RETURNING! OCTOBER 28, 2023

Black Light Bouldering made its grand return! After a brief hiatus, we’re thrilled to have hosted the year’s most creative bouldering competition.

THANK YOU to everyone who competed, all the volunteers for sharing their time and talent (we couldn’t have done it without you!) and huge shout out to our photographer, Cameron Anderson, for capturing such great moments from the community comp.

THE EXPERIENCE

Since 2004, Edgeworks Tacoma has combined the thrill and motivation of climbing competition with the creative, exhilarating magic of black lights.

Our exceptional team of route setters meticulously crafts the year’s most captivating boulder problems, while our creative staff and dedicated volunteers transform the walls into vibrant, glowing artworks. No matter your skill level, the excitement that fills the room when the lights go out is impossible to ignore.

From the routes and black light tape decorations to the imaginative costumes and pulse-pounding beats of our DJ, every aspect of our event is designed to amaze. Join us and be part of the excitement as we continue to push the boundaries of fun and adventure!

THE REGISTRATION

Pre-registration by October 24th, guarantees access to our exclusive swag bags including an extra raffle ticket and bonus chance at walking away with an incredible raffle prize at the end of the night.

Location: Edgeworks Tacoma
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Pre-registration (ends 10/24): $35 members, $45 community
Shirt Order w/ Registration (ends 10/10): $20
Day-of registration: $60 everyone

BLB 2023 | T-Shirt Design

Make your experience even more lit by adding this limited edition BLB 2023 t-shirt. Not only will the design glow under the black lights but this shirt will provide memories for years to come.

$20 with pre-registration by October 10; limited purchases day-of the event.

Order now to guarantee the size you want!

THE SCHEDULE

COMMUNITY SESSION: 4:00pm – 7:00pm

• Categories: All
• Judges Meeting: 3:15pm
• Competitor Check-in: 3:30pm
• Competitor Rules Meeting: 3:50pm
• Climbing: 4:00pm – 7:00pm

AWARDS + AFTER PARTY: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

• Raffle Prizes: 7:30pm
• Awards: 7:45pm
• Social: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

All climbers must complete a signed waiver or have one on file with Edgeworks in order to participate. Waivers must be renewed each year and are available online.

THE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

It takes a lot of support from our entire community to pull together a climbing competition like Black Light Bouldering. If you have some time to spare, we’d love to have your help!

BLB 2023 | TAPE ART VOLUNTEERS
The Job: Bring your creative energy and/or taping skills to the gym! No experience necessary.
Dates/Times:

• Wed, October 25: 12pm-5pm or 5pm-10pm
• Thur, October 26: 12pm-5pm or 5pm-10pm
• Fri, October 27: 12pm-5pm or 5pm-10pm

BLB 2023 | COMP VOLUNTEERS
The Job: Help manage routes, competitor queues, scoring and communication of rules as needed.

• Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
• Time: 3:00pm – 7:00pm

WALL CLOSURES

As competition setting starts to take place, wall closures will be necessary. Here’s the closure schedule to help you help plan ahead:

• Tuesday, October 24: Old Lead Cave
• Wednesday, October 25: OLC, Sunshine, Wall of Love + Gallery
• Thursday – Friday, October 26-27: All bouldering walls

Ropes in the EAST Room will remain open to members and guests throughout the week!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2023 | ALL DAY:

LIMITED CLIMBING AVAILABLE.
CLOSED areas include:
• ALL of the climbing walls in the WEST BAY; including all boulder and lower level rope walls.
• Weight + Cardio areas; including Campus Board
• Upstairs area; including lounge, yoga studio and Kilter Board

OPEN areas include:
• The EAST BAY will be OPEN for rope climbing.

All youth programs, climbing school courses and fitness classes will be canceled.
Our parking lot will be full so please plan ahead! Spectators are welcome in the competition area.

MORE DETAILS

While you’re here, be sure to check out the VIDEO from a previous Black Light comp! ←(click the link to video watch).

Curious about the professional pathways to becoming a route setter?

These clinics will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of route setting. Participants will learn best practices for safety and tool use, and will have the opportunity to set and forerun boulders in a variety of grades and styles.

We will discuss what a standard day of commercial setting entails, and the ways in which interested people can become more involved. Participants can expect to leave the clinic with a greater understanding of the route setting process and the avenues available to those interested in pursuing a setting career.

LOCATIONS + DATES

WOMEN + NON-BINARY CLINICS

* Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10 *
Welcoming all who identify as a woman and/or non-binary in a way that is significant to them (cis, trans, genderqueer + non-binary). These sessions, hosted in partnership with Bolt & Revolt, will be led by women from our setting teams.

SIGN UP ONLINE!

SCHEDULE

9am – 3:00pm with a 1 hour Q/A lunch break (lunch not provided)

INSTRUCTORS

Ally Cruz, Chelsea Sommer, Taylor Nicholas, and Ziggy Zeigler
Andrew Thaller, Justin Wright, Keath Suchy and Yogi Sam

COST

$90 / member
$105 / non-member

PRIDE 2023

Through conversations inspired and led by LGBTQ+ identifying staff and in collaboration with Queer Mountaineers and PFlag Bellevue Eastside, members of our staff-led DEI Advisory Committee have been working on ways to show support and create new connections with several events planned in June (National Pride Month) as well as July (Tacoma only).

