Biggest Indoor Rock Climbing Walls
Many of the biggest indoor rock climbing walls in the World are located in the United States. The measure of the biggest is often the square footage (sf) of the climbing surface itself.
The United States boasts many of the World’s biggest indoor rock climbing walls. The normal measure of ‘biggest” in regarding indoor walls is the square footage of climbing space. Other measures are the height of the climbs and even the number of different safety ropes that are deployed. Some people might even rate a wall by the number of different climbing routes available to the top.
The Vertical Endeavor climbing wall in St. Paul, Minnesota, ranks among the leaders with an amazing 18,200 square foot climbing surface. The climbs are up to forty feet high and more than 60 ropes are deployed for climbers. The Company operates another monster wall in the Chicago area. The Chicago Vertical Endeavor falls just a bit short of its Minnesota cousin, but still boasts 18,000 square feet.
The East Coast champion might be The Rock Club in New Rochelle, New York. This monster wall has 15,000 square feet of surface. The Go Vertical climbing club in Philadelphia has 14,000 square feet but also has a 50 foot maximum height and over 240 different routes. The idea of routes being consider a measure of the biggest walls is logical when one considers that the variety and challenge of a wall is more important than the physical size.
Elevator Rock in Texas makes a claim to belong on a list of the biggest indoor rock climbing walls because of its 100 foot endurance climb. Rock Climbing is very popular in California despite the State’s short off season and abundance of outdoor climbing opportunities. With over 30 rock climbing walls in the State, California is among the leaders in number of walls.
To many a beginning rock climber, the biggest indoor rock climbing wall of them all is usually the one they are three quarters of the way up on a new route. This is the true moment of truth in a wall climb and the distance down and that last 10 feet of climb look very, very big. As the hobby continues to expand, wall makers are becoming more and more creative and walls resembling outdoor landmarks are becoming more and more popular. Also, average wall sizes are increasing slowly as bigger and bigger facilities are opened.