At the risk of sounding a bit too general, 2024 could perhaps best be described as somewhat of a mixed bag for the North American climbing gym industry, in retrospect. On one hand, when surveying feedback from industry insiders and crunching CBJ’s Gym Map data, the development of new commercial climbing gyms in 2024 was up from the previous year (2023). Sentiments of new climbing gym developers shared last year largely reflected that upward trend, and many suppliers also looked back on 2024 as a positive year. (Visit CBJ’s Gym List Awards to find out which manufacturers and new gyms led the way from January 2024 to November 2024.)
By the numbers, 2024 saw 55 new climbing gyms open across the United States and Canada and just 6 climbing gyms permanently close their doors, amounting to an increase of 49 net climbing gyms across the two countries—the most since 2021. This development equated to a growth rate of 6.2% in 2024, which was up from the 3.6% growth rate in 2023. By the end of the 2024 calendar year, the total number of climbing gyms in North America (Mexico included) had grown to 875—more gyms than ever before.
However, some operators of existing climbing gyms in North America—both gyms that have been open for a couple years as well as gyms that have been in operation for decades—indicated that revenue in 2024 had flattened out or in some cases was even down compared to 2023. Such negative sentiments were noticeably more prevalent in 2024 compared to 2023, but they were not necessarily felt evenly across the board. When looking at the industry as a whole, according to global climbing gym data provided by Rock Gym Pro (RGP), average monthly payment volumes were about the same in 2024 as they were in 2023. Average monthly check-ins, however, were down by 2.6% in 2024, and average monthly memberships remained mostly stagnant, despite it having been a second Olympic year for sport climbing.
Below is a deeper analysis of all the aforementioned North American statistics and trends (new gym development, existing climbing gym operations, etc.), including deeper dives into the national markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico. A complete list of all the new climbing gyms that opened in North America (prior to December) can be found at the end of CBJ’s Gym List Awards, and a full breakdown of this data is available in the updated Gyms & Trends Dashboard for 2024. The dashboard includes 10 pages of interactive maps, charts, graphs and tables depicting climbing gym growth trends in North America over the years, with plenty of ways to filter the data. Become a CBJ Plus or Premium Member to access the dashboard. (Desktop works best for viewing the dashboard, and a short walk-through video tutorial of last year’s dashboard can be found here.)
In conjunction with this report, be sure to check out CBJ’s first-of-its-kind Climbing Gym Market Report and Dashboard that was released in December. The new toolset is designed to assist climbing gym developers with evaluating existing and new climbing gym markets in the U.S. for climbing gym development, providing developers with insights into key market variables, climbing gym and wall density, relative new climbing gym opportunity, and much more.
New Climbing Gym Development in 2024
As mentioned above, CBJ’s aggregated gym data predominately indicated that 2024 was an “up” year for the development (and opening) of new climbing gyms throughout North America. Specifically, in the United States, 48 new climbing gyms opened and 5 climbing gyms permanently closed, equating to a net climbing gym growth rate (in the U.S.) of 6.9%—up from 3.0% last year. That uptick in net climbing gym growth was notably fueled by the few closures in 2024; only 5 climbing gyms closing their doors last year was the fewest since 2012, perhaps marking an end to the COVID-related climbing gym closures of the past few years.
A majority of the U.S. climbing gyms that opened their doors for the first time in 2024 tended to be bouldering-focused gyms, which continued a trend established several years ago of bouldering being the predominant climbing discipline among new climbing gym builds. “Bouldering gyms are exploding as they are quicker, cheaper and easier to bring to market,” Lucas Kovalcik, co-founder and CEO of The Gravity Vault, reiterated to CBJ. “The lean and mean model will prevail as I think the mega-gym concept will cool.”
The evolving trend of expansion gym builds—as opposed to first-location facilities not part of existing climbing gym businesses—also continued in 2024, comprising 44% of the new U.S. climbing gyms that opened last year. For the moment, though, the development of expansion gyms is still being outpaced by the development of first-location facilities. 27 first-time developers entered the fray last year, often opening gyms in smaller cities (such as Rye, NH) or suburbs (such as Leawood, KS, near Kansas City) of an existing climbing gym market. On more than one occasion, those new gyms were built in multi-use buildings, where the climbing coexists alongside other services for the community.