Click the button for a full list of activities at each facility!
Pride events will appear in the green boxes or use the category option to sort by ‘Pride Month Events’.

COMMUNITY.

Together with professionalism, integrity and adventure, community is one of our core values. To us, it means “a welcoming group of climbing enthusiasts, adventure seekers, and friends connecting through our shared interests in climbing, fitness, and fun”. 

Each Pride Month we take the opportunity to reflect on what we’ve done and still need to do for LGBTQ+ folks in our communities.

Why do we celebrate Pride Month?

We recognize that diversity fuels the spirit of our staff and community. Our commitment to equity and inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity and experience builds a culture where difference is valued, innovation thrives and adventure is accessible to all.

What are we doing to support the LGBTQ+ community?

We are proud to be creating brave + inclusive spaces where all climbers of any gender, identity or sexual orientation feel accepted;  where you can challenge yourself, build your skills and know that this is a place where you belong.

What steps are we taking to accomplish this?

• Listening + responding to the needs of our staff, members + community
• Maintaining hiring practices to recruit + retain a diverse staff team
• Advancing a staff-led diversity, equity + inclusion committee
• Hiring experts to help identify + navigate our strengths/opportunities through discussion and trainings
• Building action steps to hold ourselves accountable to changes we want to see

What does this look like to our community:

• Monthly Queer Climb Nights at all locations; hosted by Queer Mountaineers
• Progress Pride flags in all facilities (year-round)
• Period products in all bathrooms (year-round)
• Pronouns on staff nametags
• Access to gender affirming bathrooms in all facilities; with improvements to the Bellevue gym scheduled with facility updates and expansion
• Gender inclusive categories for competitions
• Celebrate Pride events + activities hosted at all locations during the month of June; and July in Tacoma
• Redefining who a “climber” is, can and should be by building a better, more inclusive community for all

We’re listening.

Click here to offer your thoughts, suggestions and feedback.

In 2022, we made cash donations to:

• The Trevor Project
• Lambert House
• PFLAG Bellevue Eastside
• Oasis Youth Center

In 2023, donations will benefit Queer Mountaineers.

Founded by queer dreamers, activists, artists, and outdoor enthusiasts, Queer Mountaineers’ mission is to provide community, access to skills & gear, and a safe space for outdoor enthusiasts of all backgrounds, genders, and sexualities. We are grateful for the partnership, talents and energy they bring to our gyms.

Please consider joining us in supporting them! Donate Now

Our Summer Send Special is back!

Perfect for climbers who are only in town for the summer months or new members looking for a great deal on a new membership!

Membership Dates: Now – August 31, 2023

Purchase Now: only $209!

Click the link for your home gym to sign up and save!

Save on a summer of climbing! Now – August 31.

Purchase now to get the most out of this awesome deal and enjoy all the great perks + benefits that come with being an Edgeworks member, including:

• 3 Locations: Bellevue, Seattle + Tacoma
• Climbing: Ropes, Lead + Bouldering
• Instruction: FREE! Intro to Climbing Classes
• Guest Passes, Discounts and MORE!

The earlier you purchase, the better the deal – so don’t wait!

All summer memberships expire August 31, 2023 regardless of purchase date.

Climb With a Purpose

Thursday | June 1, 2023
Edgeworks Seattle is thrilled to host a Community Fundraiser Comp in collaboration with Washington Climbers Coalition to support and raise money for conservation projects and toilets in Vantage!

THE BASICS:

REGISTRATION:
Competitors must be a registered user on the KAYA Climb app; no additional cost
Download the KAYA Climb app to register.

• $20 (all proceeds benefit Washington Climbers Coalition)
• Open: Now – June 1
• Closes: After the first hour of the competition (at 7:00pm) so that flights can be created (see below)

SCHEDULE:
Thursday, June 1 | 6pm – 10pm

• 5pm-6pm: Competitor Check-in + Rules Meeting
• 6pm-9pm: Climb Time!
• 9pm-10pm: Awards + Social

FLIGHTS:
Instead of self-selecting into a category at the time of registration or guessing which category is right for you, competitors will be placed into “flights” based on their overall performance. Once scoring is complete, flights will be automatically generated within the KAYA app and prizes will be awarded to the top competitors in each flight.

For example, a competition with 100 competitors would result in 5 flights:

• Flight A: 1st – 20th place
• Flight B: 21st – 40th place
• Flight C: 41st – 60th place
• Flight D: 61st – 80th place
• Flight E: 81st – 100th place

PRIZES:
A selection of rad prizes will be awarded to the “top 3 competitors” in each flight, courtesy of The Mountaineers, Petzl, Edelrid, Patagonia, MiiR and Fremont Brewery.

