PLASTIC PARADISE: SLO-OP CLIMBING - SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA

THE INSIDERS

And you are . . . ?
Yishai Horowitz and Kristin McNamara, co-executive directors and founders.

Years in Operation?
KM: We’ve been running in one form or another for about fi ve years.
YH: We were in a storage unit for two years — then we were falsely accused of pooping in bags and leaving them laying around the place. . . .
KM: So we had to take the whole place down that summer. Then we erected the “Dan-Op,” which was outside in the elements for a few months. Yishai fi nally found a cheap warehouse that housed us for three years, but people started complaining the place was too crowded, so here we are.

Nearest Crag?
KM: Nothing anyone’s heard of. But we’re about three hours from Yosemite and six from places like J-Tree, Bishop, and Red Rock.

What’s in it?
YH: 3,500 square feet of 16-foot top-out bouldering, the baddest free-standing boulder you’ve ever seen, and a dedicated slackline area. We’re working on installing a campus board, system board, crack machine, weights, and cardio equipment. Our pro-shop is bouldering.com, so we’ve literally got a warehouse of gear. And because we’re a social club, we’ve got 24-7 access, oodles of climbing mags, free shoe rentals, and a bumpin’ sound system.

Standout Feature?
YH: The island boulder. It totally looks like it’s going to fall over — it’s an engineering masterpiece.
KM: The community. I was really worried that as we got bigger, people would stop being cool, but they didn’t. All your friends come out of SLO-Op, it’s like Cheers: everyone knows your name.

Any comps? How about a youth team?
YH: Hell yeah! Monster throwdown at our October 18 grand opening. Sick prizes from Mad Rock, Evolv, 5.10, Sickle, and more. We’ve been putting on comps at all our facilities that draw from all over California.
KM: We’re hoping to get a bunch of teams going. Laura Patton is pretty involved with the college-level competition, so she’s organizing a team this year. Yishai wants to get a high-school team going, and I would love to do a junior-high-level team.

What else should we know?
KM: SLO-Op was originally a co-op, but in 2006 we fi led as a 501(c)7 non-profi t social club. Most of our income needs to come from the membership that participates in activities that support our charter (to support the local climbing community), and our activities need to refl ect that charter, too. Profits left over from operations don’t go into anyone’s pockets — they remain part of the club’s funds and may only go to support the club.

Also, there is no way we could have built this gym without advice and support of professionals, the sweat of loyal volunteers who were there with us for up to 15 hours a day with no weekends, and we couldn’t have funded it without a loyal following. It makes it all worth it when you see the members walk in, and their eyes bug out.

Hours: For members, 24-7-365

Contact info: 289 Prado Road
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
info@slo-opclimbing.org
slo-opclimbing.org

THE LOCAL

Name: Pancho Gomez

Age: 21

Occupation: Econ major, Cal Poly

Years climbing: A little under three

What’s your favorite feature of the gym?
The overhanging cave in the corner, because it’s friggin’ sick.

When are the best sessions?
Those late-night sessions, when you get the urge to go, and you take your iPod and blast it and you’re the only one there (or maybe there are a few other people). You can go until, like, 2 or 3 a.m.

Who’s your favorite routesetter there, and why?
Definitely Justin, because he sets huge moves on huge holds.

What’s the vibe?
I don’t even know how to put the SLO-Op into words, it’s so sick. You’d have to write a paragraph about it. I guess I’d have to go with “chill,” but it’s not just that, because when you walk in, there’s this energy of friendliness and support and community.

Any insider tips?
When you get out of SLOOp late at night and you’re dying for some food, you can drive five minutes to Food 4 Less, which is open 24/7 and has pretty cheap food.