On the whole—across first-time and expansion locations—new U.S. climbing gym development could be described as more “deep” than “wide” in 2024. Only 10% of new U.S. climbing gyms last year were outside of existing markets that have or have had a climbing gym—the lowest rate ever—and only 38% of those new climbing gyms were in smaller markets with a population under 1 million—the second lowest rate since 2014 (based on 2023 five-year American Community Survey data for metropolitan/micropolitan core-based statistical areas, reported by the U.S. Census Bureau). In other words, the new U.S. climbing gyms that opened last year were largely developed within existing and larger markets, rather than new or smaller markets.
The design of the new climbing gyms in North America last year varied greatly, but sleekness proved to be a prominent interior architectural theme—a trend that was referenced in past Gyms & Trends reports. “In terms of climbing gym design, we see a continuing trend of moving more towards a more clean style of walls with big flat sections, giving space for setters to express themselves freely,” said Babacar Daoust-Cissé, CEO and owner of Quebec-based Nomad Walls.
New climbing gyms continue to blur the line between climbing and fitness, as well. Allison Justice, Marketing Director at EP Climbing, told CBJ that many gyms expanded services around climbing in 2024, which ranged from weightlifting classes to massages. “While we are long past the dirtbag-climbers phase, the climbing market has moved into the mainstream fitness community,” said Justice. “Good workout, great alternative to lifting weights, social, etc. That said, we are seeing more gym climbers who utilize climbing as a workout.”
Climbing Gym Manufacturers and Suppliers in 2024
Coinciding with the upward trend for new climbing gyms in 2024 were positive sentiments from multiple companies that supplied those new gyms with construction and amenity materials. “We installed more square footage in the last 18 months than ever before,” Adam Koberna, President of Walltopia USA—which supplied the walls for the most new climbing gyms in North America for a fourth consecutive year—told CBJ near the end of 2024.
Positive sentiments were shared by Quebec-based OnSite at year’s end as well, after installing the flooring for the most new climbing gyms on the continent and supplying the walls for those gyms. “Our revenues increased by 35% this year,” Francis Larose, CEO and founder of OnSite, said in December.
“I have been able to find my way into many contracts for new builds and expansions,” added Jerad Wells, who launched his Colorado-based company, Maverick Climbing, in 2024. “I have heard from gyms having an ‘off’ year, but also looking for new locations and possible expansion, so I feel that the industry is still somewhat bullish.”
Of all the various supplies/materials and resultant amenities, the most popular of 2024 was undoubtedly the training board. In fact, numerous climbing gym operators cited training boards as effectively a must-have amenity in 2024. Ed Hardy, co-founder of Central Rock Gym, aptly labeled training boards as a “standard offering” in climbing gyms now. And Andrew Coffey, owner of The Hive gyms in Canada, considered adjustable training boards in 2024 to be staples in most climbing gyms, as well. “[The boards] serve a valuable function, especially for the strongest climbers who are very difficult to set for,” said Coffey, who noted that the boards “add that connection to the larger climbing community through sharing new problems/projects.”
Consultant and designer Chris Ryan, owner of Chris Ryan Studio, added, “LED and adjustable boards are filling an interesting gap, and making smaller facilities more potent. Same for the upper end of setting, these boards really help keep climbers of every ability full of problems to work on…Part of the reason I think these LED/adjustable boards are so powerful is because of the colored-hold based setting we have today, because density is so much lower than back in the day when we would set with tape…I also see spray walls as a very valuable type of wall (adjustable or fixed), because of the density they provide.”
Two of the most popular training boards among new climbing gyms in 2024 were the Kilter Board, in particular, as well as the newly released Tension Board 2, which target a broader user group and can be adjusted for a variety of skill levels (i.e., not just for the strongest climbers in the gym).
“People have realized how useful boards can be and how much value is packed into a relatively small space with a climbing board or training board,” summed up Jackie Hueftle, co-owner of Kilter. “Boards also help take some heat off the routesetting team for gyms where the climbers climb out the set and run out of stuff to work on—a board lets them try climbs set by others, set their own climbs, and compare beta videos with other climbers all over the world!”
Operation of Preexisting Climbing Gyms in 2024
While 2024 was largely a positive year for new climbing gyms and their suppliers, it was a much slower year for some climbing gyms already in existence, at least according to certain metrics. For example, even though average monthly payment volumes stayed about the same last year on the whole—based on global climbing gym data provided by RGP—some climbing gym operators still experienced noticeable drops in revenues. “[Climbing] gyms are struggling. Almost all of the gyms in Colorado, as well as some in California and in other locations, are having their lowest summers (revenue wise) ever. We have seen the same thing,” said Mack Maier, co-founder of the Climbing Collective gyms in Colorado and HMH Outdoors, in September.
