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PLASTIC PARADISE: Philadelphia Rock Gym, Coatsville, PA
  EnlargeThe many enticing angles of the Philadelphia Rock Gym
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Photos: Justin Roth
Age of gym:
Nine months
Location:
Valley Township, Pennsylvania (outside Exton).
Directions:
From Philadelphia: Take Rte 76 West, to Rte 202 South, to Rte 30 West, to Rte 82 South and follow the signs!
Features:
A Gear Shop; 2000+ square feet of bouldering, including top outs and a cave; 9000 square feet of top roping and lead walls; two separate party climbing walls; Party Room; Rappel Tower; and a Fitness Center.
How high you can get:
On a rope: 35 feet. Bouldering: 15 feet.
Main attractions:
Our steep lead wall; it was designed with Red River and New River Gorge climbers in mind, with a little bit of the Gunks thrown in for good measure.
A combination bouldering cave and top-out practice boulder at the front of the gym. It has 270 degrees of climbable space, split by a spiraling 150 degree cave out the middle, finishing with slabby top outs. It’s called the Gravitron.
The bouldering wall has over 80 linear feet of climbing space. Great for hanging out and cheering on your friends!
Comp scene:
In November there will be a Youth Climbing Series for young climbers age 12 and under, and on January 19, 2008, there’s the ABS Regional Championship and Citizens Comp, which attracts over 200 climbers and has a cash purse of more than $1000.
 EnlargeAlexis Pepe pulling down on a PRG problem
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 EnlargeNo mistaking where the gym's at now, kids
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Plastic Masters:
Dino Norcini is our Head Routesetter. In addition to him we have a number of regulars including, Isaac Franks, Kai Pedersen, Dave Rowland, and Chris Wendel.
Age requirement:
Old enough to fit into a chest harness! Typically that’s about 5 years old.
Hours of operation
M-F: 12-10pm
Sat: 11-8
Sun: 11-6
Contact info
Phone: 877-822-ROPE
Web: www.philarockgym.com
Email: info@philarockgym.com
The Local
Your name: Alexis Pepe
Your age: 22
What’s so good about the gym?
Location is one; this gym opens climbing to a bunch of people that might not otherwise have experienced it. It’s also a big gym for the region and most of the bouldering and lead walls are overhanging and have an interesting design. Finally, the people are amazing. You can easily start up a conversation with anyone that climbs at the gym and the staff is incredibly friendly and helpful, as well as multi-talented. Ask Adam to juggle for you…
When are the best sessions?
Thursday nights, because a bunch of regulars from the other Philly Rock Gym come out — that’s the big crowd night. You can find a good number of people to climb with pretty much every weeknight.
Insider info we should know about?
Noah’s has the hookup for mid-session munchies (the gym is attached to a restaurant). If you’re a student bring you’re student ID! Oh yeah, and if you have music preferences just bring your iPod and ask the staff to plug it in.
Rate it from one to ten (ten being the best):
Nine. Kids parties stay in their own room; it’s a big gym; good people; lots of programs for members; weird, completely horizontal cave thing; cardio and weights upstairs.
