RISE rock wall offers fun, challenging activity

When Ryan and Amanda Peters recently supersized RISE Fitness + Adventure, one of the highlights was a 34-foot rock climbing wall and an accompanying 14-foot bouldering wall. 

The walls have garnered an overwhelming response from the RISE membership, Ryan Peters said. So to prevent them from going stale, they hired world-renowned wall setters Chris Way and Flannery Shay-Nemirow to reset routes. The duo handled the initial setup of RISE’s walls, and they recently returned to Rehoboth for five days to develop and test new routes designed to further challenge RISE’s members.  

“In a facility like this, there are often a lot of nonclimbers who use walls like this for fitness,” Way said. “That’s a growing trend. There are a lot of facilities around the country that utilize climbing walls as a kind of fitness tool.” 

Way and Shay-Nemirow set routes that cater to the RISE clientele, he said.

Both from Colorado, Way and Shay-Nemirow each have decades of experience setting courses for both indoor and outdoor climbing competitions. 

Way climbs all over the world, training high-level individuals and teams, including government groups and military teams. He also works in development and testing. Shay-Nemirow is a well-known forerunner in the climbing community, often called upon to test courses for the national events and World Cup competitions. 

Way and Shay-Nemirow’s paths often cross when they are contracted by a gym or rock-climbing facility to set or reset walls.

“It’s nice to come to a commercial facility like this and bring the things I’ve learned from forerunning at the World Cup,” Shay-Nemirow said. “It really gives the people in Rehoboth a unique look into high-level route-setting that they wouldn’t see otherwise.”

Peters said his members are pleased with the addition of the wall. 

“Some members jump right in, while others gradually work up the confidence by people-watching the climbers,” he said. “It’s great to see people work away at the routes and problems.” 

Rock walls and the bouldering walls present different challenges – each has its own specific lingo too. Where a climber follows a route on a rock wall, the path one must follow on a bouldering wall is called a problem. 

Climbers typically climb freely on a bouldering wall, generally a much lower wall with an adequately padded floor to soften any falls. However, the paths are often challenging and require the climber to solve the problem by using creative movements in order to reach the top.

Rock walls are more straightforward, as climbers follow the path set for them up the wall. Shay-Nemirow said they tried to avoid traditional laddering movement and, instead, make the wall a more gymnastic activity.  

“We definitely used a lot more gymnastic techniques than I think we would’ve for a different facility just because this is such an athletic population,” she said. “And because the people who already train here are already fit and coordinated, we can get away with more interesting movement on good holds.”

Peters said the gym tries to change the routes and problems every month, but it’s also important to bring in experts every once in a while to completely rework everything.

“We felt it was important to bring in new holds and change things based on the feedback and general skill level of the climbers at the gym,” he said. “An annual or semi-annual reset ensures fresh routes for everyone so that climbing never gets stale.” 

All members are required to go through an orientation and some basic hands-on instruction for the rock wall, which covers safety procedures, the equipment, the concept of routes and tips on movement. Climbers are constantly monitored. 

The bouldering wall is much more accessible and is open to anyone, though there is staff on hand to help train. 

“Climbing is a very social form of exercise,” Peters said. “The more experienced climbers typically give pointers and help the newer ones.” 

One thing RISE did correct when building the wall, Way said, was investing in high-quality holds. Unlike old-school holds that are small and sharp, Way said, RISE is using larger, rounder holds that are better for nonclimbers. 

“Slowly, [the climbing industry] adapted the shape and size of grips to be more ergonomic,” he said. “That lends itself to more of a gymnastic style [activity].” 

Newer holds are also easier for novice climbers, making the activity much more fun than it used to be. Shay-Nemirow said the goal was to create an enjoyable and accessible activity for the membership. 

The rock and bouldering walls at RISE are available to all members of the gym. RISE does not offer passes or memberships exclusive to the walls. To learn more about RISE, go to trainatrise.com or call 302-567-2112. RISE’s new location is at 35770 Airport Road, Rehoboth Beach, behind the AmericInn.