When breaking down average monthly payment volumes of climbing gyms using RGP—the most widely used climbing gym management software in North America—into four payment volume brackets, RGP data indicates smaller gyms predominately felt those struggles the most. “Small and X-Large gyms saw slight declines in 2024 compared to 2023, while Medium and Large gyms experienced modest increases. The most notable change was in Small gyms, where payment volume dropped by over 11%. Other categories remained within 2% of 2023 levels,” said Jon Manz, Product Manager at RGP.
Also concerning was a slight decline from 2024 to 2023 in average monthly check-ins at climbing gyms—on the whole by 2.6% as well as across all gym segments, when breaking down RGP check-in data into four quartiles. Again, smaller gyms tended to be impacted the most. “Small gyms experienced the largest drop in check-ins, down 5%, while Medium, Large and X-Large gyms saw declines of 2–3%,” Manz continued.
Fortunately, many smaller gyms were still able to grow their membership base in 2024. On the whole, average monthly memberships among gyms using RGP remained mostly flat last year, but smaller gyms saw a positive increase of 4%. “Small gyms saw the largest declines in payment volume and check-ins but offset some of this with modest membership growth,” summarized Manz. “While these trends offer insights into individual gym performance, industry professionals should carefully analyze the differences across market segments. Overall, the changes between 2023 and 2024 were small but worth monitoring.”
Perhaps because they were smaller, the changes in average monthly climbing gym check-ins and memberships were somewhat surprising given the recent growth in customer traffic reported in the U.S. fitness industry last year. According to the Health & Fitness Association’s (HFA’s) 2024 U.S. Health & Fitness Consumer Report, “…fitness facility memberships reached an all-time high of 72.9 million in 2023, reflecting a 5.8% year-over-year increase. Additionally, the total number of facility users grew by 9.7%, highlighting a renewed focus on health and wellness across the nation.” It’s important to note that those fitness industry figures represent annual totals rather than monthly averages, which may explain part of the differences, but some climbing gym operators were still wondering last year why their figures weren’t higher.
One culprit for the small slowdown in climbing gym attendance could be macroeconomic related; ongoing inflation and a rising cost of living perhaps prompted thrifty spending, and some individuals or families—especially those who were not die-hard climbers—may have decided to spend their money at places other than climbing gyms, despite seeing Olympic climbers on television again, at last year’s Paris Olympic Games. “We don’t know if climbing is becoming less popular (doubtful) or if people are just out of government cash (likely) and harder economic times are rolling in,” added Mack Maier. “In Japan, gyms are closing left and right, and climbing is on a significant downtrend. I don’t think that is happening here—not at all—but something to look at.” In North America, some industry professionals also conjectured that 2024 being a presidential election year in the U.S. could have impacted existing climbing gym operation figures—and perhaps kept new climbing gym development figures from being even higher—given the uncertainty that comes with any major election year and last year’s being regarded as a particularly divisive one. “September started to be weird because of the election and until December it seemed everything had stopped. The world was waiting on the next era of USA,” said Francis Larose at OnSite. “Following the election, business has resumed.”
A more nebulous explanation for the dip in average monthly check-ins might reside in climbing’s current cultural cache. In 2017, around the time of The Dawn Wall’s release, climbing—as an activity and a cultural focal point—may have been riding an ever-growing wave of newfound popularity. The release of Free Solo in 2018, and climbing’s Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (in 2021) could have bolstered that popularity. But nothing lasts forever, and perhaps climbing’s great pop-culture wave began to crest and ebb by 2024. For instance, The Summit, a climbing reality TV show in the fall of 2024, was criticized for failing to resonate with the masses. And The Crux, a National Geographic YouTube series about several Olympians in 2024, didn’t seem to transcend the summer’s Olympic fever pitch. Time will tell whether cultural moments on the horizon will help keep gym climbing in the zeitgeist—such as the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles, where paraclimbing will be making its historic debut, after being added to the program last summer—but it’s at least worth pondering how the public’s collective attention span for trends might have affected climbing gym attendance in 2024.
Climbing Gym Collaborations and Initiatives in 2024
Any reader who is familiar with past years’ Gyms and Trends reports will note that the mixture of “up” and “down” sentiments was not unique to 2024; many reports from previous years also contained encouraging signs for the industry as well as reasons for caution. But the contrast of increased climbing gym development alongside stagnant or decreased revenues for some gyms and decreased customer traffic on the whole was particularly noticeable from last year.
