[unclesomebody]

doesn't sound cheap if you're used to paying less than half that for something damn good.

As our little home from home is not a publically available facility its not an option to most, to whom the cheapest year round is probably £250 at the Foundry. Plus, you have to like chalk dust and small holds at our place, and its hardly user friendly! (all the more reason I love it).

Do you know, when the other BM saw Percy (et al)'s venture, he suggested we close the board! I punished him most severely I can tell you. The scars have only just healed.

ha ha... gone are those scary winters nights, all alone in the school. Lightning crashing down, flickering light bulbs, and dreams of making it to C51. I think this new board has the potential to supersede the school, but until it does I'll keep on going.

[dobbin]

At least you dont have to put the key back in the hole of doom any more.

[unclesomebody]

At least you dont have to put the key back in the hole of doom any more.

  errr... I just used to put it in the hiding place, not in my "hole of doom". That's why no one could find it after you had been up there!

[Paul B]

just been to visit this and was thoroughly impressed! Competition wall looks very good and the 30 deg board (which will be having fixed holds) is massive. The double sided crazily high campus board sounded fun too!

[simes]

Pricing will be as follows.....

£4.50 Off-peak concessions
£5.50 Off-peak standard rate
£5.50 Peak concessions
£6.50 Peak standard

Off peak finishes at 4pm - and weekends are peak time all day

£2.00 one off registration fee on your first visit

Those prices don't look too bad. Nice one.

(I must admint i've never really understood the justification behind the "registration fee" that a lot of walls charge, however.)

I would have said that is very expensive. Theres no way I can afford £6.50 3 times a week. Thats the reason I havent been to the foundry / edge for several years. I was hoping this wall would be cheaper.
Bugger.

[Duma]

But if you're going 3 times a week that makes the yearly rate about 2 pound a go, surely?

[a dense loner]

why would it possibly be cheaper? what kind of brain would build the next generation of wall and then charge less for it? a bankrupt one obviously

[Bonjoy]

 
 If you want cheap, go to the Healey/Vine boulder, or buy a bar from Argos.
 I for one would rather live 5mins from the best bouldering wall in the world at the same price as an average wall, rather than five minutes from an average wall at a cheap price. You get what you pay for. These boys are taking a huge personal financial risk on this venture and they've got to be sure to get enough money back to keep the place afloat. I think they pitching the price correctly.

[squeek]

I would have said that is very expensive. Theres no way I can afford £6.50 3 times a week. Thats the reason I havent been to the foundry / edge for several years.

It's not very expensive, it's not even expensive, it's pretty cheap.  It's a business not a charity and they need to cover the costs just to keep it running.  £6.50 what's that, 3 drinks in a pub, 30 fags, sky for 5 days, taxi ride for a couple of miles after a night out, or several hours in a quality bouldering wall.  It's just over 1 hours work at minimum wage for an adult.

[Paul B]

I'd say if you think its expensive go and have a look to at what your getting, you pay more for entrance to the edge bouldering room which is completely inconsequential compared to the scale of this facility!

BONJOY - you got membership?

[Bonjoy]

 I would do, but with going away for six months next year it doesn't work out cost effective

[Aussiegav]

to all the guys setting up this wall. i admire your courage, as some climbers i have met are the most tight fisted, frugal people i've come across. GENERALIZING...
but they always want stuff with a discount or free.. they would rather sleep in font in cold wet cave and then climb poorly as a result than spend money on a nice dry room with a bed and climb well.

so best of luck to you all,
i think your prices are spot on. and i'll be giving you my money in the future.

for those of you who are whinging about the cost or wanting discounts, these guys are trying to put food on the table, roof over their heads and secure a future.
what chance have they got if people are wanting hand outs and 'value for money'.
for those complaining, there's always the peak, it didn't stop whillans, brown et al...

[Percy B]

Thanks for the support, chaps. Our rationale for embarking on this project is that 'someone' is going to do it, and it might as well be us lot. We have a reasonable ammount of expertise, and were basically stupid enough to put our money where our mouths are. So now we're fully committed - if it works (and it bloody well should do) then we'll have realised our dream of making the worlds best bouldering wall. If it doesn't then it won't be for want of trying. Many thanks to everybody who has helped out, or has offered to lend a hand - its much appreciated.

