found drama

I am at a rock gym in … Maine?  It has an unusual layout and setup.  Rather than a series of routes set up along walls, you rotate between routes that are setup in “alleys” or “lanes”.  The traditional wall is replaced with what is (in essence) a tunnel, and each route quickly ascends up the sidewall to progress (sloping upward) along the ceiling to the end of the alley/lane. There are a few more traditional upward routes but even these are basically sequestered from the others, tucked away in silos.

When we arrive, the gym is basically deserted – only one or two other people in the whole place.  But there are no ropes.  We hop from route to route, looking for one that has ropes in place already.  It makes sense that they wouldn’t be “up” already – these are almost all lead routes.  But after going to fetch a rope from the counter, we return to find the interior of the gym thronging with people.  There are lines 6-8 people deep at every lane.

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