Likewise, one area that stood out in 2024 was the collaborating between separate and independent climbing gyms, not just in response to an external phenomenon—such as the COVID-19 pandemic—but events internal to the climbing industry. The most obvious of these collaborations was the formal pushback from many different climbing gyms to USA Climbing’s proposed National Training Center at the beginning of the year. Over time, the discourse evolved from a formal letter sent to USA Climbing (signed by many gym operators who opposed the planned Training Center for various reasons), to roundtable discussions between USA Climbing and some gym operators, and finally to an announcement in November that USA Climbing would be partnering with a specific gym brand, Momentum, for the Training Center project.
Elsewhere, 2024 saw many climbing gyms in California join together in the launch of a new youth competition circuit, the Pacific Climbing Series. At the time of the series’ creation, Ian McIntosh, CEO of Mesa Rim, expounded to CBJ, “The [Pacific Climbing Series] was born from a genuine interest in collaborating with our neighboring gyms to collectively explore alternative ways to serve the youth climbing community. Most of the participating gyms have hosted some form of youth series over the years, so this year we decided to try something bigger together.”
While new forms of collaboration between climbing gyms appeared during (and in the aftermath of) the COVID pandemic, much of the extensive communication and collaboration between climbing gyms in 2024 was either overtly or tangentially influenced by those previously established channels of communication. The Pacific Climbing Series that McIntosh and Sender One’s founder, Wes Shih, helped co-create was a prime example. “One of the only silver linings of COVID was that it brought together all of the gyms that really had never talked to each other before,” Shih recalled. “Even the gyms coming together about the [USA Climbing] National Training Center, that came from communication channels that opened because of COVID.”
Other unique cooperative developments in 2024 included the creation of a Competition Advisory Committee, a group that includes representatives from USA Climbing, the Climbing Wall Association, and climbing gym owners and operators from around the country. And on a smaller collaborative scale, two climbing gyms in Texas—Crux Climbing Center and The Blok—announced a “membership exchange” in November, whereby active members of one of those respective gym businesses could climb at the other business’ gym(s) twice per month. “Independent gyms band together,” the Instagram post above proclaimed of the collaboration.
On a larger scale, last spring several independent climbing gyms in Colorado teamed up to create a new “Climb Pass,” which allows members of the participating gyms—G1 Climbing + Fitness, Ascent Studio, Boulder Rock Club, Eagle Climbing + Fitness, Whetstone, Gripstone and Übergrippen (Castle Rock and Denver)—to climb at any of those gyms for one day per month. The membership collaboration originated from informal membership sharing during the early days of the COVID pandemic and was also tied to increased communication amid the USAC Training Center pushback, per the CBJ news article above. In essence, the Climb Pass effectively extended the age-old concept of “member trade days” to an outright membership perk.
Other climbing gyms around the country collaborated financially in even bigger ways, changing ownership for instance and uniting separate businesses under one metaphorical roof. Like in past years, multiple climbing gym developers in 2024 grew not just by opening new gyms but via acquisitions. In January, Bouldering Project acquired Oso Climbing Gym in Dallas, and in April it was announced that Central Rock Gym had acquired the four Stone Summit gyms in Georgia. The latter acquisition was particularly noteworthy in so much as it marked a first for Central Rock Gym; previously, the East Coast climbing gym developer—the second largest in North America—had grown entirely through self-built gym projects.
“Central Rock Gym has been approached several times for acquisitions in the past. Our general approach is to stay completely focused on our existing communities or to find new markets,” said CRG co-owner Joe Hardy. “Stone Summit, however, felt different from the start because there were so many similarities in how they operate and how they value and grow their communities. After getting to know their team from several visits, we felt we could work with Daron [Pair], Will [Pair] and Daniel [Luke] for a smooth transition, and try to be the best stewards possible for their staff and community.”
Industry “Pushes” in 2024
Other trends from last year were palpable not necessarily from the perspective of realized business objectives but from the standpoint of observable collective movements, or “pushes,” so to speak, toward a reality that’s still taking shape, and often in response to an ongoing concern, or growing pain, as the climbing gym industry evolves.
Employee unionization efforts, for instance, have continued to take place in the industry since the first climbing gym union was certified by the National Labor Relations Board in 2022. In 2024, employees of at least seven climbing gyms voted to unionize: workers at five Touchstone-operated climbing gyms in Southern California, who announced their election results in March; and workers at Movement Wrigleyville and Movement Lincoln Park in Chicago, who announced their election results in April. Both unions are represented by their respective regional Workers United joint boards. Altogether, there were 18 known climbing gym unions in existence or underway in the United States by the end of 2024, spanning a total of six states.
