Climbing gyms across the state like Rockville Climbing Center are filled with climbers who not only love the sport, but also the ‘climbing communities’ they have come to build and create. Photo by John Saccenti

It was a late July afternoon — hot and humid and with just the right amount of mosquitoes and gnats to make the idea of an outdoor adventure less than appealing.

But inside the nearby Rockville Climbing Center in Hamilton, N.J., dozens of youngsters and a few adults were engrossed in one of the fastest growing “adventures” in the state: rock climbing.

It was a typical day at the 22-year-old Hamilton climbing gym: children attending the gym’s summer camp, scrambling up and down 32-foot walls by way of ropes and colorful hand and footholds, smiles on their faces and newly made friends laughing nearby; and adults quietly studying climbs or “bouldering” problems, trying to figure out the best route up.

“What draws people here is the community and the fact that when you come here as a beginner, you don’t feel intimated,” said Mike Fortunato, who opened Rockville (www.rockvilleclimbing.com) in 2001. “The expert climbers are going to help you out, there’s not a lot of ego here like there could be with other sports. The community here is simply the best I could imagine. That was important to me.”

While most gyms offer courses on how to belay, auto-belays have made the gyms more accessible than ever. Photo by John Saccenti

That atmosphere isn’t exclusive to Rockville. Climbing gyms across the state are filled with climbers who not only love the sport, but also the “climbing communities” they have come to build and create.

“Climbing is a very social sport and a driven community of individuals that come here to climb,” said Lucas Kovalcik, who opened the Gravity Vault (gravityvault.com) in Upper Saddle River in 2005 with Tim Walsh. “You can go into a gym and find people sitting organized, taking turns on a particular climb, encouraging each other. You want to see other succeed, and you are also taking pointers so you can improve.”

Fortunato and Kovalcik both said the sport has been growing in popularity, and the evidence can be seen just by noting the number of movies, television shows and commercials that feature climbing. The sport has been in the Olympics for several cycles, it is a feature of many children’s birthday parties, and the number of gyms is increasing. After several expansions to the original location, today, there are eight Gravity Vault locations in the state with two more expected to open in 2024. And with other gyms from North to South Jersey that can be found nearly everywhere, the sport is no longer considered an “extreme sport for adrenaline junkies, Kovalcik said.

“Blockbusters like ‘Free Solo’ and ‘The Dawn Wall’ have brought notoriety to the sport, brought it into the mainstream,” Kovalcik said. “Even simplistically stating it, Bergen County didn’t have a climbing facility, and by opening that first gym, we created a climbing community, we created a market. That market was initially a small radius, but that radius continued to grow.”

Many individuals who give the sport a try will be surprised to find that they can have almost immediate success, especially with the introduction of auto-belay machines. Pictured is the Saddle River location.
Photo courtesy of The Gravity Vault

When Fortunato first got hooked on the sport, climbing gyms were mostly occupied by outdoor climbers who used the gyms for practice. The climbing walls were little more than plywood painted gray with holds attached to them. Today, the facilities are fun, comfortable and interesting to look at. Rockville’s 12,000 square feet of climbing wall is manufactured to look like real stone.

“I went to a gym in South Jersey and got hooked instantly,” Fortunado said. A restaurant owner at the time, Fortunado decided in 1999 that he would rather open his own gym, because “I just felt that the gyms I’d been too, well, there was something better. I wanted to build something with a sense of community, for people who weren’t necessarily just climbers. … I wanted to make a facility that was more accessible to the general public, as well as to climbers.”

To that end, many gyms hold summer camps, birthday parties, and special events that appeal to long-time climbers as well as to newcomers. These days, you are just as likely to see a seasoned 20-year climber in the gym as someone stopping in for an hour or so during their lunch break for a quick workout.

Many individuals who give the sport a try will be surprised to find that they can have almost immediate success, especially with the introduction of auto-belay machines. Traditionally, rock climbing requires two people: a climber and a second person who belayed the climber to keep them from falling. While most gyms offer courses on how to belay, auto-belays have made the gyms more accessible than ever.

“When a parent comes in with three kids, before the auto-belays, they had to learn how to belay, and then after about an hour, the parent is exhausted,” Fortunato said. “Now it’s much more efficient. One parent can come in with three kids, and all three kids can climb at the same time.”

Climbing shoes use carefully crafted multipiece patterns to conform closely to the wearer’s feet.
Photo by John Saccenti

Kovalcik said creating a welcoming atmosphere that celebrates camaraderie and climbing also helps. “We have something for everyone,” Kovalcik said. “We create an environment where beginners and expert climbers alike can enjoy the sport of climbing together. There are no pretentious attitudes here. You leave that at the door.”

In addition to encouragement, new climbers often find that no matter how little or how much they do, the biggest gauge to success is how they feel afterward, and with a supportive community, feeling good about your accomplishments isn’t too difficult.

“I always say, the best climber is the one who leaves with the biggest smile, not the one who climbs the best. It’s the one whose smile is the biggest,” Fortunato said.

Many of these climbers get together outside of the gym, traveling to other sites to try new routes and climbs, or even heading to outdoor climbing areas. Some Gravity Vault members even travel from location to location trying new climbs and new routes or get together socially in other ways.

And, as could be expected, many a friendship has been made this way.

“There are just countless friendships that have been built through this place, and that to me is a huge source of pride,” said Fortunato, who added that he has lost count of what he calls “Rockville Babies,” children had by couples who met at the gym. “As far as married couples, I would say at least 50 people since I’ve been here have gotten married, having met here for the first time. That’s pretty cool. And because we follow them on social media, we see them having babies and we say, ‘wow,’ that’s a Rockville Baby.”

So, for all the reasons to give indoor rock climbing a try, Kovalcik added one last observation for those on the fence.  “The number of people who come in and say it’s on their bucket list to try fascinates me,” he said. “Rarely have I had someone say, ‘I regret trying that.’ If they are thinking about it, then go for it. It can be amazing.”