Gripstone Climbing, Yoga, and Café in Prescott is now open for climbing – and much more!
By Katie Chatham • Photos by Trisha Shaffer
Gripstone, a climbing and bouldering gym, yoga studio, and café that opened in Prescott in July, is built not only on sport, but also on the foundational ideals of community, health, and happiness—as well as safety. It’s a place where everyone can feel welcome, whether they come to climb, have coffee, or connect with friends new and old—and its owners are watching it all unfold in phenomenal ways as the gym continues to grow.
The 11,000-square-foot gym features 9,000 square feet of climbing walls that are up to 30 feet tall. The steel forms inside each climbing structure were welded on-site. The structures include 18,000 T-Nuts for holds, 325 sheets of plywood, 12,000 pounds of steel, and about 60 top anchor points for ropes.
The routes in the gym are Gripstone’s pride and joy. There are eight sections of the gym, and each section gets reset every two weeks.
“Essentially one-eighth of the gym is getting reset all the time,” said Cody Anne Yarnes, one of the owners.
Two sets of owners—Cody Anne and Michael Yarnes, and Tony Yaniro and Beth Oskerson—strive to make Gripstone welcoming for all climbers, regardless of age, weight, or height (there are almost no restrictions when it comes to climbers).
Cody Anne has run a successful local real estate sales team for more than 12 years.
“That’s my real job,” she jokes. “It is what has allowed me to be a part of a project like this.”
She and Michael also own a local property management company, Rent Right Management Solutions.
People familiar with the climbing world may recognize the name Tony Yaniro. He is a famous climber and an engineer who has designed and built more than 60 climbing gyms across the United States. In fact, he’s the designer of a climbing training tool called the Yaniro board, as well as amongst many other training tools.
“We feel lucky to have such amazing partnerships here and Tony is the humble star,” Cody Anne said of what the team brings to the gym.
When Tony began climbing and building gyms, he was the force that powered the concept of indoor climbing and training as a foundation for outdoor climbing. Gripstone offers such training, and Tony spends his time making sure everyone feels capable and well equipped to climb.
Each of Gripstone’s dedicated employees is highly trained and educated so every visitor can climb to his or her fullest potential. For example, the gym offers auto-belays (so climbers can climb solo), top-rope and lead climbing, and bouldering.
The team at Gripstone wants to ensure everyone can climb—safely. On that note, Tony said, “If you can climb a ladder, you can climb our walls!”
In addition to the pro shop, café, yoga studio, fitness room, showers, and a party room for birthday parties, team building, and private events, Gripstone offers climbing classes, and climbing teams and competitions. The gym’s youth programming is blossoming, and now that climbing will be in the Olympics in 2020, the potential to take a team to the Olympics is on the horizon.
The owners said building this amazing community has been the fulfillment of their wildest dreams.
Gripstone is located at 319 N. Lee Blvd. in Prescott. To learn more, call 928.458.7579 or visit www.gripstone.net.