“This gym has provided me not only a place to climb, but a community to belong to and meaningful friendships to cherish. The decision to unionize reflects the value of what we’ve built here and ensures it continues to thrive,” said Movement worker Amanda in the above press release. “With a seat at the table, we can make sure the needs of everyone who pours their heart into this gym—both members and staff—are heard and respected.”
Those unionization efforts have reportedly been fraught with difficulties and tensions between union organizers and gym management, according to information shared in press releases from union organizers and articles published by Climbing and other media outlets over the past few years. “Rise of union activity is a big concern on the minds of major [climbing gym] operators in the U.S.,” an anonymous source told CBJ. “A big union has ‘found’ climbing gyms—the same union that represents Starbucks. Of course, even the largest climbing gym operators are on a totally different scale/level than Starbucks, but the unions are using the same tactics. They are actively targeting gyms, reaching out to our staff, and trying to get more of them to organize.”
As climbing gym owners and leadership teams respond to employee unionization efforts, they have been doing so in an economic climate that has not been easy for small businesses like climbing gyms to navigate, according to multiple gym owners. “Labor is shifting rapidly, with the pandemic as the rocket fuel,” shared Mardi Roberts, a CWA board member and the CEO of 5.Life, which operates climbing gyms in Ohio and Pennsylvania. “Cost of labor continues to increase and so are the demands of the workforce on management and leadership that is difficult for small businesses to handle. These themes are all in play: increased wages, unionization, living wage discussion, lack of skilled routesetters.”
In the routesetting realm, there have long been calls and efforts for more education, safety and diversity within the trade, especially at the commercial level in recent years. A spotlight was on routesetter safety last summer, in particular, following the tragic death of routesetter Lee Hansche, which may have been the first death of a routesetter on the job in the U.S. (Results of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s inspection into the accident can be found here.) Although the routesetting trade is much safer than it used to be, there is still much room for improvement. According to CBJ’s annual Grip List Survey—which last year surveyed professional routesetters on safety-related trends, as well—only 23% of respondents indicated their primary climbing facility requires both eye and ear protection. And among respondents whose primary climbing facility is a roped facility, only 40% of respondents indicated their primary facility requires the use of a two-rope system with a dedicated fall arrest line.
Numerous individuals and organizations have been working over the years to change these numbers and professionalize the routesetting trade. One milestone, for instance, was the release of the Climbing Wall Association’s Routesetting Guide in 2023—a 45-page document created by an all-star cast of routesetters that covers practically all aspects of the routesetting craft and helps establish standard practices across the industry. Last year, the CWA began implementing its routesetting levels for commercial gyms—to complement USAC’s longstanding routesetting levels geared toward competitions—and began holding quarterly Certification Summit events. The CWA has been maintaining certification programs for years, but 2024 represented a step forward in terms of the regularity and breadth of those certification events as well as the inclusion of a routesetting component. In addition to providing Climbing Wall Instructor (CWI) and Work at Height (WAH) training and certification, the Certification Summits have entailed Professional Routesetting (PRS) training and certification for ropes and boulders.
Professionals within the industry have been continuing to push for more diversity in the routesetting trade, too. For all the progress that’s been made over the years, one noticeable observation from the most recent CBJ Grip Showcase event and new Grip List award for last year’s Favorite Shaper was that all the setters participating in the Grip Showcase and all the shapers receiving over 1% of the Favorite Shaper vote were men. Multiple women in the industry, however, have been working to buck that trend, including leaders at Bolt and Revolt in the U.S.—which was founded in 2023—and The B.I.G. Initiative in Canada that held routesetting workshops last year for women and non-binary setters. “Through initiatives like Bolt and Revolt, there is more room being made for people of diverse gender and racial identities in the routesetting space,” said Veronica Baker, Executive Director of The Global Climbing Initiative.
At the consumer level, one DEI effort that received a big “push” last year was pay-what-you-can pricing. For decades, climbing gyms have offered discounts for students/seniors and scholarships for youth team and summer camp climbers. But in recent years, there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of climbing gyms experimenting with sliding scale memberships, tiered pricing systems or pay-what-you-can models. “I have seen some gyms like The Spot add a low-income membership program, which is great!” continued Baker. The American Alpine Club recently examined 47 of these programs and in 2024 released its “Pay What You Can (PWYC) toolkit, a free resource for gyms who want to offer alternative payment models alongside—or in place of—traditional membership structures,” per the AAC’s website. The toolkit was presented at the 2024 CWA Summit in Portland and can be viewed for free on the AAC’s website here.
