Santa Rosa climbing star Kevin Jorgeson plans new climbing gym

Superstar rock climber Kevin Jorgeson, whose 19-day ascent of Yosemite's Dawn Wall captivated the world in 2015, is undertaking his next climbing challenge right in his hometown of Santa Rosa - building a state-of-the art climbing gym from the ground up.

Jorgeson and his business partner, Mike Shaffer, an accomplished climber in his own right, have joined forces with a prominent developer to build a new multi-million-dollar facility called Session Climbing on what is now a vacant lot beside Highway 101.

The bold venture is one of two bids - the other by the pioneering local climbing gym Vertex - to capitalize on the soaring popularity of the sport of indoor climbing, better serve the county's tight-knit climbing community and help expand its appeal to a broader audience.

“We need something new to hold the next generation of climbers here in Sonoma County,” Jorgeson said.

Indoor climbing gyms have been booming in recent years, as urban-dwelling millennials flock to a sport viewed by many as more social and authentic than other fitness trends like cross-fit.

Last year, 34 new climbing gyms opened in 23 different states in the U.S., a growth rate of 10 percent, according to Climbing Business Journal. As further evidence of the sport's growing popularity, indoor climbing will be an Olympic event for the first time in 2020 in Tokyo.

But there hasn't been a new climbing facility in Sonoma County since Vertex Climbing Center opened in Santa Rosa in 1995, and the climbing community has been clamoring for a next-generation gym for years.

Vertex's current owner, Gorden Cooley, who says he's been planning to move into a larger, more modern facility since 2012, announced plans late last month to relocate to a new undisclosed location downtown by next year.

Jorgeson and Shaffer, who said their efforts to partner with Cooley didn't pan out, said they're moving forward on Session Climbing to deliver the climbing gym the community deserves. They've lined up investors, convinced Brad Baker, the former head of Codding Enterprises, to buy the land and develop the site, and have begun the permit approval process at the city. Their first appearance before the Design Review Board is in the coming weeks.

$6 million project

They envision a climbing gym and fitness center in a modern, metal-clad industrial building on South A. Street, between Highway 101 and Santa Rosa Avenue.

The top of the 23,000-square-foot building would be 55 feet, tall enough to accommodate new climbing walls up to 47 feet high and large banks of windows allowing in natural light. There would be top rope and lead climbing and bouldering walls, a mezzanine with rooms for yoga, climbing and other fitness equipment and space for community events.

At its center would be a café and circular gathering area that Jorgeson said hopes will evoke the feeling of relaxation and camaraderie he's often felt with friends around the camp fire after an exhilarating day of big wall climbing.

“It's a place you would want to be even if you weren't climbing,” Jorgeson said of his vision. Baker, CEO of SOMO Village in Rohnert Park, said he was introduced to Jorgeson and Shaffer through a mutual friend and was immediately impressed with the pair's passion and depth of knowledge about the industry.

“They've certainly done their homework,” Baker said.

They convinced Baker to buy the land, which cost about $1 million, lease it back to them, develop the site and build the building. The structure, which features an alpine-themed exterior, has been designed by Santa Rosa-based Archilogix and will cost about $6 million, Baker said.

In addition to appealing to his own interest in the outdoors and healthy lifestyles, the project has a personal connection for Baker. His family, with roots in Sonoma County dating back to the 19th century, once owned the South A Street property, which is just a few blocks north of the Baker Avenue overpass over Highway 101.

Mostly, Baker said he's just thrilled to see a high-caliber operation coming to his city.

“Kevin is a world-class athlete and this is going to be a world-class facility,” Baker said. “It's a great project for Santa Rosa.”

Room for two?

Jorgeson, 33, turned his attention in earnest to bringing a new gym to the area after completing his free ascent of the Dawn Wall route of El Capitan, considered by many to be the most difficult sustained rock climb ever.

For nearly three weeks, he and climbing partner Tommy Caldwell hauled themselves up the sheer walls of Yosemite National Park's iconic granite monolith. They grasped razor-thin holds with shredded fingertips and used ropes only to catch them when they fell and to support their gear, including the dangling portaledges on which they slept.

The world watched spellbound as they battled to complete the 3,000-foot ascent, and when they reached the summit, Caldwell - already a star in the climbing world - and Jorgeson assured their place in the sport's history books. Sponsorships and corporate speaking gigs and media appearances followed, and Jorgeson began thinking about what was next for him.

He began talking about gym opportunities with Shaffer, a climbing buddy who was in graduate school in Iowa studying English literature but was eager for a change.

Their first instinct was to approach the owners of Vertex, the gym where they both had spent so many years of their lives training and working. The conversations were “open but unfruitful,” Jorgeson said.

Both sides say they wish each other well and that they're confident that the competition will only strengthen and help grow the sport in the area.

Research shows that when new climbing gyms open in a market, the old ones typically aren't driven out of business, Jorgeson said. The rising-tide-lifts-all-boats theory holds true for the fast-growing climbing gym industry, he said.

“Vertex doesn't have to lose for Session to win,” Jorgeson said.

Cooley, the Vertex owner, acknowledged some “hesitation” at the prospect of direct competition for the first time, but he said he feels confident that new facilities can expand the market and make Santa Rosa a hub for climbing in the region.

“There is definitely room for both,” Cooley said. “The sport of climbing has been growing monumentally.”

Cooley announced Vertex's expansion plans in an email to members last month. Plans call for a larger space with more walls and longer routes, a yoga and pilates studio, space for conditioning and children's activities, a sauna and improved locker rooms. Anticipated occupancy is in early 2019. Cooley said the timing of the announcement was connected to signing of a lease for an existing building in the “greater downtown” Santa Rosa area, which he declined to identify.

Balancing act for new gym

Shaffer has 16 years of experience working at climbing gyms in the Bay Area. He and Jorgeson are equal partners, but he plans to run day-to-day operations, while Jorgeson will balance the business with his climbing career.

While indoor climbing gyms may have originated with dedicated outdoor rock climbers looking to climb when the weather was bad, it's become its own niche in the climbing world, Shaffer said.

The sport is catching on so quickly because unlike some workouts, it is not just physical, but mental and social, as well, Shaffer said. Climbing is a form of problem solving, “and problem solving is a collective undertaking,” which brings people together, he said.

That's the idea behind having Session anchored by a casual café that encourages community, he said.

“Ideally it'll be a place where people will want to be even if they're not stuck to the wall,” Shaffer said.

Jorgeson, who has proven adept at overcoming complex challenges, seems to see his next one clearly. Older climbing gyms tend to have the authenticity of a local climbing community committed to their success, while corporate big box gyms have greatly enhanced the accessibility of the sport.

“Our challenge is to find that balance between accessibility and authenticity,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207.