Exercise, for the mind and body, is easy to find in Charlottesville. With fast access to trails, pools, sports for all ages, lectures, book talks, and trivia nights, the options are endless, and welcoming communities like De La Roll skating and the Prolyfyck Run Creww make stepping outside your comfort zone a breeze.
Perhaps less visible than the runners, bikers, and rollers—but equally avid—is our area’s climbing community. An inclusive and enthusiastic bunch, many of Charlottesville’s climbers can be found practicing their craft at Rocky Top Climbing.
The tiny gym tucked inside McIntire Plaza has remained at the heart of the local climbing scene since 1993. Rocky Top originally opened as a top roping facility, and over the years transitioned into only offering bouldering. Top roping is when the climber is securely attached to a rope anchored at the top of the climbing route and held by a belayer at the bottom. Bouldering is rope-free, but much closer to the ground, and always with cushy pads below.
“This is a really nice town to have something like [Rocky Top],” says Dan Shoupe, the gym’s manager. “There’s definitely gyms I’ve been to in big cities where there’s much less of that community vibe.”
The gym’s longevity and growth is owed in large part to Rocky Top’s small team of passionate staff members who’ve kept climbers engaged.
Shoupe, who’s been at Rocky Top for 10 years, says his journey with climbing began as a child. “It’s kind of corny,” he says. “I was a Boy Scout growing up, and they say tons of Boy Scouts find their life passion through Scouting, and I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever dude.’ But we went to a climbing gym in Richmond in sixth grade, and we had an absolute blast.”
It’s the participation in problem solving that’s made Shoupe a long-standing member of the climbing culture. “We get a lot of folks here who are big chess nerds, me being one of them,” he says. “It’s about laying out your plan of attack. It’s very interesting trying to suss out how exactly to interface with the rocks on the wall. It’s not just being strong, it’s about technique—it’s a physical puzzle to solve. From there you get involved with the community, and you make friends doing it too, and it just becomes a whole part of this lifestyle.”
Climbing is unique because it requires equal amounts of strength and brainpower. Peek inside Rocky Top any day of the week and you’ll find the 13-foot walls crowded with strategists, clinging for purchase, mapping out the next best place to move a hand or foot. Children just learning to walk scoot along the traverse wall, while seasoned climbers well into their 80s make their way up the aptly named Steep Room. Experts stand alongside novices as they wait their turn.
“There’s so much technique and skill that goes into climbing,” says Rocky Top member Chloë Ester Cook. “It’s very equalizing. The work you put into it pays off in both the skill and the strength that you gain. My favorite thing about it is how it makes you feel—sexy, powerful, strong, capable, smart—and the community.”
“Climbing is one of the most welcoming communities to newcomers,” Cook continues. “There are so many people at Rocky Top who will cheer you on and encourage you. That feeling of working on something and achieving it is so infectious.”
Successfully solving a bouldering problem can sometimes take weeks, and once a climber has it mapped out, only a minute or two to execute. To keep things fresh and exciting, Shoupe works with head route setter Calvin Biesecker to reset one wall a week.
Mapping out climbing routes is an art in itself. Some holds might be impossible due to the angle of the wall, so it takes a lot of planning to ensure the setup is fun, functional, and fair.
“A lot of gyms in the industry don’t pay people to take the time to figure out how to make interesting paths,” says Shoupe. “A big part of keeping people engaged here is knowing they need something interesting to do week after week. We keep it novel.”
Biesecker’s biggest project of the year is The Rumble, Rocky Top’s annual spring bouldering competition.
The fifth annual Rumble takes place on April 22, and the day-long event includes new bouldering challenges for all skill levels, plus a big cash prize. The Rumble, like Rocky Top, is open to beginners.
“There’s a pretty low barrier of entry,” says Shoupe. “All that it takes is for it to be fun and fascinating to you.”
