When the owner of Nashville's first climbing gym decided it was time to expand to a second location, he did so with a plan and a purpose. Always viewed as the testing grounds for an eventual second gym, owner Newton Dominey took everything learned from the previous 8 years and compiled it to produce this unbelievably stunning flagship 17,000 sq.ft. example with 12,500 square feet of climbing. The Crag is a community showpiece with 9,000 sq.ft. of route climbing, 3,500 sq.ft. of bouldering, 12 auto-belay lines, large retail space, large training area and yoga space and some of the sexiest climbing wall designs ever made by man. Most importantly, this gym was not only designed from the ground-up to be spacious and challenging for climbers at all skill levels, but also optimized for operational efficiency and profitability.
The Crag: This gym's design focused on reducing any potential for overcrowding, so throughout the faculty you won't see a lot of routes topping out at the same bar/bolts.
The Crag: The first view you get upon entering the unassuming exterior of the facility. Branded throughout, customers are greeted with rich and warm woods, an open retail area to browse, a slick front desk to check-in at and one of the sexiest climbing walls just beyond that in the distance. Not entirely in-view are the three large windows on the right-hand wall which contribute to the open and airy feeling of this incredible indoor climbing gym.
The Crag: A really great even closer-up shot of what kind of detail work to expect from Vertical Solutions. Expertly-crafted hardwoods, natural birch panels, pained birch panels, perfect joints & seams and unobtrusive t-nut holes.
The Crag: Two climbers solving problems while one more looks-on at the main boulder feature here at this indoor climbing gym. Unified by design with the route climbing walls, this boulder is one of the most popular features in the gym due to its vast variety in natural wall angles and problems that results. Also of note is the super-clean Habit Flooring install for both bouldering and route climbing.
The Crag: Owner Newton decided to make ample usage of Vertical Solutions Multi-Layer Modular design and construction style, which sees all of the panels being manufactured ahead of time at our SLC facility, and being assembled onsite for maximum cost savings without sacrificing quality.
The Crag: Owner Newton Dominey went to town with our lead designer Jaime Garza on this phenomenal route wall design. Taking hardwood and painted features from floor to ceiling, this wall has MLM & Arc wall construction together, top-rope bars, lead climbing anchors, auto-belays and even volumes to round it all out. No small feat to execute; totally worth every minute spent perfecting.
The Crag: This climbing gym makes excellent use of all the space given to them by the building, as seen here with this short but stout bouldering wall between two windows letting natural light in. The wall was brought out to be significantly overhung in areas to create more challenging problems, while also incorporating the same branded hardwood and painted features of the rest of the gym.
The Crag: Nashville makes climbers, and The Crag makes sure they can come indoors and train effectively if needed by incorporating this two beautiful examples. The custom Moon Board and systems wall received the typical VS touch with hardwood inlays and pained panels dreamed up by the owner and lead designer.
The Crag: One of the first things that a climber will notice is how cohesive this entire indoor climbing gym is from walls to floors to retail. Everything was meticulously detailed, which meant the owners incorporating some massive hardwood inlays to make the space genuinely stunning visually.
The Crag: In this view you can see how Vertical Solutions transitioned from geometric MLM panels to curved ARC designs to create a massive overhung lead climbing experience. This lead section is a centerpiece for the gym and stands out immediately to anyone who enters.
The Crag: Closeup image of how Vertical Solutions finish work looks in real life. Our edge treatment is unparalleled in the industry and the unique natural birch finish to the MLM panels is beautiful to see in person. Of note is the Habit Climbing volumes and the looming ARC wall lead climbing section in the background.
The Crag: To match the ultra-clean and cohesive look of the entire facility, the owner decided to go with all Habit Flooring throughout the gym for both route and bouldering as seen here. No other flooring met the requirements for safety, cleanability and aesthetics.
The Crag: Without a doubt one of the best combinations of logos and design/construction implementation. The Crag prides itself on really well thought out branding efforts and it shows here in this massive custom logo inlay from Vertical Solutions. The logo is super cool to begin with, and looks even better when given the VS touch with hardwood and paint.
The Crag: You can get a good idea of exactly how spacious this climbing gym is by looking at the separate areas lined up next to each other; route climbing areas on the left and directly closest to the camera, and then two bouldering areas beyond that.
The Crag: Another wide angle shot from one of the building corners. In the foreground is the backside of the standalone route climbing area with 5 auto-belays in-sight; the lengthy route climbing wall in the left background; the main entrance and custom front desk on the right.
The Crag: Bouldering at The Crag is actually split up into three unique areas. The first one seen here, is just off to the left of the main entrance and features the most upright problems in the entire climbing gym. This doesn't stop their routesetters from using this as a canvas for challenging problems taking advantage of the wall's lack of natural overhung design.
The Crag: This image is taken from the ultra-clean yoga area and training space, and shows the backside of the main standalone route area. Not to be outdone, this backside features some challenging overhung lead climbing terrain itself, as well as 4 auto-belays.
The Crag: A view next to the big MLM boulder, looking at the complex designs incorporated into the tall route walls. This extra large standalone section features a mixture of ARC and MLM designs and construction, as well as hardwood features with paints matching the gym's brand identity.
The Crag: A view from one of the building's main corners showing just one of the route climbing walls which runs almost the entire length of the property. Iconic Adirondack chairs were placed throughout to give climbers a comfy reprieve from sending.
The Crag: One wide-angle view of how much climbing this facility really offers, it's hard to believe this is actually only just over half of it in-view. The boulder on the right was a special interest of the owner's, as outdoor bouldering in the area commonly sees intimidatingly-overhung problems. It was a must-have feature during the design phase.
The Crag: Another wide-angle view of the spacious climbing areas here in this gym, with the main boulder in the foreground. Don't let the clammer fool you, this overhung area is steeper than it looks, given the camera is only inches above the custom-branded Habit bouldering floor.
