By: Chris Danielson

For me, routesetting is most fun and most rewarding when it becomes an intellectual challenge - when actualizing an interesting creative goal demands analytic problem-solving.

When setting, I sometimes try to build unique sequences I have never quite seen before, or to create my own take on established climbing movements.

In this effort, I tried to set a complicated sequence that starts from a set of specific goals revolving around the creation of more hand movements than there are hand holds.

In the video below, a good friend of mine and strong boulderer from New York, Ian Irving, climbs a problem in which the challenge was to force the use of multiple single-directional handholds with both hands on each hold at different times - without matching hands on a single hold - and without bumping movements, where the climber would simply move hand to hand from one hold to the next in a single direction.

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The Routesetter.com readers have spoken and our team of fashionistas have delivered.

Introducing the limited edition shirts that have been seen on the backs of America’s top setters.

Get one of our soft and comfy America Apparel sleeveless muscle shirts and let everybody know that you’re more than just a climber; you’re a routesetter.

These shirts are newly designed with the stylish Routesetter.com logo in the upper right corner (front) and on the upper left (back). And just like jerseys worn by the top international climbers, the Routesetter.com logo is on the left side along the rib cage.

So no matter what crazy position you’re in, or making climbers get in, you’ll be able to show off what tribe you belong to.

The 2008 Climbing Wall Association Summit kicked off last week in Boulder, Colorado. This second annual conference is where climbing wall operators, managers and routesetters from around the world are able to get together and discuss the plastic world we inhabit.

During the three day event attendees were able to take workshops on a variety of subject ranging from legal to employment & routesetting to industry standards.

There were two pre-conference workshops dealing specfically with routesetting: “How to spice up your routesetting” and “Training your routesetters”. Both of these were well received with good participation.

There were also two routesetting workshops during the conference. A roundtable discussion on whether or not customers care about climbing on quality routes or not. That question didn’t really get answered but there was a lively discussion about how to create routes that customers will enjoy.

The other setting workshop, “How to be an effective head setter” was attended by over 50 people, one of the fullest of the entire conference.

The conference organizers saw a 50 percent jump in attendance from last years summit. To accommodate the increase in people, a fourth session was added to each day of the conference. This enabled a motivated person to have a full day of workshops, presentations and lectures.

This however, limited the amount of time one could network with other operators, managers and setters. Networking was the number one thing that last years attendees said they appreciated about the conference.

When attendees did get together, routsetting, insurance, programs and member management software were the hot topics of discussion.
There was also in increase in the number of manufactures displaying their wares. Six hold companies, three wall manufactures and three gear makers were on hand to showcase the newest tools for climbing gyms.

Perhaps one of the strangest moments of the summit was the keynote speaker, Phil Powers, Executive Director of the American Alpine Club (AAC). Even at first glance The AAC might not be the most applicable organization to address a gathering of climbing gym owners and this was re-affirmed during Mr. Powers speech.

Only once during the speech did Mr. Powers mention climbing walls and this was to tell us that he only uses them when he is unable to go climbing outside.

This perhaps lead to the disconnect that attendees felt; with many leaving the room scratching their heads and feeling belittled. We hope next years keynote speaker actually has an interest in climbing gyms.

But all in all the conference was a huge success with attendees going home full of great information to make their facility better!

Routesetter.com encourages every body to think about attending next years conference.

Interview by: Jackie Hueftle

Tim Steele has been a legendary figure in my mind for as long as I’ve been a routesetter—a condition largely due to the stories my setting mentors would tell about him.

“In Hueco Timmy would roll in at noon with three girls he’d picked up at an all-night rave in El Paso, then send all our projects and claim it was a rest day” they’d say, and: “One time in the middle of a Nationals Tim Steele jumped from the huge pillar the setters were sitting on to the overhanging lead wall and soloed up it to tighten a hold,” and my favorite: “Tim set a 5.12 slab at the University of Miami wall and climbed it in pink fuzzy bunny slippers.”

Add these feats to a historically comprehensive California bouldering video (West Coast Pimp), a major presence in the development of Bishop bouldering, a job teaching middle school, mad DJ skills, an original Atari, and a cat named Seuss, and you’ve got a very interesting guy.

JH: So, Tim, how long have you been setting, and how did you get started?

