imprint, yes, some of these iconic walls still stand out there. Then, FreeForm. Iconic entrances and atrium, outdoor boulder parks to small indoor replica crags. Real Rock walls were built in private schools, colleges, universities… YMCA’s, Kroc Centers, recreation facilities… Google and so many corporate campus wellness centers… around North America – climbing walls were being built like today’s recreational water parks. In the last decade, climbing… more detailed, competition climbing has entered another cycle, introducing fields of play, built angular, closed edge, MozaiK wood panels. Climbing has been engaging the world competition scene at new levels, remarkably as it hits the Olympic stage for 2020… we pause and look forward to unite in 2021. This transition created new career paths for route-setters, coaches, facility managers, program directors… many that were not here 20 years ago.

We are proud of the projects we’ve been invited to be a part of over the years. We are humble and happy to be part of a family, hand-up industry and doing business with all the folks we call partners today. Send in or share your best gym photo, we could use some more knee high socks, tighter tights, neon leg warmers, burly mustaches and permed mullets… not just the latest images out of CBJ and Gym Climber.And as we plug a few of our friends, make sure to check out the community gatherings at the CWA, great sitting in, learning, growing.

#SteadySetClimb #ClimbingForEveryone