Who We Are
Family owned and community focused, Third Space Boulders is a modern climbing gym designed to be our community’s ‘third place’ — an essential community space outside of home and work. Our purpose is to promote living with intention, towards values of inclusivity, discovery, and reciprocity. Driven by this purpose, our vision is to be the premier climbing community hub in the city, striving not only to be the best place to climb, but the neighborhood spot to be.
Our Mission
To be our community’s best place to start and progress toward moving better, staying connected, and having fun.
Routesetting Program Core Principles
- Routesetting is an art and a service
- Routesetting is not only a creative outlet for the setter, it is a service that directly shapes the daily experience of every climber at Third Space Boulders. As routesetters, we strive to create meaningful climbing experiences that deliver high-quality movement, appropriate grading, variety, and inclusion. We value reliability and consistency as much as creativity.
- Athletic Empathy
- We strive to understand the physical and emotional experience of the climber and recognize that climbers come from diverse backgrounds, body types, and physical capabilities. When we set with the climber in mind, we consider how different body types experience movement, the confidence level of both newer and experienced climbers, and emotional responses to our product such as intimidation, motivation, frustration, and accomplishment.
- Community-first decision making
- We recognize that members are the primary stakeholders in every routesetting decision. We aim to prioritize the member experience over setter preference, foster long-term community growth, and maintain an active, positive relationship with the community that we serve.
Your role
As Third Space Boulders’ Routesetter, you will be part of a routesetting team that aims to design a thoughtful climbing experience, ensuring every climber in our space is met with inspiring challenges. Third Space Boulders will be the premier destination for new climbers by creating fun and accessible challenges at the most entry levels. We will also provide playful, aesthetic, and inspiring climbs to climbers of all levels that seek to test them both physically and mentally. The Routesetter will report to the Head Routesetter to set on 3,090 sq ft of bouldering terrain and 70+ problems to ensure all of our circuits are engaging and aid in climbers’ progression, connection to the community, and wellbeing.
Responsibilities
- Design a variety of quality climbs for all experience levels in line with Third Space Boulders’ vision for a playful, inclusive, and creative climbing experience.
- Forerun and refine climbs in a collaborative setting to align with quality and grading standards.
- Maintain a consistent setting schedule and route distribution by keeping up with additional tasks such as wall stripping, hold washing, and hardware sorting.
- Exude high levels of attentiveness to risk management, maintaining facility practices in the workspace and communicating when standard practices are not being met.
- Ensure the upkeep and cleanliness of climbing walls, pads, climbing areas, and routesetting spaces.
- Act as a leader among Third Space Boulders’ community – sharing your knowledge of the climbs on the walls and fostering deep connections between climbers and the climbing product.
- Periodically participate in Third Space Boulders events, programs, and other happenings.
The ideal candidate will
- Feel that they share our core values – this is key for us. Everyone we hire needs to have these values in their DNA (we can’t change DNA, so this is important 🙂 ).
- Have previous experience routesetting in commercial climbing environments (preferred).
- Display high levels of creativity, collaboration, innovation, passion and professionalism.
- Have at least 2 years of climbing experience that demonstrates expert knowledge of climbing movements as well as an ability to efficiently and effectively forerun v7+ (preferred).
- Maintain high standards for a quality, professional product.
- Exude a natural passion for servicing and supporting others.
- Actively pursue growth and development and seek out learning opportunities.
- Have a team mindset that can effectively give and receive constructive feedback in a collaborative setting.
- Have a relatively flexible schedule that allows working some nights and weekends.
- Be able to move 50+lbs on uneven surfaces.
Compensation
Hourly rate starting at $17 per hour, with structured pay increases depending on experience, tenure, and related skill sets.
Other perks to working with Third Space Boulders
- Opportunities for paid travel and professional development
- A supportive and collaborative work environment with a focus on work-life balance
- Membership at Third Space Boulders for you and family members or partners in your household
- Discounts on retail, gear, and events
Third Space Boulders is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for
employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
national origin, veteran or disability status.
