Help Revitalize the NOLS PNW Bouldering Wall

Hi,

My name is tim parker and I am an instructor for NOLS (an outdoor education school) and live at the NOLS PNW location, just south of Mount Vernon, WA. For the past two years that I have lived on campus (and pretty much since the first time I came to this campus), this sad and lonely wall has remained largely unused. As you can see in the picture, it has great potential to be a fun wall. But, there are not even enough holds to make the whole wall usable at one time. Further, many of the holds are so old and greasy that they make the climbing a little scary. Lastly, it does not have proper crash pads so it is unsafe to climb more than 2 or 3 feet off of the ground. This greatly limits the potential of this little gym.

This winter, my partner Darcy and I started playing a little with what we had as we recently had a baby (as you can see in the picture), and it is hard to get off to a proper gym these days. Playing around was so much fun that we started thinking how awesome it would be to get some more climbing holds and a few crash pads to make the wall shine with the love and respect it deserves. Our vision is to make it a community space for staff at the PNW campus, for instructors coming through and for our students - something that has fun routes for climbers of all abilities and bodies. And is safe for all users! We hope to get a weekly Tuesday Night Bouldering party that is welcome to anybody in the area. And, we want to start a regular route setting schedule to keep it fun and fresh.

Unfortunately, both climbing holds and crash pads are really expensive these days. For example, the Metolius Mega Pack (50 holds) is $229.95 and the Evolve Drop Pad crash pad (4' x 3') is $269. (the big kind you find in gyms are way more expensive) With 100 more holds and 2 - 3 crash pads ($1000 - $1500) I think we can breath new life into this small bouldering wall. And, a few more crash pads and holds would make it really blossom into a community space! :)

Also, if you know of anyone trying to get rid of old climbing holds or crash pads, that would be helpful too!

Posting this project feels trivial in the light of all that is going on in the world - obviously, there are WAY more important places to send money. Please prioritize those over this little project!!! And, if you have a couple of bucks (literally) to send some love back to a place that has given so many staff, instructors and students love over the years, it would bring this community a little joy.

Thanks so much for considering, and if you have a connection with NOLS PNW - thank you so much for helping make this the incredible place it is today!

best,

tim