Youth Climbing Club

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Our Youth Climbing Club is wrapping up for the fall season. The Club, lead by Ryan Shazor and Libby Shafer, meets every Wednesday evening and is full of enthusiastic kids.

What is our Youth Climbing Club?
The River Rock Youth Club is for young climbers, 8-15 years old, looking to explore the sport and have fun. Our coaches emphasize the fundamentals of climbing and fitness while also leading games and fun exercises. The games include everything from blind-folded climbing and auto-belay twister to drawing pictures while hanging on the wall, all of which also teach useful climbing skills of balance, movement, communication, and mental strategy. The Club offers less commitment than our Youth Competitive Climbing Team, but will prepare those interested in the Team.

Interested in signing your kid up for the spring?
The spring season will run from January 27-May 4, so sign your kid up today! Get more info and register HERE!

The coaches always emphasize a good warm-up before the games and activities commence.

One of the fun activities is drawing an assigned object, like a castle, while hanging off the wall. Each kid can only draw one part of the object, so while the activity stresses learning good rest poses while on the wall, it also teaches teamwork.

Give the Gift of Climbing

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Don’t know what to get your kid/mother/brother/best friend/cousin/coworker for the Holidays? Give them the gift of climbing!

Purchase a Gift Card HERE!

We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite gifts for this season.

Gift Card
You can’t go wrong with giving them a gift card with $25 or $50 or any amount you want on it. They can come in and redeem the gift card for whatever they would like, whether it’s a day pass, a membership, snacks, or one of our yoga classes. Let them choose how they want to use it on in our facility.

A Day of Climbing
Let them come to our facility and climb their hearts out with a Day Pass and Rental Gear! Our Day Passes are valid for the entire day, so they can come climb in the afternoon, go eat dinner, and then come back and climb some more! Our gear rental includes shoes, a harness, and chalk. Below are the prices, including tax, for a day pass and rental gear.

  • Youth Day Pass with Rental Gear – $18.42
  • Discounted Adult Day Pass with Rental Gear – $21.42
  • Adult Day Pass with Rental Gear – $23.42

Multiple Punch Passes
This is a great gift for someone who you know will want to climb multiple times this coming year. Punch Passes are available in 5 punches or 10 punches and do not include any gear rental.

  • Youth 5-Punch Pass – $45, 10-Punch Pass – $85
  • Discounted Adult 5-Punch Pass – $60, 10-Punch Pass – $110
  • Adult 5-Punch Pass – $70, 10-Punch Pass – $130

    • 1 Month of Membership
    Have an avid climber or athlete in your life? This is the gift for them! Memberships come with lots of great benefits including unlimited climbing, free rental gear for the first month, and discounted or free fitness classes. A month of membership lasts for 30 consecutive days and is definitely the best deal that we offer, so even if they may only come once a week, this is the best offer.

    • Youth 1 Month Membership -$57
    • Discounted Adult 1 Month Membership – $62
    • Adult 1 Month Membership $67
    • Couple 1 Month Membership – $104

    If you’re interested in more of our products visit our PRICING PAGE.
    You can purchase any of these items as a Gift Card HERE, or you can give us a call at 540-685-2360 or stop by the gym to do so as well.

    NEW! Fitness Area and Intro to Strength Training Class

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    You asked for it and we have delivered! The River Rock and House of Strength (HOS) have teamed up and we now have a rack system and workout station in the gym. HOS will be offering a FREE class to River Rock members ($12 drop in for all non members):

    Intro to Strength Training Class
    Tuesdays 7:30-8:30pm
    Starting November 17th

    This class will provide a familiarization of strength and conditioning equipment now available at the River Rock. Over a 4-6 week period participants will go through how to use kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, resistance bands, suspension training systems, the rack system, and how to conduct strength conditioning utilizing these items. Participants will be led through a short warm up and workout using the equipment focused on for that specific class. Individuals are encouraged to come to a full cycle of the class to become knowledgeable with each type of new equipment available at the River Rock. Must be 14 years old or older.

