Over the past few years, Vancouver-based climbers Adam Diamond, Brock Tilling, and Tara Tilling have been looking for a place for their new gym. After months of searching, the trio finally found their spot in Cloverdale, BC. The new venue will feature 8000 square feet of bouldering-only terrain and will feature some pretty beautiful wall concepts. Project Climbing is slated to open the first week of August and Squamish Climbing Magazine had the chance to sit down with Adam Diamond to get the details. Here is what he had to say!
Hi Adam, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Word on the street is that Cloverdale has a new gym coming soon. Can you tell us a bit about the facility and what folks should expect?
Hi Tim, thanks for the opportunity to talk with Squamish Climbing Magazine about our new facility. We are getting close to opening our doors after a very long process and we are all incredibly excited to be at this point. The gym, the second Project Climbing Centre, is a bouldering-only facility. We have over 8000 square feet of floor space which translates into a huge amount of amazing and varied bouldering terrain. We have walls that will appeal to all ability levels of climbers from the hardest of core to kids coming in for their first time.
I want to go all the way back to the beginning of this project because you have been a part of the climbing community for a long time. How did the idea of a new gym get started?
I have been trying to get a gym off the ground for a long time. It’s a challenging thing to do for a lot of reasons but sometimes it comes down to the right people in the right place at the right time. Brock and Tara were looking for a partner for a new Project location and I also was looking for the right partners to start a gym. So Brock and I went to Skaha for a weekend of climbing and by the time we pulled into the campground parking lot we had the bones of the new gym all mapped out. The three of us were already looking to build the same kind of facility in the Cloverdale/Langley area and shared a vision of what makes a great climbing gym. We all really agreed on the core elements of the gym right from the start.
What helped make the decision to be bouldering only?
Bouldering is such an innovative and dynamic aspect of the sport. Bouldering gyms are where things are happening in climbing gyms right now. People are exploring all sorts of possibilities in movement, volumes, holds and competitions. I find that really exciting even though when it comes to outdoor climbing I would characterize myself as a route climber. Also, bouldering is really accessible to everyone. It doesn’t take belay training or other courses to get started. People can just walk in off the street and give it a try. Having worked in roped gyms for as long as I have, to me, this is a really great aspect to bouldering.
The reality is also that there are very few locations in Greater Vancouver which could house a roped facility. That number is pretty close to zero. So there is a practical reality to the decision as well.
Some of the angles look just amazing! What went into the design of the gym and what was the vision you had from the beginning for the gym?
When we started working on the gym I figured that designing the walls would be the trickiest part. It turned out that for us it was one of the simplest. Brock, Tara and I really shared a sense of what makes a great climbing wall and we had a basic design done really quickly. Walltopia just helped us make some minor tweaks to our design, mostly ironing out some rough transitions.
We really stayed focused on a few key principles and that helped us stay true to our vision of what makes a great bouldering wall. Simplicity and less angle transitions create room for more flowing movement. We also wanted big open spaces where the setters can really get creative and which can accommodate lots of big holds and volumes. Also a big open layout that can host major competitions was important. Good terrain for beginners is key and we have a lot of terrain for them as well including an auto-belay wall which can take away some of the intimidation of climbing high above the crash pads.
I am very proud of the design and I think it will be a place that really works for every level of climber.
Did your vision change throughout the process via budget and what was possible in the space?
There is no question that money and space are two big factors in any design. But to be honest, our vision of simplicity in design meant the cost of the wall was kept within our budget. We didn’t have to make any compromises in the design because of financial considerations. On the other hand, creating a design that uses the space efficiently is always a challenge and there are always trade-offs. We have chosen to maximize our climbing terrain as much as possible while keeping an open and inviting feel to the facility and still leaving space for training and just hanging out. We are trying to create the gym that best serves our customers and I think we have done a good job balancing these competing needs.
Will the gym cater to training facilities that have started to pop up in other climbing gym locations and can you tell us a bit about that?
Our focus at Project Climbing Centre is climbing. We think that this is what our core customers want to see and our gym design reflects what we see as our central business: climbing. We did not want to make sacrifices, in terms of climbing space and resources, to serve niche markets.
