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Want to set up a climbing gym in Melbourne? 17-Aug-2009 At 1:51:05 PM WM

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I thought I was clear, but let me reiterate: the potential market I'm talking about is
Eastern Melbourne; and
a gym offering both bouldering and roped climbing

On 16/08/2009 alrob wrote:
>Bayside Rock is going to provide climbers in the east with an alternative to Nunnawading.

I don't agree. It helps people in the *southeast* (roughly, anyone south of the Monash) but for people in the east (or northeast for that matter), Carrum is as far or even farther away than Altona! Box Hill (for example) to Carrum is 90km return. So, even once the roped climbing is set up, Carrum will involve wasting 60+ minutes in the car, sacrificing a huge chunk of a weeknight training window. Not to mention being twice the cost if you add in petrol and Eastlink tolls ($10.30 return). I have every expectation that Carrum will be a great gym ... but unfortunately completely impractical for me on weeknights.

>I think they lack in quality routes, yes, but thats more to do with the
>very limited pool of experienced routesetters in Melbourne, and not managments
>decisions to not bother trying!

Again, I disagree. Irrespective of the quality of routes, the fact that some routes sit there for literally years is a disgrace - and entirely a result of management's decision not to fork out any money to replace them. Having a new crap route to climb every 3 months would be far better than climbing the same crap route for 2 years straight. And basic "supply and demand" makes it obvious that any lack of talented routesetters is a direct consequence of a lack of spending by the gyms. So yes, the lack of quality can also be blamed firmly on management.

>Seriously mate, thats a grose exaggeration, and one I know a lot of Melbourne climbers make. Most climbers out there
>can't begin to imagine, not just the amount of time and effort required
>to set routes, but also the difficulty and knowledge in setting a route
>which climbs well and people will enjoy, rather then a smattering of holds
>up a wall that resembles a route but climbs like shit.

I'll assume you know me well enough not to include me in that group! Regardless, the big question you haven't answered is why, when all climbing gyms around Melbourne/Australia/the world face the exact same problem, Nunawading has the worst quality route setting (at least of the dozens I've been to, in multiple countries). You already know what my answer is - if there's another explanation I'm all ears.