K S TORY A N D PHOTOG R A PHY BY GABRIELLE CALISE
atie Meyer scans the wall in front o f h e r, h e r e y e s darting to different colored chunks that protrude, determining how she wants to conquer it. And then she starts to climb. Sweat drips from her face. Pain shoots through her tired forearms. Still, she doesn’t stop, reaching higher until finally, she makes her way up the wall at Sun Country Sports Center. Meyer, an employee at Sun Country, is one of the many climbers in Gainesville. Like others in the area, her go-to spot used to be the Gainesville Rock Gym. But everything changed in December. When employees peeled back layers of padding and carpeting while preparing to add a new wall, cracks in the floor were exposed, said Isaac Knudson, a former GRG employee. GRG launched a GoFundMe campaign, and the community donated more than $10,000. According to updates posted by the gym’s owners on the page, negotiations with the insurance company have been making the repair process proceed slowly. The gym is temporarily closed until repairs can be made. For the past six months, many local climbers have had to get inventive. “It’s still a transition for people,” Meyer said. “It was just this core place.” While Gainesville lost what many considered to be the center of the climbing community in town, there are still local, state and regional options for those who want to get involved with the sport. JULY/AUGUST 2016
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
ADVENTURE SPORT >> ROCK CLIMBING
At Sun Country Sports Center in Jonesville, visitors can take climbing classes, join a team and compete, or just drop in to climb. After the Gainesville Rock Gym closed, this is one of the few places to climb in the area.
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