Return Route: Zenith works to revive local climbing scene

For mountain climbers, perseverance is part of the standard toolkit.

After an eight-month effort to restore Springfield’s latent climbing scene, the same might be said for the owners of Zenith Climbing Center LLC – husband-and-wife teams Everett and Audrey Pauls and her sister Jamie and Tony Kalil – as they close on a personal summit: the grand opening of their indoor climbing gym at 3534 E. Sunshine St.

“Once we get our certificate of occupancy, we’re ready to be open any time,” Audrey Pauls said. “We’ve had some roadblocks along the way that just set us back.”

Like any worthwhile climb, the route to Zenith’s opening had unique challenges, pushing an original target date of September to December – and now April 2.

The task of converting the 12,800-square-foot former site of the biblically themed museum Passages fell to general contractor Butler Built LLC. Owner Sam Butler said the company removed existing 10-foot ceilings to make way for Zenith’s 37-foot walls, routed a new sprinkler system and enclosed old HVAC ducts by adding another section of drywall.

“We had to alter the designs to fit the space around that major mechanical stuff,” Butler said. “You can only spend so much money relocating things.”

That work meant climbing wall designer and manufacturer Walltopia spent three months redesigning 9,000 square feet of walls – a large budget item at $32 per square foot. The climbing walls came from Walltopia’s headquarters in Bulgaria, spending a month on containers and trucks en route to Springfield. Walltopia crews followed in late January to start a 20-day assembly process.

Pauls said the changes and delays added roughly $100,000 to the original $600,000 budget. The venture is funded by a $500,000 loan through Central Bank, with the remainder personally financed by the Paulses and Kalils, who split ownership of the company 70-30, respectively.

“We’ve gone four months longer than we ever anticipated,” Pauls said of the delays. “That’s been the biggest factor we didn’t account for, along with paying our staff while we haven’t been open.”

Lessons on the path
Zenith’s beginnings originated at Springfield’s former indoor climbing center, Big Rock Climbing Gym, where the Paulses worked at separate times. The husband-and-wife team considered purchasing the 916 N. Cedarbrook Ave. property around the time of its closing in fall 2014, but instead opted for a fresh start.

“Ever since we met, we knew we wanted to start one. But every climber wants to do that,” she said.

During the Paulses’ time at Big Rock, the industry standards for frame construction established by the Climbing Wall Association changed from wood to steel.

On March 11, route setters traversed the mammoth white and teal climbing walls to install dozens of holds – from a stockpile of 4,096 purchased from St. Louis-based So Ill Inc. Crews welded frames for a shorter wall that can be manipulated to simulate varying degrees of pitch. A yoga studio, weight room, bouldering areas for adults and kids, plus an apparatus styled after a Ninja Warrior obstacle round out Zenith’s features.

Also a climber, Butler compared Zenith’s walls favorably with others he’s visited in the climbing meccas of California, Colorado and Utah.

“Five years ago, there wasn’t a gym like this even in the biggest climbing cities out west, so it’s pretty cool that Springfield has something like this,” Butler said.

Long game
The recipe for Zenith emulates not only climbing features but also the business practices and culture of other gyms where the Paulses have climbed. There’s Earth Treks in Golden, Colo., and Stone Gardens in Bellevue, Wash., where Audrey Pauls worked for a stint.

“We’re here to have a community, but there also has to be a standard,” she said. “You can’t be lax about your safety, because if you are it means someone gets hurt.”

When it opens next month, four of the eight employees will hold certifications through the American Mountain Guides Association, either as climbing wall or single-pitch instructors.

“Anyone who is in a teaching capacity will be certified,” Everett Pauls said, noting the typical certification cost is around $500. “We’re expecting to grow, and we’ll provide that for our employees.”

Revenue streams covering those expenses are varied. Monthly memberships are expected to be the primary income source, in addition to facility rentals and offering classes in top rope, lead and outdoor climbing, which are yet to be priced. The $50 membership comes with unlimited climbing and use of the weights, while $90 per month tacks on yoga classes taught by Jamie Kalil and instructors from Circle on the Square and Sumits Hot Yoga. The owners have a goal of 200-300 monthly members to cover costs and net a profit.

But even when the gym opens its doors, the climbers will not have reached their business summit: Eventually the Paulses want to offer guided climbs at domestic and international destinations with a wish list of locales in South Africa, New Zealand and Vietnam.

“That’s a dream of ours,” Audrey Pauls said. “Probably a long-term, distant dream, but definitely a dream.”