XVI · The Tower

Sample site. Switchback is a fictional business, designed by Alcor Industries to show the Tower archetype. Nothing here can be booked, bought or sent.

Get this site: $250
Switchback Book a first climb
  • Bouldering
  • Top rope
  • Lead

1 Elevator Row Grisby Flats

The grain is gone. Climb the Tower.

The Switchback grain tower, split open down the middle along a zigzag line, with a climbing wall and colored holds inside the crack SWITCH BACK 01 02 03 04

Switchback is a climbing gym inside the old grain tower on Elevator Row. The bins that held wheat now hold 104 feet of wall.

Never climbed? Good. Start with a 45-minute intro, borrow our shoes and stay on the wall as long as your forearms let you.

Book a first climb Read this week’s wall

Ground floor
Boulder hall, padded wall to wall
Bins 1–4
Rope walls up to 104 feet
Headhouse
Café, kids’ wall and the view
Open
6:30 am–10 pm weekdays, from 8 am weekends

01 The building

Built to hold wheat. Rebuilt to be climbed.

We kept the concrete and cut out everything else. Drag the cut across the tower and watch each floor change its job.

Then

  1. Four bins of wheat, floor to roof
  2. A bucket leg hauling grain up the middle
  3. A weigh house for the trucks
  4. A gallery out to the railroad

Now

  1. Boulder hall and rope walls inside the bins
  2. Switchback stairs where the leg ran
  3. The front desk and shoe rental
  4. A glass bridge over the hall
Then: the grain elevator in cross-section. Four concrete bins full of wheat, a bucket leg up the middle, a weigh house for trucks and a conveyor gallery out to a rail car. CUPOLA HEADHOUSE GALLERY ← LEG WEIGH HOUSE RAIL BIN 1 BIN 2 BIN 3 BIN 4 Now: the same tower as a climbing gym. A boulder hall and training deck in the first two bins, rope walls up all four, switchback stairs in the old leg shaft, a café and kids’ wall in the headhouse, a glass bridge and a roof ledge. ROOF LEDGE CAFÉ + KIDS’ WALL GLASS BRIDGE ← STAIRS DESK + SHOES BIKES TRAINING DECK BOULDER HALL ROPES
Cross-section, looking north. Left of the cut is the elevator as it was built; right of the cut is the gym you can walk into today.

02 Panel C · reset every Tuesday

This week’s wall

Five routes share this panel. Tap a hold, or pick a tape color, to read its route: the grade, the moves in order and a note from whoever set it.

VB

First Bushel

Tape
White
Holds
6
Set by
Oona, Tuesday

Every hold is a handle. This one is about trusting your feet: straight arms, hips close to the wall, and stand up on each step like a staircase.

  • Jugs
  • Ladder
  • First day

V2

Sack Hauler

Tape
Yellow
Holds
6
Set by
Dev, Tuesday

Two long reaches up the right edge. Shorter? Step higher before you reach; the edge footholds are bigger than they look from the mat.

  • Reach
  • Pocket
  • Flag

V4

The Leg

Tape
Blue
Holds
6
Set by
Teodor, Tuesday

Named for the shaft the grain buckets rode up. Small edges straight up the middle; hook your heel on the fourth hold and the top comes to you.

  • Crimps
  • Heel hook
  • Balance

V5

Switchback

Tape
Orange
Holds
7
Set by
Margo, Tuesday

The house route. It zigzags the full width of the panel, left, right, left, right. Read it from the ground first: the rests are where you least expect them.

  • Traverse
  • Mixed holds
  • Commitment

V7

Headhouse

Tape
Black
Holds
5
Set by
Oona, Tuesday

Nothing here is big enough to hang on for long. Keep your hips low, squeeze the volume, and move before you start thinking about it.

  • Slopers
  • Pinch
  • Compression

Reading tape

  • Start with both hands on the taped hold, feet anywhere on the wall.
  • Hands stay on holds of your tape color. Numbers show the order we set it in; yours can differ.
  • Finish by matching both hands on the top hold, then climb down or drop onto the foam.

Myths

03 Assumptions, tested Five things people believe before their first climb. Open one to see what actually happens on the wall.

No. 1You need strong arms.

