Here's some great information on the new wall at Hames!

The New Expanded Wall is 30' long and 16'/12' high allowing a total traverse length (side to    side) of ~ 45' with the existing wall.  

The wall features a kids/beginning climber area with an inward slant and big,bright holds.  There is also a top-rope here for children to master the art of climbing on a rope.  

The traverse (or bouldering) area features kid-friendly holds the entire length.  This is designed to be used without ropes.  We have painted a bright red foot line where feet cannot go above the line and have provided pads to make this safe.

And of course you will notice the new overhanging and terrain features which will entertain advanced climbers and give all of us a future challenge.

The Expanded Wall is funded by a combination of grants as well as climber and community member donations.

We have many people to thank for their generosity!  The community run Hames Center is the place where we all come together to play and we are able to create what we would like to do.  We have been working with this climbing idea for over a year and are impressed with the level of support.

We are also planning on offering expanded climbing hours so contact the front desk if you are interested in hosting a climbing wall shift.  Training will be provided.

The Expansion was built by the talented Jamal Floate of Renaissance Construction with assistance from Dustin Hack of the Alaska Beam Company.  Both companies gave substantial labor donations to help our budget.  We think you will love all the special features they added just because they could - there's the 'crack', an extra 4' height we call the castle, additional top-rope areas and fun terrain.

Volunteers have also been tirelessly planning, designing, demoing, pounding t-bolts, sanding & painting with a total of over 350 hours to bring this expanded climbing area to the community.

A very special thanks to Marcel LaPerriere of Southeast Cedar Homes who provided technical guidance to convert a dream into scale model for construction.

Also a hearty thanks to the Hames Corporation and Precision Boatworks for their donations.

Jamal from Renissance Construction with Monique signing the build contract.

Thanks to the Crossett Fund, the Juneau Community Foundation, The White Elephant, and Members, the Hames Center has moved forward to extend the climbing wall.  There will be a kids bouldering wall in Hames Future!  Renaissance Construction started contruction on January 7, 2013.