The Canadian Market in 2024
Similar to past years, the climbing gym industry in Canada shared many similarities with the U.S. industry in 2024. But whereas new climbing gym development increased in the U.S. in 2024, the results in Canada at year’s end were considerably more mixed. Based on CBJ’s research, seven new climbing gyms opened their doors in the country last year—the fewest since 2014. The nation’s net climbing gym growth rate of 3.7% was also the lowest of the past 10 years. “There are still a lot of big, upcoming projects on the table, [but] I would say we are not feeling a slowdown at the moment,” said Babacar Daoust-Cissé, CEO and owner of Quebec-based Nomad Walls.
However, one trend that buoyed Canada’s growth rate in 2024 was the continuation of relatively few climbing gym closures in the country. Other than a pandemic-stricken 2020, when four climbing gyms permanently closed, no more than two Canadian climbing gyms have permanently closed in a single calendar year, and that trend continued last year. Only Boulder Bear Climbing Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario, shut its doors in Canada in 2024. The gym came under scrutiny last year and made CBC national news in August following an accident to a youth climber attending a summer camp within the facility, according to the CBC article. Another CBC report of climbers speaking out about past accidents at the gym—some of which resulted in ongoing lawsuits—soon followed, and by November the CBC had reported that the gym’s doors were locked.
The Boulder Bear lawsuits weren’t the sole climbing-related lawsuits to make headlines in Canada in 2024, either. According to a Rocky Mountain Outlook article last May, “An appeal to remove key evidence in a civil suit against a guide, guiding company and the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) was dismissed by the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The court upheld a previous 2023 decision by the B.C. Supreme Court that a waiver signed by a Whistler resident on a 2021 guiding trip was not necessary evidence to dismiss the case due to it being for a previous guiding trip and not the specific one where the man was injured.”
Although the case does not directly pertain to a climbing gym accident, it has been raising questions among climbing gym operators in Canada. “The concern with this case was primarily that it might lead to precedents that could have people signing waivers each and every time they come climbing, which would obviously be a nightmare for administration and for the customer experience,” said Andrew Coffey, owner of The Hive gyms in Canada. “I don’t think it’s going to go that way…but the potential for upheaval is not trivial.”
Among the Canadian climbing gyms that opened in 2024, one trend that stood out in a big way—in addition to the proliferation of training boards observed across the continent—was the continuation of the bouldering gym boom in the country, which rose to a new level last year. Every one of the seven new climbing gyms in Canada that held its grand opening in 2024 was a bouldering-focused gym. New bouldering gym builds have been increasing in popularity in Canada since the 2010s, but 2024 marks the first time they’ve accounted for all of the new climbing gym openings in a single calendar year. “Bouldering has blown up in the last 10 years,” summed up Coffey. “When we opened in 2012, we were one of only a handful [of bouldering gyms in Canada].”
Alongside that growth, though, has been a call for nation-wide standards and safety measures. “With so many bouldering gyms popping up everywhere, and so many new people starting to climb in them, it is becoming increasingly apparent that standards for operation do not exist: primarily around flooring, and orientations,” Coffey continued. “Some places just let you loose, others give you a short intro, and we give a fairly thorough fall assessment (10-15 minutes), which involves teaching and practicing falling. Some places also use videos, and we are trying to figure out how to implement that ourselves.”
The trend of expansion gyms, on the other hand, dropped back to previous levels in 2024 (29%), after rising to an all-time high in 2023 (when 60% of the new climbing gyms that year were expansion gyms, as opposed to first-location builds). Two developers that added new climbing gyms to their business last year were Rose Bloc in Quebec and Rock Jungle in Alberta. And different than the U.S., the new climbing gym development in Canada last year could be described as somewhat more “wide” than “deep” in 2024, with a higher percentage (43% in Canada compared to 10% in the U.S.) of that development taking place in new markets rather than existing markets (based on the 2021 census metropolitan area boundaries reported by Statistics Canada). Some cities in Canada that received their first climbing gym were Owen Sound in Ontario (The Climbers Crush), Revelstoke (Quartzite Climbing Gym) and Port Alberni (Bomber Boulders) in British Columbia.
