the first thoughts

I’m going to try and right a proposal for getting us back to climbing in Kitsap County. That being said I will likely fail horribly.

So here’s the deal kids, there is a warehouse space in Ghorst roughly twice the size of the bouldering room in the old Kitsap gym. The space has some limitations which I will list in a second, but I want to point out first that these barriers are not unworkable unless it is an option for you to quit climbing. So here are the problems as I see them.

1. The building is small. Foot print is roughly 20ft by 60ft… I think. The height is 20 ft.
2. The parking lot has limited space and it protected by a fence with a combination padlock, which we can’t openly disseminate.
3. The rent and utilities would have to be shared by everyone.
4. There is not currently any walls for climbing in the space or obvious existing structure for walls to be constructed. Also we don’t currently have access to holds or padding for safe climbing.
5. There is no organized group to manage this facility I’m proposing.

Okay kids, those are some broad strokes on why we need to work as a group to solve our problems. I’ve been thinking a lot about these issues and I have come up with some creative solutions. My answers will not be the end all, what I hope is that you will all read this and come to a consensus on how we can work together to keep climbing. I don’t expect my ideas to be overwhelming well received. I am just hoping to promote a positive dialogue and a starting point for how to get through this slump that has been force down our throats. So please make any notes and let’s hash this out. I’m sure you all will have great ideas that just haven’t occurred to me yet.

Now I’m going to start breaking down each problem and how I have tried to solve them. My goal is to keep things low impact and commitment as well as the simplest solution.

The building: okay first off this I know it isn’t the only building. It just happens to be the only place that seems to be in anyway a solution. If someone can find anywhere else that will serve our need better…now is not the time to keep it to yourself. I know we can’t get on ropes in a 20ft ceiling but at least well be climbing. The Kitsap bouldering has been a letdown for many for no other reason than how small it was. So this could be better in that respect. Given that if you have only one choice you have no choice. I have no choice but to keep climbing so this building will be just fine for me.

The Parking: It has not been agreed upon with the landlord yet or even discussed but I have a working solution for the parking. First the lot is small but would hold several cars. We would need to be courteous to our neighbors and not block access to items the other tenants are storing, but I don’t think that would be a huge issue. The gate to the parking like I said has a padlock. Essential we need a system of have a small group with full access and others who can count on them to let them in. This should be workable as I don’t suspect we will have a huge group of climbers utilizing the “gym” anyway.

The Bills: The sign on the door says rent $450 a month. It has gas heater and plenty of florescent lighting. I have no idea what the actual bill for these will be but let’s say $150 a month for arguments sake. That means for some bum to hang out here for a month its $600. The year’s bills would be $7,200. These bills will be split evenly by everyone. When we had Rich our sugar daddy there was some free riders myself being number 1! In this world everyone pays to climb. I’ll come back to how to manage the money later.

The Climbing: the walls we can build. How much? How fast? It’s all up to us. Initially I imagine everyone looking at themselves and asking “what can I contribute?". Some people will contribute more others will contribute less. There are those of us who have personal collections of holds, whether or not those holds are shared at the gym remains up to the individual. Anybody who brings in holds does not get a break on the bills. Everyone pays. But the holds are theirs put your mark on them and take them back at anytime. I also have the ability to make climbing holds. If the group wants we can throw that into high gear. I understand if people aren’t into this idea, it’s just a possible solution. The walls I see as two possible solutions or a combination of both. One we can pass around the collection plate and build walls that belong to the group. If you have no money to share that’s fine, we still need peoples energy to build, tools and help with the rent. Plus I think people should only commit to the level they want. I don’t want anyone to feel put upon. That’s the way that ends friendships. The other route is individuals can buys things like plywood panels put in the T-nuts and retain ownership. Again like holds if you decide to quit then you are welcome to take your panels. I feel like this is a reasonable way to let people invest a lot but not fear losing their investment. They can take the walls somewhere else and use them there. It’s a bit sloppy but I think it will work.

The Club: This is the hardest part. Organizing anything always alienates someone. But the hope is to be willing to work together so we can all keep climbing. First off I call it a club but I mean that in the loosest sense. In fact I propose only minimal member roles. First someone has to handle the money. I have already talked to Blair and he is considering this. Blair wants someone to do it with him and he named Shane. If this works for everyone, then I’m happy with it. I feel these two guys working together are above reproach and if they do decide to hit the islands…well they won’t be able to stay long because it not that much money and we can just kick the shit out of the when they get back.

Next we can only have some many people with door keys and gate combinations. These people I call “key members”, clever right? Well a key member will be able to access the gym at any time… but they also have to agree to let everyone know when they will be there. This can be done via facebook and a blog, which I already have. We may consider also asking key member to contribute more as they get more than the average Joe. That’s up for debate. I suspect we can have ten or a maximum of fifteen “keys”. That part will likely be up to the land lord and we will need to respect that.

Finally, members are the everyman at the gym. We should probably try to have planned hours of being open which every can count on to come and climb. We can do the FB and blog, plus we could put a physical calendar on the wall for people to look at. Members will help split the bills. I think the goal should be to pay between $20 and $30 a month. I also think that we need to pay up for the whole year or at least 6 months so that nobody has to chase people down every month. I think the membership goal should be between 25 and 50 people. 50 sounds like an extreme maximum to me just so you all know. To give you an idea of what kind of money we are talking about.

Total bills: $600 a month x 12 months = $7,200 a year
Income: 30 members x $20 monthly dues x 12 months = $7,200
Essentially that’s the balancing point and we work the numbers up and down from there.

The Rules: this is the only problem I hadn’t mentioned before. Ultimately I think the least amount of rules possible would be best. I think it should be a speakeasy, new members should be voted upon visitors should place five bucks in a jar or something. And nobody is in charge of anything. That being said, everyone needs to treat the place like it was their favorite grandmothers house… more respectful than you are of your own stuff.