Entre Prises, a French company specializing in climbing walls, teamed up with CommRow, a planned sport complex, to plan and create the 163-foot-high wall. The former, which built the world’s first indoor climbing walls in 1985, has so far erected about 4,000 others, including some on the Royal Caribbean Line cruise ships. This one, however, will be the first they will build onto a tall building.

The wall will be built on 7,000-square foot boards on the side of the CommRow building. It will include beginner, intermediate, and advanced walls; belay ledges for training and moving between pitches; and a special designated area for the World Championship Competition. The wall is certified by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) as an Official World Record Speed Wall, and was built to local and international specifications, according to Entre Prises CEO Antoine Richard.

The park is also set to host a number of annual professional climbing competitions, each one expected to attract some 1,000 climbers. They are also trying to get big names such as The Amazing Race and the X Games to participate, and the National Federation for Sports Climbing is pushing to get climbing into the Olympics.

CommRow will be building on the former site of the Fitzgerald Hotel and Casino, which was built in 1976 and has become a landmark of sorts in Reno. The first two floors have already been gutted.

The project may help boost the appeal of downtown Reno, which has been in a slump as projects were put on hold because of the recession, according to city councilor Dave Aiazzi. The wall will also be across a whitewater park that students and families used to frequent.

Tom Christ, entertainment and PR director for Harrah’s hotel in Reno, says the wall and bouldering park could only benefit locals and businesses. His hotel had already been planning to offer more entertainment this summer—last year, with business and tourism down, their stage remained empty for much of July and August. He even suggested playing music across the plaza to add some mood as people watch the climbers.

CommRow had to obtain a special-use permit to build the wall according to city regulations; the recommendation was given around March.

However, this should never be done at the expense of safety. Rock climbing may be rewarding, but it is also one of the most dangerous sports in existence with an enormous numbers of injuries and fatalities each year.

This is not intended to scare you off. It is just important to be aware of the dangers involved.

So how do you avoid these dangers? In part, having good quality safety equipment will help a great deal. And one of the most important features of your safety equipment is the pair of rock climbing shoes that you take with you on a climb.

Your choice of shoes could save your life or help you to avoid an injury.

Shoes for Rock climbing are specially designed footwear made specially for rock climbing. These shoes are usually not very thick so that the climber has maximum control over the movement of their feet. Also, these shoes fit very tightly around the climber’s feet, because you do not want your shoes falling off when you are a hundred metres from the ground. This may lead to them being slightly uncomfortable, but the point is that they create enough friction to stay firmly on your feet and to allow maximum foot control.

Rock climbing shoes are usually covered in a vulcanized layer of rubber. This increases the friction between the rock wall and the shoe and hence increases the climber’s grip, leading to a safer, and hopefully incident free, climb.

There are a wide range of rock climbing shoes to choose from. Some brands might include La Sportiva, Evolv, Patagonia, Five-Ten, Vasque, Kayland and Millet Everest.

The price will vary according to the brand and the type of shoe you are buying. For example, the La Sportiva Exum Pro Approach for Men will cost around $US100. However, for the La Sportiva Nepal EVO GTX Mountaineering Boot for Men you might pay closer to $US500. Alternatively, the Lowa Expedition 8000 GTX Boot for Men will cost around $US1500.

Shop around and find the right rock climbing shoes to suit your needs. Remember, when it comes to your own personal safety, you should always get equipment you can trust.

Rock climbing is a sport where people climb up natural rock formations with the goal of reaching the summit. Alternatively, people can climb man-made climbing walls, with the same goal of reaching the summit.

This is a sport which can be done for fun or competitively. In competitions, the goal is to reach the summit in the shortest amount of time possible.

Rock climbing is an incredibly difficult sport which requires a great deal of mental and physical strength, as well as balance, endurance and agility.

What are the different types of rock climbing on offer?

The most simple, and generally the safest form of climbing is bouldering. This simply involved climbing a boulder that is not too far off the ground, and generally does not require too much safety equipment or specialized climbing techniques. As you get higher and higher off the ground, you will find that you need more safety equipment, and you might need some specific climbing techniques too.

Top roping is when you feed a rope through an anchor at the top of the climb. As one person climbs the rock face with the rope attached to their body, another person called a belayer stands at the bottom keeping the rope taught in case the climber falls.

These are just two of the main types of rock climbing methods. Other styles include aid climbing, sport climbing, free climbing, free soloing, solo aid, indoor climbing, scrambling, rope soloing, mixed climbing, simul climbing and lead climbing,

What type of equipment will you need?

Because you are climbing to death defying heights, this can be an incredibly dangerous sport and the climber’s safety is of the utmost importance. It is necessary to have a range of safety equipment, such as the safety harness and the climbing rope.

The shoes that you wear are also important. They are very tight and uncomfortable, but this is for the climbers safety so they do not fall off.

Also, the carabiners are significant safety equipment. These are rings of solid aluminium that hold your climbing rope.

So how do you get started?

There are a few things you will need. If you have never climbed before, you should find someone who is experienced. It might be an idea to find a respectable rock climbing company for your first experience. Then, all you need is a place to climb, the right equipment and the right attitude to fun and safety.

Picture Credit: adventure-tours.tourtravelworld.com/adventure-sports/climbing/