City Climber's Club

Location(s)

The City Climbers Club is a non-profit member organization formed 15 years ago to negotiate climbing access issues in Central Park. That relationship lead eventually to the creation of the climbing wall at the West 59th Street Rec Center. Your membership dues and day-pass fees fund the club and the gym. We want you to be more involved, and to understand how the club operates. To better serve the members and to respond to the increased demand the club has experienced in recent years, we recently reorganized the management structure. Here's who's who and what's what:

The CCC is overseen by a Board of Directors, all of whom are club members. The current board members are: Todd Morris (President), John Murray (Vice President), Marat Saks (Treasurer), Daniel Simon (Secretary) and Richie Chin. They make the big, long-term decisions about how the club is run, how to best spend your membership dues and how to make sure the club continues to grow and thrive.

The day-to-day operations of the gym are run by five managers:

Eric Lee is the Human Resources Manager. He oversees the supervisors, conducts all the training and is responsible for the climbing instruction programs.

Iggy Gaerlan is the Programs Director. He runs the daytime events most members never see, including private parties, after-school programs and kids' events.

Ed Gelabert is the Physical Plant Manager. He is responsible for maintaining all aspects of the gym's infrastructure and equipment.

Additionally, Graham Williams is responsible for our website and communications.

Iggy, Graham and Eric all work regular supervisor shifts, so they are around to answer your questions about the club and the gym. If you have any ideas or concerns, or if you want to get involved, let us know. The Club's success hinges on member involvement.

CLIMBING GYM POLICIES

A number of rules and policies have evolved over the years. We want you to know what they are, and why they are important:

Rental Equipment: The cost of rental gear is figured into the day pass fee, not annual memberships. (This is one reason we have by far the lowest membership cost in town.) For this reason, members are expected to have their own shoes, harnesses and locking carabiners. If you forget your gear from time to time we won't make a big deal about it, but the wear and tear on the equipment takes a toll. At the bare minimum (we know some of you are poor students) bring your own biners, as we run out of these the fastest.

No Loose Chalk: As you know, we pack a lot of routes and climbers in a small space. That means a lot of grime accumulates fast. The biggest culprit is loose chalk, which cakes the holds, covers the floor and chokes the air conditioner. Use chalk balls only, preferably the sewn balls that can't leak.

High Bouldering: Accomplished climbers are capable of assessing risks and deciding how far off the deck they can safely climb without a rope, but the gym is a dynamic environment with unpredictable risks from spinning holds to the actions of other climbers. For that reason, high bouldering (on the yellow wall) is prohibited when there are more than 10 climbers in the gym. High bouldering is always at the discretion of the supervisors on duty. Spotters are recommended at all times. Also use the black crash pad.

Route Grades: Because the length and difficulty of routes in our gym is somewhere in between boulder problems and sport climbs, we use our own color grading system. Here are the rough YDS equivalent grades:

White (easy): 5.1 to 5.3

Blue (moderate): 5.4 to 5.6

Green (difficult): 5.7 to 5.9

Red (severe): 5.10 to 5.11-

Black (extreme): 5.11 and above If you feel a route is excessively sandbagged (undergraded), point it out to the supervisor.

Gym Etiquette: Don't climb over or under another climber without communicating with them. The roped climber has the right of way. Don't offer unsolicited beta (instructions). If you notice tape missing from a route, report it to the supervisor immediately.