Following months of hard work, fundraising and community support, Centre County’s only rock climbing gym is nearly ready to reopen.
Climb Nittany is planning a formal grand opening celebration on Oct. 18, allowing the public to return to the gym just months after it closed in May due to unsustainable occupancy costs. An initial timeline will allow select members to receive early access in late September ahead of a soft opening in mid-October.
Avid climber and fundraising leader Eric Chase credited Climb Nittany’s return to the many community members who formed a new group that will own and operate the gym on its own terms. That group, Happy Valley Partners in Climb, hopes to use its wide range of perspectives and backgrounds to promote Climb Nittany’s long-term success and sustainability.
“An amazing group of local community members came together, formed a business team and were able to purchase not only the building but also the assets and the business from 5.Life,” Chase told the Centre Daily Times, referencing former owner 5.Life Climbing. “It’s been a journey. We all want things to go quickly and move fast, but we’re excited to reopen this fall.”
Climb Nittany’s resurgence began when the gym’s tight-knit community raised $1.9 million in just three weeks to match an offer to purchase the building. Revenue generated from the new ownership group and up-and-coming membership programs will help ensure the gym can remain in operation at 328 Discovery Drive in Boalsburg.
Hazel Pollock boulders at Climb Nittany on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Abby Drey adrey@centredaily.com
Some Happy Valley Partners in Climb members are taking on new roles to ensure Climb Nittany can find its footing. That includes Harmony Schmidbauer, a former tech industry professional and avid climber who now serves as the gym’s executive director.
In a letter to the community, Schmidbauer said she felt inspired by efforts to save Climb Nittany and chose to join its team to preserve the gym’s important role as a third space, or a community resource outside of work and home. She’s excited to work with Climb Nittany’s team members and climbing community to chart a forward-thinking path that embraces the gym’s new sense of freedom.
“Moving forward, there are lots of conversations to have about how we can really maximize our community outreach and partnerships,” Schmidbauer said. “Programming represents a huge opportunity, as well as thinking about the facility itself and being able to control our own destiny and make improvements as we see fit.”
Schmidbauer said her team is often thinking of Climb Nittany’s return with a “crawl, walk, run” framing. The gym can start crawling by reopening, walking by sustaining its operations and running by planning large-scale improvements for the future.
Some improvements are already in the works as Climb Nittany’s team hustles to reorganize some exercise equipment, touch up climbing fixtures and paint some climbing surfaces. The gym is also set to introduce a Redpoint, a climbing gym software platform that can keep track of membership data, archive climbing routines and more.
Climb Nittany is expected to offer a wide range of its typical programs upon reopening, including casual climbing sessions, youth and adult classes and a competitive climbing team. Other offerings, including sessions reserved for older climbers, could also soon return, perhaps through a partnership with OLLI at Penn State, a program offering courses and social events for community members who are at least 50 years old.
Jake Tinklepaugh, Climb Nittany’s programs and community manager, says the gym has something to offer for anyone interested in climbing, no matter their level of experience.
“People from different walks of life and experiences, like the tech industry or outdoor recreation industry, can all come here and share in something that they are trying to get better at,” said Tinklepaugh. “They’re connecting to other people and improving themselves by climbing and experiencing physical adversity. This is a space where anything can manifest because it’s so supportive.”
Getting Climb Nittany back up and running was imperative due to the important role the gym can play in promoting positive thinking, goal-setting and other key attributes for young climbers.
“It’s a pretty comprehensive curriculum in the sense that we don’t just teach kids how to climb,” Tinklepaugh said. “Climbing is so much more than just getting up the wall. It’s interacting in a space with like-minded individuals, navigating that space with your body and understanding the learning process of failure. Falling off a wall is very physical and visual, and you can point to it and say, ‘You failed.’ The magic is taking that perception and changing it into motivation.”
Dexter Chase and Jake Tinklepaugh huddle with the climbers at Climb Nittany on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Abby Drey adrey@centredaily.com
Those interested in being among the first to back Climb Nittany’s return can already sign up for Keystone memberships. Annual memberships for an individual start at $970 for an entire year or $520 for six months, with additional discounts available for students, veterans and those who register additional family members.
Keystone members will be the first to access Climb Nittany’s gym during an early access period starting Sept. 27. These memberships also include exclusive merchandise and the waiving of enrollment fees.
Starting Oct. 11, monthly memberships, day passes, guest passes and more will be available for purchase, according to Climb Nittany’s reopening schedule.
“The reality is, the more memberships we have, the more we can do to build and grow this gym,” Schmidbauer said. “Memberships are really the foundational asset, the consistent source of being able to sustain this. If we have more members, we can consider expanding programming more easily, making facility improvements and reinvesting in the business.”
Additional fundraising for Climb Nittany continues through Elevate, a new program launched in collaboration with the nonprofit Jana Marie Foundation. The effort, seeking to raise $30,000, is expected to use climbing to help middle- and high-school aged students “build resilience, confidence and connection” at no cost to participate.
Reflecting on months of work, planning and fundraising, Chase said Climb Nittany could never have reopened without the relentless support — and patience — from the community.
“I want to just thank the community for sticking with us, believing in us, trusting us as we navigate this,” Chase said. “We all wanted to see it open in July, but it’s a journey to start a new business. 5.Life had a vision to bring this here, but this is now truly a community-owned asset, and it’s truly something for the Centre Region to have.”
You can visit climbnittany.com to find the latest information on the gym’s reopening efforts, including membership details and newsletter sign-ups.
Climb Nittany indoor climbing and fitness gym on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Abby Drey adrey@centredaily.com
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