New Benchmark Climbing bouldering gym wants you to climb the walls

Benchmark Climbing bouldering gym wants you to climb the walls

Even the incessant sound of drilling could not dampen Max Krimmer’s enthusiasm for the new Benchmark Climbing gym, which on a recent afternoon soared higher than the North Berkeley facility’s approximately 15-foot climbing walls. 

Krimmer, Benchmark’s general manager, was overseeing the finishing touches on the company’s latest bouldering facility, which opened Saturday in the 13,000-square-foot building that formerly housed a Walgreens and took a year to turn into a haven for those who love to scramble. The grand opening events co-hosted by All Rise, which seeks to make climbing more inclusive, featured an all-day climbing fest and competition, music, vendors and food trucks.

Bouldering is an outgrowth of sport-climbing, where climbers who wear harnesses and protective headgear scale straight walls typically 30 to 60 feet high. Bouldering gyms’ lower walls create climbing features that jut into the room at various angles, like massive rock outcroppings. 

Both types of climbing have gotten a boost from the popularity of the 2018 film Free Solo about climber Alex Honnold and the debut of sport-climbing at 2020 Tokyo summer Olympics. According to the Climbing Business Journal, 63% of new North American climbing gyms in 2021 were bouldering gyms. 

To make their spidery ascent, climbers grasp and step onto brightly colored climbing holds in blob-like shapes that are inserted into the walls’ pegboard surface. Because bouldering walls are lower than sport-climbing ones, climbers don’t need any gear besides chalk and climbing shoes. When they reach their climb’s apex, depending on their skill level, climbers can jump off and onto a deeply padded surface that surrounds each feature or use large, easy-to-grip holds to get back to the ground. 

Even bouldering gyms have an aesthetic. Benchmark’s “signature look,” Krimmer said, is inspired by the folds of origami. The gym’s four climbing features are finished with a veneer of natural birchwood, as well as black, gray and white-painted and textured birchwood. The space was designed by Berkeley’s Stromberg Architecture and the so-called “problems,” a.k.a. climbs, were configured by three route setters, ​​Mark Heal, Alex Hocevar-Smith and Zoe Jackson.

“We spend a lot of time focusing on the design of our climbing walls,” Krimmer said. “All the walls are designed by climbers, which really sets us apart. We put a lot of thought into the floor plan and the layout, too.”  

Benchmark opened with 56 climbs (specific to its grand-opening competition) but will grow to have an average of 180 different climbs. Climbs will be changed out in a seven-week rotation, Krimmer said, to keep things fresh. 

In addition to offering “high-end climbing,” Benchmark seeks to distinguish itself by becoming a community gathering space. So the center climbing feature includes an arrangement of ledges intended as a gathering spot for groups or classes. 

Along the building’s Shattuck Avenue side, tables and chairs are set up as co-working spaces. Some climbers like to work and then take breaks by climbing, Krimmer said, and promised “great Wi-Fi” to accommodate them. 

A swath of the building’s south side contains a strength-training area and a retail store where climbers can buy drinks, snacks and Benchmark clothing, and rent climbing shoes. 

Berkeley’s Benchmark is the second in the Bay Area, joining a Tender Nob location in San Francisco that opened in 2021. Huan Le, who’s lived in Berkeley for 17 years, is the company’s majority owner. 

Le hadn’t thought about a Berkeley location until he noticed the building that had been an Elephant Pharmacy and then a Walgreens sitting vacant for around a year-and-a-half. Benchmark took over Walgreens’ long-term lease.

Le said most of the initial memberships came from those who live within a six-block radius. “That’s a dream come true, right? To be rooted in your own community and have a business that contributes to your friends and neighbors,” he said. “It’s wonderful. It’s people you see in the grocery store and every day. … They’re not all students.”

Monthly rates range from $80 for a core membership to $130 for an unlimited plan. Discounts for youth, students and those with economic hardships are also available, along with $30 day passes. 

“We want the space to be for everybody regardless of what your goals are and what you’re looking for,” Krimmer said. “Our mission is to give every climber the best tools, the best resources so they can build a lifelong relationship with the sport and continue to progress.” 

Benchmark Climbing, 1607 Shattuck Ave. (at Cedar Street), Berkeley. Phone: 510-973-0335. Hours: To be finalized soon. Connect via Facebook and Instagram.