“Austin was the last great city that didn’t have that kind of facility,” Goradia said.  “We were probably five to seven years behind where other [cities] have been.”

Today, Crux hosts competitions regularly, from its own Come and Send It Fest, held in celebration of the climbing gym’s first anniversary on May 6, to the USA Climbing Divisional Championships held in January.

Goradia said most of the changes that have occurred in the past year, from expanded hours to offering various memberships, have been to satisfy Crux’s 20,000 yearly unique visitors.

[caption id="attachment_245431" align="alignright" width="220"] Crux co-owners Matt Twyman (left) and Kevin Goradia said they wanted to fulfill a need Austin was missing—a world-class, competition-worthy climbing gym.[/caption]

“There’s a lot of things that we’ve done to appease the community,” Goradia said.

Twyman, who runs the day-to-day operations, said although climbing is inherently dangerous, the staff at Crux emphasize that the sport comes with a sense of personal responsibility.

All of Crux’s staff will soon have training in wilderness first aid in addition to their climbing and first aid/CPR certifications.

Crux also offers weekly climbing classes and guides first-time climbers through the basics.

“Know that if you come in here for the first time, you’re going to get up the wall,” Goradia said.

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Definitions you should know before you climb

Belaying: a form of climbing that involves securing a climber with a rope that is anchored to another person as the climber moves up the wall

Bouldering: a form of rock climbing performed without the use of ropes or harnesses on shorter-length walls

Crux: the hardest part of a climb

Route setting: the changing of the handholds on the climbing wall to create different paths for climbers

Top-roping: partner climbing in which one person belays the climber using a rope