Charlie Boas has been Head Setter at the Boulder Rock Club (BRC) for three years. But starting today the 19th he will no longer be, as he put it in his resignation announcement email, “getting up in the darkest hour of the coldest morning to bolt plastic to a concrete wall.”

Though he says his time at the BRC, “has been very enjoyable and rewarding” Boas will be leaving to take the position of Associate Program Director at the Access Fund.

Charlie was kind enough to answer a few questions about his tenure at the BRC.

RS.com: How long have you been setting?

Charlie Boas: I have been setting for 6 six years or so.

RS.com: How did you get the job?

CB: Timing more than anything. I had just moved back to Boulder in 2004 from northern California, and arrived at a very odd time for the BRC. There was a lot of change and sides being drawn.

There was a new boss who was not particularly climbing-community friendly and I had to do lots of filtering and bridge building. The old boss was very well known and admired; in fact he was a good friend of mine, but plenty of folks still saw my working at the BRC as a sort of betrayal. Some of that was very tough, I didn’t really grasp what I had just inherited.

Plenty of “opportunity for growth” would be the euphemism.

RS.com: What were the major challenges as head setter of the BRC?

CB: Other than being the new guy? Clearing the bar- it was amazingly high. The crew here before 2004 was top-notch. Jim Redo, Mike Moelter, Justen Sjong were huge shoes to fill.

I knew I wasn’t going to compete with that sort of legacy when it came to climbing resume. However, I could build a damn good 5.11c, and work my ass off to make the gym membership grow. And in the second half of 2005 our membership revenue increased by 50%.

It was my hope that in a few years, the membership might say about the route setting program “Oh yeah, those guys? They were alright I guess.” I am still working on that.

RS.com: What would you still like to see changed at the BRC?

CB: Two things:

1. People’s approach to safety. I have seen plenty of avoidable accidents, mostly by very experienced climbers. That attitude of – “What bro? It‘s the gym and I am using a (auto locking belay device). I have been climbing for (X number) of years, what’s the worst that could happen?” Holds spin, sh&T breaks. Including bones. The gym is a dangerous place sometimes, and just because you’re inside doesn’t mean you let your guard down.

2. Wobblers. Hate’em. Get some class for chrissake, it’s just plastic.

RS.com: Boulder, CO is known as an outdoor climbing mecca. What’s it like being the head setter of an indoor gym in Boulder?

CB: You know I don’t think that division really exists here, Inside vs.Outside. People climb inside when they can’t climb outside. And even the most old school hard man climbs in the gym. Nobody’s going to call Jim Erickson (FFA of most of Eldorado Canyon in the 1960s) a plastic junkie, and the guy is in here 3 times a week. Coolest dude on the planet.

Now that you mention it, division of any kind, “I am just a boulderer”, “I am just a sport climber” is self defeating. Tommy C does it all, and we should all be aspiring to do the same.

RS.com: Will any of your setting skills come into play in your new job as Associate Program Director for Access Fund?

CB: Setting skills? Probably not. But problem solving, design, logistics. Those are important skills you need to excel at any job, routesetter, Assoc. Program Director, used car salesman.

RS.com: You’ve decided to stop route setting full time and take what some would say is a “real” job. Does this mean that you’re burnt out? Or was this decision motivated by a need to have a more secure job?

CB: I am certainly not burnt on setting. I get creative blocks, but they’re never permanent. I will still set when my schedule allows, 1-2 days a week. But personal growth and opportunity to make a difference with the AF is more important. Not to mention the crew over there is great.

RS.com: Do think there is a future for those wanting to make setting their career?

CB: It’s a great job for those people who like creative challenges. Career? God, I wish it was possible. But the economics of the climbing industry…? Nobody’s going to make a fortune.

RS.com: Who will be your successor?

CB: Tony Yao. He is the man. Amazing climber, works his ass off, not a ounce of primadonna. Love him. Mike Alkaitis, Kevin Bains and Cathy Lee are making the rest of the club go, and they are fantastic people as well.

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