Horizon Climbing
Champaign, Illinois
Specs: Horizon Climbing, founded and owned by Natalie Broadhurst and Mika Malter, opened on August 16th in Champaign, Illinois, a city in the west-central region of the state. According to Malter, both she and Broadhurst “individually thought about opening a climbing gym,” and the conversation became more serious after realizing their “visions for a climbing gym really aligned.” The pair hoped to create “an inclusive gym where beginners, kids and experienced climbers alike can grow, push their limits and feel at home,” the Horizon website details, pulling from their experience routesetting at a combined 14 gyms to do so. “Creating an inclusive space, a really welcoming, warm environment, as well as the gym owners being routesetters was a pretty unique opportunity,” Malter said.
Both Malter and Broadhurst had lived in Champaign for many years before pursuing Horizon and found they were well-connected with the local climbing scene. “The community in Champaign was in need of a dedicated training space and youth climbing opportunities,” Malter stated. Additionally, they found the county was large enough to support multiple climbing walls and gyms—like Urbana Boulders and the University of Illinois Recreation Center—and felt there was room for more facilities. Shortly after deciding to move forward with the Horizon project, the pair began looking for possible locations. Broadhurst recalled that the space for the gym did not have to be perfect, but it did have to fit their budget and be tall enough to accommodate the bouldering walls. “The building we found was a [traditional fitness] gym in the past, so it had a great layout already, including locker rooms and a front desk,” Malter said, adding that finding a facility was harder than expected, “mainly due to the ceiling height.”
Horizon Climbing was constructed in a 16,000-square-foot space that now features 3,000 square feet of climbing wall surface on boulders reaching 14.5 feet, a Tension Board 2, a spray wall and a Treadwall. According to the gym’s website, the team designed the space “for both serious training and family-friendly climbing.” To accomplish that goal, the Horizon team balanced having a mix of climbing training equipment—such as hangboards and campus boards, a fitness area stocked with cardio machines and weights, and yoga and fitness classes—with including amenities for newer climbers—like a separate kids’ climbing room, youth programs and introductory classes.
As routesetters themselves with years of setting experience, Malter and Broadhurst decided to put “intentionally inclusive routesetting” at the forefront of their vision. “There is sometimes a disconnect between the gym administrators and the routesetting team, so it can make it difficult for the setting to reflect the stated values of the gym,” Malter explained. “At Horizon, the gym admins are also the routesetters, as well as a few additional routesetters. We care a lot about the accessibility of our climbing.” To Malter and Broadhurst, they put that value into practice by paying careful attention to the accessibility of easier grades—factoring in different heights and hand sizes of climbers as well as the height of a boulder and placement of down climb jugs, for instance—and hiring routesetters “who value accessibility and safety as much as we do,” Malter said. Broadhurst added that valuing athletic empathy, setting different styles and hiring a diverse setting team are also priorities at Horizon. “We took that into account while hiring and while writing out what we wanted in job descriptions, just making sure that it seemed really welcoming to all people,” Malter added, which Broadhurst said was reflected in the diverse pool of applicants they saw. Going forward, Horizon plans to host events that encourage minority groups to begin climbing, such as an annual comp set for and by women and non-binary climbers.
Walls: Rockwerx
Flooring: UCS Flooring
CRM Software: Approach
Website: www.climbhorizon.com
Instagram: @ClimbHorizon
In Their Words: “Ask questions and seek help when you need it. You can talk to other gym owners, network wherever you can, build relationships and connections. We’ve had a lot of special moments throughout this journey with people really wanting to support our goals, and it’s been a really amazing feeling to feel that support and be able to lean on other people.” – Mika Malter, Co-Owner, Co-Founder and Director of Operations, Marketing and Youth Programs at Horizon Climbing
