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PLASTIC PARADISE: The Rock Club - New Rochelle, New York
  EnlargeIf you can't see the end just follow the tape. Maybe you'll eventually get there. The lead arch
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All photos courtesy The Rock Club
Where is it?
New Rochelle, NY. A 25 minute train ride from NYC.
Directions?
Go to our website for easy directions.
What’s in it?
Endless roped climbing running from steep to steeper. 60 top ropes ranging from 35 to 40 feet high on the main wall, and much of the gym is leadable. Tons of wide, stemmy dihedrals, long arêtes and high-stress chimneys. TRC is feared for its jaw-dropping lead-arch. And the bouldering wall is over 100’ long of pure aggressiveness. Everybody’s here when the Gunks gets rained on. There’s also an enclosed cardio room, a Pro-shop, deck and saunas. Kids get to scream in their own fully-sealed mini gym and party rooms. Obe’s setting team is creative, hungry for feedback and constantly creating new routes and problems. With over 15,000 square feet of climbing -- they never stop.
Standout feature?
The lead arch is the mother of all features. Dozens of routes from 5.8 to 5.13 weave through, around, and across for up to 70 feet of climbing. If you can’t see the finish from the start, just keep following the tape. On any night it’s crawling with howling gorillas with swollen forearms and flyweight women who float up the routes that just spanked everyone else.
Any comps?
ABS 9 Regionals happen in January, and there’s more to follow. There’s also our own adult league. It’s like a weekly comp, and anybody can do it. Everybody pushes each other to grab that next grade. The “season” starts in January.
Age Requirements?
14 to belay or boulder. No limit to climb ropes, but parents need to supervise kids - or they’re out.
 EnlargeDave "The Mayor" Gold runs a few laps and earns his burgers and beers
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 EnlargeSo, you think the Gunks got rained out today? Possibly. Ot it's just another Thursday sesh at TRC
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Hours?
M-F: 10 am – 10:30 pm
Sat-Sun: 9:30 am – 8 pm
Contact?
info@ClimbRockClub.com
914-633-ROCK
www.ClimbRockClub.com
The Local
Name: Dave Gold (aka The Mayor)
Age: Old enough to be Pops to Biggie Smooth (aka Nate Gold)
What’s so good about the gym?
The staff, the people and the vibe. Also, Obe Carrion’s in charge of operations – so you can imagine how he brings it on! And I should mention that Josh Lowell, Brett Lowell, Ivan Green, Al Diamond, Russ Clune, Jason Kehl, Nate Gold, Chris Sharma…well, I’m not sure who these cats are, but they might stop in at any time. ;)
When are the best sessions?
The best sessions are currently happening on Thursday nights. That’ seems to be when the highest concentration of strong regulars pull down. The energy is positive and everybody wants each other to send!
Any inside info we should know about?
Train hard, get strong and challenge Obe for the first ascent of a hard new route. He will whoop your ass, but you’ll get to watch one of the best! For those over 21, we go out after our Thursday sessions for beer, burgers and trash talk (not for the timid)!
Rate the gym from 1 to 10 and why?
Anything manmade is going to have a flaw somewhere. In a rock gym that flaw is different for every climber. TRC’s strength is in its routes and long leads. The route setting is the dopest, with a great mix of styles pushing your strengths and your weaknesses (and there’s your 10). The sound system rocks and anybody with a play list can have it programmed in. All the members and staff bring their own brand of “agro” which gets everyone juiced and ready to send.