If you want to use the best bouldering wall in the world, it will cost you money. Not a lot of money, mind, but enough to pay for the bloody thing to be there in the first place. On planet earth in 2006 this corresponds to £6.50 per visit at peak times. It may go up in the future, it may stay the same, but anybody who wants to climb at The Climbing Works has to pay it. Sam, Graeme and I know so many climbers between us that if we all let our mates in for free, or for a discount, we'd be bust in weeks. So everybody pays, either in money or services rendered (currently one years free use is 100 8x4 sheets of ply drilled, t-nutted and 2 screws put in the back of every t-nut - 60 t-nuts per board before you ask). This takes even the most simple minded workaholic 4 to 5 days so we ain't giving it away!

So don't ask for a discount. Our real friends and supporters wouldn't even dream of it. If you don't want to pay for good indoor climbing then nobody's making you. However, we will make sure that the Works is the best way to spend £6.50 so don't panic!

I'm off to the pub now.

[Buoux 8C]

Just my pennys worth, I think the entrance fees suggested are more than fair if the wall lives up to it's high expectations- which I am certain it will Obviously climbers been climbers would still haggle if it where £2.

Let's not forget in London, the unlucky bastards are charged nearly a tenner a pop for walls which arguably offer less and also the substantial outlay a project like this requires.

If you're not happy paying the £6.50, cough up £200 notes, go 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year and bobs your uncle, its cost less than a nugget a time.

I wish the guys all the best and have utmost respect for them getting off their arses and trying to make a difference. No excuses now Keith, one day you may be as ripped as Doyle.

Good luck.

[Doylo]

No excuses now Keith, one day you may be as ripped as Doyle.

In his dreams!

[Houdini]

As someone said to me yesterday:  The physio's based near this new wall must be rubbing their hands with glee.

Release the Crips, Smithers!

[GraemeA]

The physio's based near this new wall must be rubbing their hands with glee.

I'm saying nowt 

[Pantontino]

Did I not also speculate that Mr Alderson and his crew would have negotiated some sort of financially attractive onsite franchise deal for a crack team of high class physios. It would save all the cripples having to walk down the road to get their shoulders mended.

[GraemeA]

I'm saying nowt. 

[GraemeA]

Well nowt except for saying that 2 skips have recently gone missing in Sheffield, 1 mini skip and 1 full size skip. Wonder what the Doc (Longy) has been up to with them?

[Bungle.]

were they full or empty ?

[GraemeA]

Well last I saw the mini skip had a Taz in it, we were trying to get it sealed up before it escaped but you know how quick they move.

[Percy B]

There ain't that many walls in the worlds who are looking for a skip sponsor. Certainly has that 'Oh my God, what have they done?!?' effect when you walk in now, Graeme! Complete madness.

[Percy B]

Our blog is back working again, after we had a load of hassle with the tossers who hosted the first attempt. I have popped a nice pair of pictures on there to whet your appetites. I have seen the future, and its shaped like a skip!

[Paz]

.. they would rather sleep in font in cold wet cave

Which cold wet cave did you have in mind?  Is it any good?

The thing I notice with climbing walls is that they're always rammed.  So not only can they can get away with charging what they do at the moment - they could get away with charging more -and moreover the climbers who weren't priced out would appreciate it as the wall would be less busy.  I don't know what price provides you with an optimum profit (I'm sure some economist has written a book about it) but I'm always surprised they don't charge even more, at least at peak times (e.g. winter tuesday and thursday evenings after dark), when like in Bristol they regularly have to turn people away when they reach the fire limit or something (they usually still let boulderers in though, even though it can get so busy that the line between being spotted and crowd surfing is crossed).  And bearing in mind what I implied about my knowledge of economics, and that although the walls and mags like to whine on about how we should be supporting them in summer as it's a hard time (poor them), wouldn't it make sense to lower your prices in summer to attract more customers?  Apart form booking way in advance, isn't that what Ryan Air and Easy Jet do?