By Jackson Burden, Community News Service
Editor’s note: This story is via Community News Service in partnership with Vermont State University Castleton.
The Green Mountain Climbing Center is Steven Lulek’s brainchild, and for 23 years he’s been eager to share his passion for climbing and teach this rapidly growing sport.
Walking into the center, you see mural artwork on each climbing wall with various holds, each sporting a color that corresponds with difficulty, going from five easy holds to nine harder holds.
Depending on when you walk into the gym, you’ll see a wide range of diversity with classes of all ages.
Lulek and his wife have owned the climbing gym since 2002.
Competitions and team tournaments are often held for all members. Participants are divided into classes, from 12 and under to high school students to the “fossil class,” ages 50-80, who participate regularly early in the morning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
In the Midwest, climbing has grown exponentially, creating world-championship climbing events. Lulek has been doing the same for years without much recognition.
“We can’t drop a couple hundred dollars on plane tickets and hotels all weekend to fly our kids out to Colorado. It’s great if you have the money to do that, but I don’t think most of our demographic wants it,” said gym manager Hailey Elliot.
But despite his passion for climbing, Lulek said he’s been struggling to fill the facility on an everyday basis. He has been relying strictly on his local tournaments and his reliable “fossil” class who are in the gym often.
And recently, business has been slow. While parents take their children to enjoy climbing, they often don’t throw on gear themselves, thinking it may be too difficult.
“Climbing gyms have been very explosive, and the success stories are just off the charts. They are everywhere but Rutland,” Lulek said.
Lulek said he has put his blood, sweat, and tears into this business, juggling different side jobs and programs to keep the lights on.
“I do corporate team building for the state police. I’m a first aid instructor for Vermont Electric Company, and I teach team-building training for the Spartan race course organization. I also teach at Castleton University. I do all that to keep this place going,” he said.
He hopes to reach Castleton’s college student population by offering affordable prices and a tight-knit community where he strives to open up the gym to new clientele.
“I’m working on creating a ‘Learn to climb’ target program over the next 12 months,” he said.
New climbers can jump into the fun and ascend with other beginning adventurers. They can also talk to a few experienced climbers, like Dave Copock, a 70-year-old gym regular and one of Steves’s prime “fossil” climbers.
“Steve would let us come in early, and for a while, it was just us coming in here early in the morning playing 60s music and stuff. Then other people our age heard about it, and pretty soon, we had a group develop,” Copock said.
Walking through the gym during their competition day setup, Climber Larry Walter stressed how close everyone is with each other, from helping others with challenging climbs to cheering them on through their success.
“It’s almost like a family gym to us,” he said.
Lulek said the gym offers semester-based memberships, broken down into two semesters each for six-month memberships per year, costing $250 for a total of $500 for a full year — about $42 per month. Compared to other climbing gyms in Vermont, adult memberships can cost over twice that, often between $85 and $150 a month, which can add up quickly without any special offers or discounts.
The climbing gym is open seven days a week at 223 Woodstock Avenue in Rutland. Everyone from any stage of life is enthusiastically welcome.
For more information visit: vermontclimbing.com.