The Mexican Market in 2024
The overall “mixed bag” sentiments in the United States and Canada in 2024 were expressed specifically by climbing gym operators in Mexico, too. “While I can’t speak for the totality of the industry, I perceive a general mixed feeling, in terms of optimism,” Jose Saucedo, CEO of Mexico’s Adamanta gyms, said to CBJ. “On one hand, [Mexico’s] market has been growing at a faster pace than ever before. On the other hand, this has mainly benefited the local leaders at each city. The time where you could set up a few plywood panels and make a profitable business out of that has clearly passed. Gyms are getting bigger and more sophisticated, while barriers to entry are higher than ever…This has brought much needed ‘seriousness’ to the Mexican landscape; however, it, as well, has unincentivized small players from stepping into the playfield.”
Rodrigo Alonso, founder of Mexico’s most prolific wall design company, Muta Climbing, echoed the increased sophistication of Mexico’s industry, telling CBJ: “I’m proud to say, long passed are the ‘garage wall’ feelings from early days. [Gyms] are now ambitious projects with all the proper areas and amenities. As wall builders, this is awesome because now we have the opportunity to design and build complete architectural spaces from the ground up and help our clients to have the optimal layout for their spaces and needs.”
Five new climbing gyms opened in Mexico in 2024, with approximately an even split between new bouldering-focused facilities and new roped/mixed facilities. The new gyms were Adamanta Gonzalitos in Monterrey, San Miguel Climbing Gym in San Miguel de Allende, Motion Boulder Bugamilias and Summit Escalada in Guadalajara, and Kali in Oaxaca de Juárez. With no known permanent closures in 2024, Mexico had a remarkable 14.7% net climbing gym growth rate in 2024, and its current number of commercial climbing facilities currently stands at 39.
In general, especially with new mixed facilities (such as Adamanta Gonzalitos and Motion Boulder Bugamilias), Mexico seems to be trending toward “larger” gyms—reinforcing the references to Mexico’s gyms being bigger and more sophisticated in 2024. That is a notable evolution from the predominantly smaller-scale gyms that epitomized Mexico’s gym scene since the 1990s. And similarly to the United States and Canada, Mexico saw training boards become a “must-have” amenity in 2024, according to some operators.
Also noteworthy in 2024 was a rise in “kids’ zones” and kids’ programming within some gyms in Mexico. Caliza, which opened in Guadalajara in 2024, is worth highlighting in this regard as well, as it is predominantly focused on kids’ programming. However, since it combines climbing with other activities—such as gymnastics—Caliza is categorically excluded from this report’s data. And even with many gyms increasing their offerings for younger clientele, Javier Diaz, Chief Commercial Officer at Adamanta, told CBJ that most climbing gyms in Mexico maintained a dedication to their core (adult) climbing customer base throughout 2024. Additionally, while many gyms elsewhere in North America increasingly offered diverse amenities—from food and drinks to yoga and dance classes—a majority of new and preexisting climbing gyms in Mexico (with the exception of Adamanta Sierra and Adamanta Gonzalitos) tended to offer solely climbing in 2024.
Rodrigo Alonso at Muta revealed that climbing gym owners/clients throughout Mexico in 2024 generally requested simpler geometries when it came to the climbing wall surface, in essence giving routesetters “more of a blank canvas.” The simpler, plainer walls also leave plenty of room for volumes—which Alonso noted became more popular within Mexico’s routesetting community. “Nowadays, all the top gym chains [in Mexico] like Motion, Pico Norte and Adamanta have very good volumes…also, smaller gyms have a nice inventory of good, quality pieces,” Alonso said.
“I believe Mexico’s climbing industry will continue to grow; there are many important cities that don’t yet have proper climbing gyms,” Alonso added. “Also, in the major cities that already have many climbing gyms—like Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey—there is still space for more climbing gyms…especially more of the small boutique gyms, which I believe [will be] an important trend for the next few years, since big commercial spaces are not that easy to find and afford in populated cities.”
Looking Ahead: 2025 and Beyond
There are numerous factors that likely contributed to 2024 trending upward for new climbing gym development, although some analysis is admittedly speculative. For instance, it’s probable that the COVID-19 pandemic created a backlog of pending gym openings in 2020/2021 and 2024 saw many of those openings finally come to fruition (which was a trend that was also observed in 2023). Also, much has been made about the high cost of raw materials such as lumber and other construction materials in the post-pandemic world, and rightly so. Yet, it’s possible that the full effects of high material costs (as well as high interest rates and ongoing inflation) may not be fully reflected in new climbing gym development for another year or so.