Actually

Your legs do most of it. Arms keep you close to the wall; feet push you up it. The intro spends its first ten minutes on footwork and none on pull-ups.

No. 2You’re too old to start.

Actually

The wall doesn’t ask. Our Wednesday morning group is built for people starting later, and the white-tape routes are set for exactly that first month.

No. 3You need your own gear.

Actually

Bring clothes you can bend your knees in. Shoes, harnesses and chalk bags are on loan at the desk. Buy gear later, once you know what you like.

No. 4Falling is the hard part.

Actually

Falling is a skill, and it’s the first one we teach. The boulder floor is a foot of foam, wall to wall; you learn to land by bending, sitting and rolling back.

No. 5It’s a sport you do alone.

Actually

Bouldering is the chattiest sport we know. Strangers work the same problem, swap ideas and cheer the top. Ropes need a partner by design; the desk can find you one.

04 First visit

Your first climb, in four moves

  1. Sign in at the desk

    Fill out the waiver on the desk tablet, five minutes, once. Under-16s need a parent or guardian there to sign.

  2. Get your shoes

    Snug, not painful. We’ll size you, hand you a chalk bag and point you at the lockers in the old weigh house.

  3. Take First Ascent

    Forty-five minutes on the boulder floor with a coach and three others: how to fall, how to stand, how to read tape.

  4. Climb what you like

    White and yellow tape are yours for the day. Stay until closing, or until your hands tell you to stop.

Passes

05 One price board Pay at the desk by the visit, the ten or the month. What you see here is the whole price.

  • First Ascent

    Intro with a coach, shoes, then the rest of the day on the wall.

    $32

  • Day pass

    Every wall, all day. Leave for lunch and come back.

    $19

  • Ten visits

    Punched at the desk. Yours alone, and it never expires.

    $160

  • Monthly

    Come as often as you like. Stop it at the desk, any month.

    $72

  • Under 16

    With an adult on the floor. The kids’ wall comes with it.

    $12

  • Lead course

    Three evenings: knots, clipping, and falling on purpose.

    $140

06 Visit

Find the tower

The Grain Tower
1 Elevator Row
Grisby Flats

Bus 14 to Silo Yard, then follow the concrete. Bike racks inside the old weigh house. The lot behind the tower is free after 6 pm.

Street map: Switchback stands on Elevator Row beside the rail spur, one block from the Silo Yard bus stop and the River Wend. 14 P ELEVATOR ROW MILL LANE HARL STREET SILO YARD STOP RIVER WEND RAIL SPUR SWITCHBACK FREE EVENINGS

Hours

Mon–Fri6:30 am–10 pm
Saturday8 am–9 pm
Sunday8 am–8 pm
Café7 am–8 pm daily

Panel C closes Tuesdays until noon while we reset it.

Inside, bottom to top

  1. GBoulder hall. Three panels, foam wall to wall.
  2. +12 ftTraining deck. Hangboards, rings, a stretching corner.
  3. BinsRope walls. Top rope and lead, up to 104 feet.
  4. HeadCafé and kids’ wall. Coffee from 7 am.
  5. RoofThe ledge. Open on dry days, April through October.

07 Practical

Before you come

Anything else, call the desk at 555-0116 or ask when you walk in.

Do I need to book?

Only for First Ascent and the lead course. Day passes are walk-in, any time we’re open.

What should I wear?

Anything you can bend your knees in. Leave rings and long necklaces in the locker; they catch on holds.

How old do kids need to be?

Five for the kids’ wall, eight for the boulder floor, twelve for ropes with a belay-checked adult.

Can I just come and watch?

Yes, free. The glass bridge and the café both look down over the boulder hall.

Can I bring my own chalk?

Yes. We ask for a chalk ball or liquid chalk rather than loose powder, to keep the air in the bins clear.

Is the building step-free?

The desk, boulder hall, café elevator and bridge are. Our adaptive session runs Thursdays at 5 pm; tell us what you need when you book.

08 Book

Book a first climb

First Ascent runs five times a week, four climbers to a coach. $32 covers the session, your shoes and the rest of the day on the wall.

  • Tue 6:30 pm
  • Thu 6:30 pm
  • Sat 10 am
  • Sat 2 pm
  • Sun 11 am
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