    House of Strength will be leading classes for their own members utilizing that space as well. Those classes include Bootcamp for Runners Class, Strength and Conditioning Class, Fitness Class, and Strongman Training. HOS is offering a discounted $75 membership, usually $100, for all River Rock members (note that this price is in addition to River Rock membership fees). This will grant you full access to all HOS classes including those listed above. Visit HOS’s website for a full listing of their classes: www.houseofstrengthgym.com.

    Please note that the fitness area will not be available for use whenever HOS is leading a class (days and times are posted in the area), however, any other time it will be open and accessible to River Rock members only who are 14 years old or older.

    Breaking News: River Rock teaming up with House of Strength

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    We are pleased to announce that the River Rock is teaming up with House of Strength (HOS) to develop a fitness area in our gym. HOS will host classes for their members primarily before River Rock business hours, but will also add an evening fitness class to our growing schedule of programs and offerings for members or non-member drop-in’s. The new class offering will be free for River Rock members.

    Here is the really exciting part… we will be adding a rack station, free weights with bar and bench, medicine balls, kettle bells, resistance bands, pull-up bars, jump ropes, and suspension training units; all available for use during regular gym hours (outside of posted HOS usage times).

    We look to have everything up and running by mid-November. More information to come! Stay tuned!

    Meet our Youth Team Coaches!

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    The fall season of our Competitive Youth Climbing Team is underway; soon they’ll be heading to their first USA Climbing Competition. We are super excited and confident in them thanks to the tireless training of our new Head Coach Marshall Shank (left) and Assistant Coach Jay Reese (right). Their climbing experience, dedication to the sport and enthusiasm in passing on knowledge and skill make them perfect coaches for the team.

    In light of this, we want you to meet our new Coaches!

    Marshall Shank
    “I am so excited for the opportunity to coach the 2015 River Rock Climbing Team! I have been climbing for approximately five years now. I have worked at a gym for the past four of those and this past year I worked as a manager at a gym in Lynchburg. During my time managing a rock wall I had opportunities to assist climbers in their pursuit to be stronger.

    I currently climb V7 and have climbed 5.12A! I am constantly looking for opportunities to get stronger and I myself train four days a week. I have a goal to be able to climb V11 by the fall of 2016. The coolest place that I have climbed has to be at the New River Gorge in West Virginia. However, I did do some backpacking in Yosemite Valley, CA and plan to head there to climb as soon as I can.

    I cherish the opportunity to challenge and encourage your children in the sport of climbing. It is my aim to show that pushing limits is the greatest joy in climbing. It is my joy to spread climbing culture which entails respect and integrity. Through community, practice, performance and fun, this will undoubtedly be one of the best seasons yet!”

    Jay Reese
    “Climbing around the backwoods in my hometown of Roanoke, Virginia for nearly 10 years has led to an affinity for sandstone, gangster rap, and short powerful boulder problems… Whether it’s sport climbing at the New River Gorge, bouldering in the Grayson highlands, or chasing the Triple Crown Bouldering Series around the south, any time I get to miss sleep to get on some rock I’m a happy camper. While I would classify myself as an “outdoor” climber I have a lot of roots in gym climbing as well; as a part-time route setter for the River rock, I get to imagine any number of fun and intriguing lines for myself and hopefully others to enjoy. This has allowed me to both train for more climbing outside, but also to learn the intricate but different style of climbing that encompasses indoor climbing.

    …I try to never miss a weeknight training session, competition, or trip to the mountains. I have competed more in indoor competitions this year and most recently I was able to secure second place in my first American Boulder Series competition in the men’s advanced category.” – Blue Ridge Outdoors

    Check out some photos below of our Coaches in action!

    Marshall overseeing core workouts.

    Jay overseeing strength training.

    Marshall explaining the next step in a climbing workout to one of youth team.