On the other hand, climbing can be excellent training for people who are engaged in these other activities like adventure races, obstacle courses and parkour. We have seen how climbers went on American Ninja Warrior and crushed with just their climbing and competitive climbing experience. So while we haven’t gone out of our way to create specific training elements for these sports or activities, I think we can create excellent programs and an environment which encourages these kind of crossover activities.
Cloverdale seems to be a rather un-tapped location. Do you think that the increase of climbers in that area of Greater Vancouver will promote development in the Fraser Valley?
Climbing gyms are probably the biggest contributing factor to the growing number of active climbers out there, so the short answer to your question is probably, “Yes.” I am sure there are lots of active climbers already living in Cloverdale, Langley and the surrounding areas and our gym will give these existing climbers a local place to train as well as introducing the sport to lots of new people. Having a brand new, state-of-the-art, bouldering facility in the fastest growing city in Canada will be great for the local climbers and great overall for the sport of climbing in Canada.
You have been in the climbing game for a long time. Are you looking forward to transitioning to the role of owner?
Yes. I am looking forward to the challenge. But it is also nice to be approaching this with all these years of working in the industry. So while there will be lots of new challenges, and we’ve had a few already, I think I have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
While we got you here, I have to ask a few questions about your Squamish history. When did you first move to the west coast and can you tell us a few of your early memories in Squamish?
I moved out here in 94 or 95. I didn’t have the first clue how to climb cracks or walls, I just knew that I wanted to. I lived in my van for a few seasons before there was a campground at the base of the Chief. I climbed as much as I could and thrashed my way up the walls learning the basics. I just wanted to climb everything; cracks, sport, aid, ice, boulders. I’m still a bit like that really. I’m pretty good at everything but not particularly great at anything.
You played a role in the documentary ‘In the Shadows of the Chief’. Can you tell us a bit about that?
‘In the Shadows of the Chief’ was about the first ascent by Baldwin and Cooper. I was fairly good friends with the filmmakers so they asked me to do the “modern day” ascent of the Grand Wall route so they could contrast it to the footage of the original ascent. It went really well until we hit the Squamish Chimneys which were running with water. I have vivid memories of the water streaming off my knees and elbows. Of course I whipped off.
How was the scene in Squamish back then, with a smaller community? Were days in Murrin or The Chief jsut the same or have things changed dramatically?
Well, parking was a lot easier…
I wouldn’t say I was ever part of a scene. I sort of fell into a middle era of climbing in Squamish where I knew all the older guys and the younger guns, too. The closest I came to a “scene” were with all the guys from my ACMG training days. That was a great group and we had a lot of fun doing stuff on the walls. The new routes I did in Squamish with Conny Amelunxen and Jeremy Blumel, who were part of that group, were probably the coolest things I did in Squamish.
There were definitely less climbers around. And there was no bouldering. I put up a few problems wandering around the forest by myself. All I had was one of the original Black Diamond crash pads, maybe 2cm thick. No one was even interested in the boulders. So that’s a huge change. And I remember there was a moment when Angel’s Crest, which was always really scruffy and dirty started to stay clean all the time. That’s when it really hit me that we had hit a sort of critical mass of climbers.
Finally, with all this time building, have you had a chance to get outside over the past year or so?
I’ve pretty much been a gym climber for the last couple of years. Getting the Project off the ground has been my priority. My only road trips in the last few years have been to climbing gyms, either as part of the competition circuit as a coach or to check out new facilities. But I love gym climbing and training and I don’t find it hard to stay motivated to get into the gym and climb. I’m really looking forward, not just to owning my own facility, but to having new walls and holds and a whole new place to train and climb.
Really it’s just another phase of my climbing “career”…and the best part is that there is a ton of new routes in Squamish that I haven’t ever done. So when I do come out of “retirement” Squamish will be brand new all over again!
Thanks Adam for taking the time to talk to us. All the best to you and Brock and Tara on the new gym! For those interested in Project Climbing Centre, please be sure to check out their facebook page and give it a like!