TS: I started route setting at Miami University in 1993 on a 20 foot high, mostly vertical plywood wall. At that time there were not many climbing gyms East of the Mississippi and the holds were very rudimentary. Most of them were very sharp. Let’s just say that flappers were much more common back then – climbers hadn’t yet discovered the word ergonomic. Some of the main brands were Vertical Concepts, Entreprise, Petrogrips (basically bolt-on rocks), and Gripheads (ceramic holds). There were also virtually no pockets, just blobs and edges. We didn’t have any specialized foot jibs either. So the setting was, likewise, very rudimentary.

After returning from one of my first trips to Hueco, a few of the local strong boys—KC Kopp, and the Berlier brothers—built a bouldering woodie. I guess that was the first time I really started taping up problems based on the moves I had encountered at that bouldering area. I remember setting a Hobbit in a Blender simulator that turned out to be much harder than the real problem. By the time I got back to try Hobbit the next season, it felt pretty easy.

In 1995, a new recreation center was built at my college, and along with it, a state of the art climbing wall. I actually got hired by Radwall during my spring break to do grunt work for them. I got to see first hand how a wall was designed and built. That wall became the first real testing ground for me to develop my setting techniques because it was 40’ tall, with a 16’ roof.

I had also started competing by that point, so I was starting to emulate the setting styles that I encountered at the comps I was going to.

After college was when I really started setting, from about 1995 through 1997. I got hired as the head route setter at Rockquest in Cincinnati and convinced my boss to send me to an (American League of Forerunners) ALF certification course offered at the old Clipper City Gym in Baltimore.

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In the rustic and ancient village of Hall, in the Austrian Tyrol, sits the Salzlager warehouse. This impressive building, once used to store salt mined from the near by hills, is held up by twelve massive salt pillars.

But this past weekend it was the Worlds best boulderers and 1000 spectators that raised the roof at the season opener of the IFSC bouldering World Cup.

The Austrians are known for their top level climbing and they showed it by taking the top podium spots. Killian Fishubber, the raining World bouldering champion and 19 year-old Anna Stohr came away with wins.

But nipping at the heals of the Austrians were the Russians, Yulia Abramchuk & Dmitry Sharafutdinov both coming in at 2nd place. Sharafutdinov was the only climber to dispatch all problems in the men’s qualification round.

Daniel Woods (US), came in 3rd and looks to be making a comeback after his dismal performance at last years World Championships in Spain. Jerome Meyer (FRA) toped out all four in semifinals but it was not enough for a podium and instead came in 5th.

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By: Jeremy Hardin

Have you been setting on your wall for years? Have you set every possible hold combination and sequence? Is the most interesting part of your day coming up with the name of the route you just set?

Then maybe it’s time to do something about it! One of the easiest ways to turn a flat wall into a giggle inducing fun house, is to add a few volumes.

Sure you could go spend lots of money on commercially made volumes. But most setters are pretty handy with tools and can make their own. With these 11 easy steps you too can turn your flat-as-a-ten-year-old-girl wall into a wall with more dimensions than a double-D porn star.

Materials Needed for Volume

• 4×8 Sheet of ¾ inch Plywood
• Straight Edge / Tape Measure
• Circular Saw
• Drill
• Belt Sander
• Putty
• Jigsaw
• Assortment of Screws
• Small piece of 2×6 stock
• 1 ½ inch pipe or dowel
• Epoxy
• 7/16 Drill bit

Step 1: Creating the Shape

First you need to come up with a design you’re going to want on your wall.

Take the design you probably drew on the back of a sticky note and mark it out in true size on your ¾ inch plywood. If you don’t want to be a bum about this step you can find someone who knows how to work a CAD program and actually draw out the entire design with precise measurements and angles so all you’ll have to do is mark and cut.

You should start with basic triangle shapes, nothing with more than 4 sides for right now.

Step 2: Transferring and Cutting out the Shape

After you have your design marked on the ply, take a circular saw and go to work. Here’s another area not to be sloppy about, take the time to set up a guide so that you’re actually cutting straight lines. Good advice here is to also miter the bottom edges of the sides that will sit on the wall. You should be able to turn your blade so that you’re cutting at an angle. This will save you lots of time when you go to mount the volume.

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