Indoor climbing in Inverness is about to reach an exciting new level, when local charity, ‘The Ledge’ will open a brand new, state of the art climbing wall next month.
The new climbing facility will have areas for beginners and experts, a lead climbing wall, bouldering walls, and Olympic standard bouldering wall and a dedicated children’s area. The facility will also have a strength and conditioning area for those who want to include climbing related personal fitness in their training.
‘The Ledge’ will also be a café run by the Pitch15 as well as having an outdoor retail provided by Alpkit.
Speaking about the brand-new venture, The Ledge’s Chief Executive, Duncan McCallum said, “We are extremely proud to be carrying on the fine tradition of providing excellent indoor climbing facilities in the Highlands and recognise that the baton has been handed over to The Ledge in great condition.
“Designated by Climb Scotland as a National Performance Centre, we looking forward to advancing and developing climbing wall usage, for all comers in the Highlands. When we open in in early spring, The Ledge will offer a full range of climbing surfaces and develop much needed indoor/outdoor courses and learning opportunities in a bespoke modern facility. As a non-profit organisation, The Ledge is dedicated to working in the community and using climbing as a medium to help expand horizons and improve lives.”
There has been an indoor climbing facility at Inverness Leisure in the Bught, which was installed in the late 1990’s and High Life Highland is pleased to have been part of the development of the sport over the years.
Referring to the facility, High Life Highland’s Director of Sport and Leisure, Douglas Wilby said, “For around the last 25 years, the climbing wall at Inverness Leisure has introduced many people to the sport as well given climbers the opportunity to develop their skills, leading to some Highland young people being able to succeed in competitive climbing.
“It has also been a place for climbers to meet other people and enjoy the social aspects of the sport in a warm and dry environment. The Highland area has some great outdoor climbing and at the time it was installed, the Inverness Leisure wall was innovative, with a lead climbing area which sought to mimic the outdoor climbing environment.
Douglas Wilby continued, “A specialist climbing facility in Inverness has been long awaited.
“Climbing wall design has moved on considerably since the Inverness Leisure wall was installed and the new facility at ‘The Ledge’ will provide all that has been possible at Inverness Leisure and more.
“The development of this brand new, specialist facility means that the time is right for High Life Highland to hand over the baton to the Ledge to ensure that neither organisation is ‘competing’ to attract customers from each other. For this reason, HLH has taken the decision to close the wall until the end of March, at which time the space will used to accommodate additional programming at Inverness Leisure without impacting on the wall climbers.”
High Life Highland and The Ledge have agreed to work together to give the new venture every chance of success, with High Life Highland expecting to continue running its current facility up to the end of March by which time the Ledge will be open. During the transition it has agreed to keep existing climbing wall customers up to date on the new wall.
High Life Highland’s Director of Sport and Leisure concluded, “High Life Highland would thank all its climbing customers over the last 25 years and will be actively encouraging them to support The Ledge. We all want to see the sport of climbing go from strength to strength and wish the new facility every success and wish the new venture every chance of success for the future.”
