On a Wednesday afternoon in late July, Bedford resident Charlie Auvaa and his daughter, Kingston, were spending time at Summit Climbing Gym in Grapevine.

“We just put her in here last week, and she has wanted to come every day,” Auvaa said of Kingston.

General Manager David Michener said whether climbers are beginners or professionals, they will want to come back to the gym because of the family-friendly environment.

“This is the best gym I’ve been to,” Michener said. “We’re all friends here, and everyone is friendly.”

The gym offers auto-belay wall sections, lead-climbing sections, manual belay routes, ladder climbs and a bouldering section. It also offers about 10 yoga classes a week and abdominal-strengthening classes as well.

The Grapevine gym is the original Summit Climbing location.

One of the three business owners, Kyle Clinkscales, started Team Texas, a competitive rock-climbing group for children age 17 and younger who want to compete competitively.

The other owners focus on different aspects of the business, Michener said. Co-owner Stan Borodyansky directs the general managers, and co-owner Chris Locrasto acts as the head
route setter.

The route setters, Michener said, go into each gym at least once a week to reset some of the routes.

There are three additional Summit Climbing gyms throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area located in Carrollton, Dallas and Denton. Each gym offers a slightly different experience with different focuses, Michener said. He also said he feels the Grapevine gym is a good place to start.

The gym provides orientations to new customers. Michener estimated the staff gives 10 orientations on a slow day. The orientation sessions help the new guests to understand the equipment the gym uses and learn the rules the climbers are expected to follow.

“Rock climbing is … inherently dangerous,” Michener said. “Whether it’s inside or outside, there’s always potential for danger. But we do have rules, and we also have a ‘speak-out’ policy.”

David Michener is the general manager of the Grapevine Summit Climbing Gym.[/caption]

That policy advises climbers, both those who have just gone through orientation and those who have been climbing at Summit for a while, to say something if they notice someone disregarding the rules while they climb.

If someone feels curious about rock climbing but has not had the courage to get started, Michener said he has some words of advice.

“Everyone starts at the same place, no matter what shape [they are] in,” he said. “No one knows how to climb—except, sometimes, kids are really good their first time—and everyone wants to just crank on their arms, but you want to use your feet as much as possible. And everyone gets better each time [they] come, and [they] make friends in the process.”

1040 Mustang Drive, Grapevine
817-421-3888
www.summitgyms.com
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. noon-8 p.m.