Going Supersonic

So the last section of wall is now almost complete, bar a few boards, and the whole centre is taking on a different feel altogether.



As you can see it's fairly steep and should prove a great spectacle for comp finals and for anyone chilling out in the cafe.



The rhs is fairly constant at 60 degrees while the left will form a more complex cave stucture.



Meanwhile on the darkside, The Escalator wall is now complete, with just a bit of I-beam boxing in to finish the woodwork off.



Elsewhere there's also lots of activity. The plastering is in full swing as is the floor laying, and all the new lighting fixtures are being attached to the ceilings.



All the walls are due to be undercoated this weekend so the whole place should soon take on a more ghostly feel.

1st Routes

We set our 1st problems today to get a few photos taken. My good friend Dave 'The Boff' Pickford popped in to snap off a few shots for us before I stripped the routes down again ready for painting.



Dave's getting a deserved reputation for both his photography, lectures and for his excellent journalism. He's got a few up and coming lectures in Bristol - Adventure Photography at the Hen and Chicken in Bedminster on Nov 19th and Madagascar (for the Wilderness lecture series) at the University Chemistry lab on Nov 26th. Both start at 7.30pm.

You can see more of Dave's photos at www.davidpickford.com and www.planetfear.com

Toilets

Toilets have got to be one of the most important parts of any project to get right, that's why we have built ours as solid rooms within rooms with proper heavy doors. There's nothing worse than a flimsy cramped cubicle to make you feel vunerable and self concious.



The cubicles are well oversized too, so they can be used as private changing rooms, and we are fitting underfloor heating to make the experience much more pleasant too.

Lighting

Lighting is such an important part of the climbing centre that we've researched all the options very thoroughly and decided on Phillips Activiva Active lamps.
Since 2002, Phillips has been working with leading universities to understand just how light affects us, physically and psychologically. The focus has been the highly complex relationship between light and well being and the Activiva lamp is a result of this research.
The Activiva Active is a new lamp based on tried and tested technology, in which the amount of blue light has been optimized to provide extreme cool light with 85% more blue light than existing cool daylight lamps. These not only provide high quality lighting in line with the latest standards, but also directly affect the way people feel by making them more alert, awake and energized.

Timber Origami

We've been cracking on with, and have now finished the framework for the last sections of wall. It's difficult to make a shape of the origami-like structure but it will soon be apparent with ply pannelling - needless to say it's the jewel in the already impressive crown...







The Phat 45 wall is all finished and were just putting in all new electrics for the lighting system.

5 and 14 year membership update

One of the people who's taking a long membership asked if we would allow them to be transferable. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do so we've said yes. So, now, if you take one of our 5 or 14 year memberships and you end up leaving Bristol or stopping climbing for some reason, you can sell it on to someone else. Makes it even more of a bargain!

Climbing Wall Solutions

Big Ron Barraclough popped by this week for a look at the wall, very dapper in lilac and sporting his freshly sign-written van. Formerly part of the team trying to set up Climbing Works Bristol, Ron's attempts were thwarted by a mixture of council and landlord nightmares. Fortunately his Climbing Wall Solutions business is going from strength to strength. So if you need a great climbing wall for your sports centre, school or just your double garage then give Ron a call or drop him an email to discuss your requirements.
Ron was impressed with the constuction so far and as one of the top routesetters in the country, expect to see his gymnastic handywork appearing on the walls of The Climbing Academy now and again.

A very special offer

With the climbing surfaces nearly finished and a target opening date of November 15th, we are ready to offer a limited number of very specially priced, long term subscriptions to The Climbing Academy.
Our 5 year subscriptions are on offer at £1,250 a discount of around 35% on 5 yearly memberships.
We’re also offering a 14 year membership (the length of our lease) at £3,000 a discount of around 45%.
If you’re interested in either of these, please contact me by email on r.emerson@ukonline.co.uk and I’ll call you back to discuss how it will work.
We have a limited number of these subscriptions and we’ll sell them strictly on a first come first served basis.
Speak soon
Rich

Phat 45

We've been working on the Phat 45 wall today and should have it complete tomorrow. It starts with the magnificant prow before hitting an awkward groove, a slight lessening of angle (40 degrees) and then a blunt arete to finsh.



The bottom end is looking great and will be complete when the ceiling boards go up and remaining I beams are boxed.