A local business opening this weekend wants to take customers to new heights.
Crimper’s Climbing, a rock climbing gym, will hold its grand opening on Saturday, April 14, is located in Christiansburg and will offer three climbing walls within ten minutes of Virginia Tech.
This isn’t the New River Valley’s first indoor climbing facility, though. Dwelling Place Christian Fellowship, a Christiansburg church, used to host a gym called “the Rock” for its youth that was popular with local climbers. However, the church closed the gym approximately two years ago.
“I don’t think that they were really trying to make money off of it and when they decided that it wasn’t the best thing for their youth, that’s when they got rid of it,” said Katherine Marek, a senior mechanical engineering major and president of the VT Rock Climbing Club.
The void left by its departure was not left unnoticed, however. After experiencing a particularly rocky year in which he lost his job as a broadcast engineer, John Johnson decided in 2010 to earnestly pursue his dream of opening his own climbing gym.
“It was (a drastic change),” said Johnson. “My passion for climbing is what kept me going.”
