When you have a community filled with active people that is located within two hours of some of the world’s best climbing and mountaineering sites, you would expect a place for climbers and mountaineers to practice their craft. Mount Washington, Franconia Notch, Rumney, and many other places are world-renowned climbing meccas. Two passionate climbers, former schoolteachers Josh Garrison and Noah Lynd, recognized the absence of such a place for climbers to gather, practice, and bond in the Upper Valley. “There used to be a small gym in Quechee,” says Josh. “It closed during the pandemic.”

After years of preparation, planning, and hard work, Josh and Noah opened The Notch Climbing Gym in November 2024. “There are over a thousand climbing gyms nationwide,” says Josh. “Ours tries to strike a balance between being family friendly and engaging for experienced climbers.”

The Notch is a 13,000-square-foot space that offers top ropes, auto-belays, and lead climbing routes on 45-foot walls, smaller bouldering walls for unroped climbing, spaces for birthday parties, gatherings, and yoga, and workout spaces including cardio machines, weights, and a climbing training tool called a kilter board (which is sort of like the rock climbing version of the Peloton or a golfing simulator—connecting climbers with routes and other climbers from all over the world). Above all, it’s a place where people can hang out and be active with fellow community members. “We think of the gym as a ‘third place’ for many people,” says Josh. “You have home; you have work. Now you have The Notch where people are coming to play, climb, and hang out.”

 

 

Emphasis on Education

One aspect of climbing gym ownership that Josh and Noah emphasize are classes—youth programming, summer camps, and adult class. “We’re former schoolteachers, so we really value the education piece,” says Josh, adding that he and Noah enjoy teaching new climbers to independently manage the equipment and use the gym and teaching people the skills to climb outdoors.

“Climbing is a love of my life,” says Josh, who taught expeditionary climbing all over the world for the experiential education program Outward Bound. “I love seeing people get into it.”

Noah knows about acquiring climbing skills from Josh. “I did not know how to tie in or put on a harness properly before Josh exposed me to climbing in 2016,” he says. “Now I’m comfortable with sport, trad, and ice climbing. I especially enjoy big alpine climbs.” For those outside of climbing circles, these are different types of climbing—sport means using bolts that other climbers fixed onto a crag; traditional means placing (and removing when you are done) your own protective gear as you climb; and ice climbing is climbing up icy routes in winter. All require physical skill and knowledge.

 

 

Two Friends on a Trail

The idea to open a climbing gym came about on a trail in the Utah desert. “We take a lot of climbing trips together,” says Josh. One thing about outdoor climbing is that it is not a rainy-day activity. On one of their trips, it rained, so they hiked a trail in Arches National Park instead. As they hiked, they discussed life dreams and ambitions and, of course, climbing. By the end of the hike, the idea to open a climbing gym was born.

Over the next years, they had many conversations and put in thousands of (unpaid) hours. Noah, who grew up in Plainfield, New Hampshire, suggested that the Upper Valley lacked a full-service climbing gym. “We discovered why pretty quickly,” Josh says. Starting a business is always a challenge; opening a climbing gym is particularly so. Once you are serious, there are two approaches: Either lease a building and retrofit it for climbing or buy land and build your own.

Josh and Noah took the second approach, which meant finding the right plot of land to purchase, securing financing, a lengthy design phase, finding architects and climbing wall builders, breaking ground, building, hiring staff, and opening their gym, all while holding down other jobs and having lives of their own (Noah continued teaching full-time, while Josh took more of an “odd-job” approach, doing everything from guiding to tutoring to dog-walking).

When they opened in November, the community response was immediate. “There was so much enthusiasm,” says Matia Whiting, an energy researcher from nearby Meriden, New Hampshire, and an avid rock climber. “Everyone was craving something like this in the Upper Valley,” she says. The reception exceeded Josh and Noah’s initial expectations. “It’s been pretty cool,” says Josh.

 

 

Beautiful Facility

Matia has lived in many parts of the country including New York City, Salt Lake City, and others. “I have climbed in 12 or 13 different climbing gyms,” she says. “This one is my favorite.”

Many climbing gyms tend to be in dark warehouses with few windows and lots of chalk dust. The Notch has large vertical windows and natural light and modern air filtration systems. Walking from your car to the building, you can already see people on the walls before entering. And from the reception desk, you can see most areas of the gym. “It’s just such a beautiful facility,” says Matia.

Matia, who was at The Notch on its opening day and who climbs there several times a week, speculates that Josh and Noah could have done a much worse job and built a much worse facility . . . and still have been successful. “There was that much pent-up demand,” she says. However, she says she could tell from the space and the way it was thought out that it was designed and visioned by people who really care.

If nothing else, Josh and Noah truly care. Both of their wives are also employees. Both are starting young families. The Upper Valley community seems to have welcomed the idea of a climbing gym in its midst with enthusiasm, whether it’s climbers joining as members or people expressing interest in working at the gym.

And suddenly, the New Hampshire climbing community has grown, and The Notch is planning several community-building events like movie nights (with climbing movies of course) and competitions. “Hobbies and passions bring people together,” says Josh, noting that the staff members have been dedicated and enthusiastic—and they love to sneak in a bit of climbing after their shifts.

“New England winters can be cold and long, and it can be hard to meet people in the Upper Valley” says Matia. “The Notch has been great for climbing, hanging out, and meeting people. It’s just an amazing space.”

 

 

The Notch Climbing Gym

33 LaBombard Road

Lebanon, NH

(603) 790-0737

thenotchclimbing.com