“The last year has been a realization of many projects still in backlog since the pandemic, so growth [in 2024] and into 2025 by way of number of new gyms opening should be a positive statistic,” predicted The Gravity Vault co-founder and CEO Lucas Kovalcik. “This is occurring while current unit economics have had a mixed review [in 2024] and many have ensued a roller coaster ride which has mirrored the economy…So, I think next year we may see a slightly slower new gym development cycle as interest rates get cut and the economy improves and people start lining up projects again for 2026 and beyond. The future is bright, but everyone is going to take a minute to grow their unit economics next year and then continue to grow with the sport.”
As the calendar moves further into 2025, one question that has continued to be on the minds of industry professionals is how the outcome of the 2024 U.S. election will impact business in the short run and long run—and how that impact will be felt in different cities, regions and countries. More than one professional in the industry reported that their business’s numbers have been down since November. And most climbing business operators CBJ heard from are expecting fluctuations in supply costs driven by the new proposed tariffs and other new policies, while others are wondering what the trickle-down effect of new federal and state policies will be on DEI programs in the industry. Already in January, according to an article published by Climbing, “Officials [at Utah State University] canceled the popular Women’s Climb Night program to comply with Utah’s new anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) legislation, which prohibits state-funded institutions from offering gender-specific programming.” What changes could be on the way for commercial climbing gyms, in 2025 and beyond?
At least from the perspective of new climbing gyms opening their doors to new communities of climbers, for the moment 2025 is shaping up to be another strong year for the North American industry, by the numbers. 44 new climbing gym projects were in the works in the U.S. at the start of 2025, and three more were in development in Canada. If all those gyms come to fruition by year’s end, then 2025 will have been another strong year for new climbing gym development in North America. About half of those projects are roped facilities, which tend to take longer to come to fruition due to their cost and complexity, and over half of them are expansions to existing climbing gym businesses—many of which are poised for continued growth this year.
“My prediction is more mergers and acquisitions will happen…and it will ultimately create an increasingly homogenized product offering,” shared Gavin Heverly, founder of Rise Above Consulting. “This will hopefully lead to more innovation in product and offering strategy from smaller brands. This is, by the way, exactly what happened in the fitness industry.” Will Anglin, President of Tension, echoed some of those sentiments: “I think more small gyms opening up could be a good compliment to the consolidation being driven by the big chains, but exactly how financially feasible they are across various markets is still somewhat unknown.”
Kristin Horowitz, CEO and founder of The Pad Climbing, predicted more differentiation may be on the way, as well: “I’ve spoken to a lot of people lately that are unsatisfied with the existing gyms in their markets, so while larger-scale gyms will continue to eat up metro market share where possible, I think a lot of gyms will start to see challengers who feel they can differentiate their experience and grow the pie bigger.”
As that metaphorical pie grows bigger, how it is grown and shared will likely continue to be a pressing question for both prospective and current climbing gym operators in 2025. “I have always believed that authenticity is the invisible line on the income statement. The more you can stay true to the legacy and origins of any sport, the healthier the business will be,” advised longtime gym owner Rich Johnston, founder and owner of the first climbing gym (Vertical World) in North America and owner of Elevate Climbing Walls. “This is not a right or wrong question—it is a strategy issue. If you want the customer to feel like they are part of something special, being authentic is the best way to achieve this.”
Methodology
CBJ is dedicated to researching and accurately reporting on climbing business activity in the industry. We strive to always be data driven. The industry growth rates and accompanying data were compiled through several different source avenues and are completely original and proprietary to CBJ. Any climbing gym is welcome—and encouraged—to update or add their information to CBJ’s comprehensive climbing gym/wall map and dataset here.
Thank you to everyone who has supported and furthered this research, including the researchers who devoted many hours to collecting and fact-checking the gym data and the industry insiders who contributed keen insights, observations and opinions on the industry activity of 2024. And thanks to the team who has long supported CBJ’s research, in particular CBJ owner and publisher Scott Rennak (who supported nearly all aspects of this report), Joe Robinson (who put together much of the data and co-authored the report), John Burgman (who also co-authored the report and provided editorial insights), Naomi Stevens (who researched gym data and identified key trends), Jamie Strong, and all the team members who make CBJ possible.
We would also like to thank Mountain Mariana and Marlowe Kulley, who co-founded CBJ in 2013 and set CBJ up for success before passing on the reins, as well as map data guru Jon Lachelt, who was the brains behind the first edition of CBJ’s climbing gym list.
