I strongly support the inclusion of a climbing gym as part of the Teton County/Jackson Recreation Center expansion. I furthermore support a gym large enough to accommodate the community’s current and future needs.

Current plans for the Rec Center climbing gym call for ca. 7,000 to 9,000 square feet overall, which translates to ca. 5,000 to 7,000 square feet of climbing area.

Key to a gym that can serve the entire community is enough space. The Enclosure Climbing Gym, which had 700 members when it closed in 2014, had 10,000 square feet of climbing area.

Climbing's popularity has exploded since The Enclosure closed. Because it's a public facility, more people will use the Rec Center climbing gym than used The Enclosure. The Rec Center's downtown location will also attract more tourists. For these reasons, it is safe to assume the Rec Center climbing gym will have more users than The Enclosure did.

An appropriately sized Rec Center climbing gym will not only generate tourist revenue to offset Parks and Rec programming for locals. It will provide physical and mental health benefits to kids, families, search & rescue members and veteran climbers alike while creating a safe after-school venue for our youth that connects them to Jackson Hole’s legacy as the epicenter of American mountaineering.

These healthy connections will last the rest of their lives. Allocating an appropriate amount of space to the gym is essential to making this happen.

For these reasons, I urge Town of Jackson and Teton County elected officials to allocate a minimum of 10,000 to 12,000 square feet of climbing area for the Rec Center climbing gym.

Thank you for considering my support for an appropriately sized gym!