EVENT DETAILS:

SCHEDULE
5:00pm-6:00pm | Competitor Check-in + Rules Meeting
6:00pm-9:00pm | Climb Time!
9:00pm-10:00pm | Awards + Social

RULES:
This a redpoint bouldering competition meaning that each route has been assigned a unique point value that is largely based on the level of difficulty.

• Points are gained only if the route is completed.
• Competitors will track each attempt in the Kaya app
• Tie-breaking scenarios, will be deducted 1 point per attempt up to 25 attempts per climb.
• Final scores will be the sum total of their top 5 climbs.

ABILITY LEVELS:
All climbers welcome! We’ll have 35+ boulders available for you to climb, designed to challenge competitors at every skill level.

CATEGORIES:
There are no categories to sign up for before the competition. Instead categories will be created after the climbing session is over and will be based on the finishing order of all participants.

AWARDS + RAFFLE PRIZES:

Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 finishers of each category. Participants do not need to be present to win.

WALL + GYM CLOSURES:

• Monday, May 29 | Old 45, Old 30 and New 45
• Tuesday, May 30 | Cardiac + Old 45, Old 30 and New 45
• Wednesday, May 31 | Walltopia + Cardiac + Old 45, Old 30 and New 45
• Thursday, June 1 | Walltopia + Cardiac + Old 45, Old 30 and New 45
  • After the competition ends, everything is back open!

Excellent Parking + Raffle Prizes!

May 1 – 31, 2023 – “Bike like the mountain is out!”

Join the “Bike to Edgeworks” Challenge.

It’s simple. Each time you ride your bike to Edgeworks to climb, take a fitness class, or workout you’ll receive one raffle ticket to be entered in a drawing for prizes including Edgeworks swag, FREE day passes, and more!

Plus, you get to enjoy all of these added benefits:

1. Skip the traffic
2. Find excellent parking
3. Save money
4. Help the environment
5. Improve your physical health
6. Improve your mental health

The more you ride, the more chances you have to WIN! So get on your bike and RIDE.

Fine Print:
– Tickets are limited to 1 per person/day for rides that occur during the month of May 2023 only.
– Tickets must be collected at the time you and your bike are at Edgeworks; sorry, no “oops, I forgots”.
– Raffle is open to everyone and all ages, including members and non-members.
– Drawing will take place Thursday, June 1, 2023.

Ride safe. Ride smart. And always securely lock your bike to one of our racks.

Earn Your Peaks!

February 1 – April 30, 2023
Put your membership to good use, add a little fun to your climbing sessions and earn a FREE t-shirt with our 7th annual members only 90-day challenge!

THE OBJECTIVE

Earn points by completing a list of challenges including over 100 different activities – from climbing, fitness and check-in challenges to attending socials, interacting with staff, fun training games/activities, dancing and more.

As points are achieved, 3 different levels of “peaks” are awarded and added to your FREE member challenge t-shirt. It takes 150 points to earn all 3 peaks; with over 300 points available!

First Peak: 65 points  |  Second Peak: 100 points  |  Third Peak: 150 points

THE LIST

New challenges are added every year including fitness, climbing games and skills based challenges with a distribution of points designed to engage both the over and under achievers among us. As proven in previous years, it is possible to earn all 3 peaks in one day (IAD) but there are also plenty of really fun challenges that are accessible to all skill levels and will keep you coming back for more points and peaks!

Now Available!
Get a sneak peek at the 2023 Challenge List for your home gym and start planning your strategies now.

THE SHIRT

Points will be tallied once a week by Edgeworks staff and T-shirts will be distributed upon achievement of the first peak (65 points). T-shirts will be labelled with the member’s name and added to a rolling cart to be located near the front desk. 

*Current stock/availability may delay the delivery of a t-shirt by 1-2 weeks.

Note: Feel free to wear and wash your shirt during the challenge but please refrain from using fabric softener until after all of your peaks have been added.

THE PEAKS

Iron-on peaks will be made available at the front desk along with simple to follow DIY instructions.

Or you can bring your shirt to the monthly Member Socials in March, April and May, when we’ll have staff available to add the peaks for you.

YOUR PROGRESS

Members are responsible for tracking their progress and checking the boxes on their challenge sheets as items are completed.

To entice those of us with an extra competitive spirit, we will update a public Challenge Board with everyone’s individual points – you know, just in case you want to see how you match up to the achievements of others.

Effective March 1, 2023

As climbing evolves, so do the technologies, techniques, and best practices we use to mitigate the risk of our sport. Effective March 1, 2023, all Edgeworks locations will adopt an Assisted-Braking Device (ABD) policy for all top rope and lead belaying in the gym. 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Beginning March 1, 2023, non-assisted belay devices (ATCs or similar) will no longer be allowed for general use in our facilities. 

TOP 3 “WHY” FACTORS

1. Minimizes risk
2. Adds redundancy
3. Reduces human error

Moving to an ABD-only policy in our facilities will help climbers better mitigate risk in the gym; ABD’s help prevent accidents in a way that older style tube-style/unassisted belay devices cannot do.  Similar to seatbelts, ABDs easily add another level of security. 

FAQ: Click here for answers to the most common questions we’ve received about this change.

RESOURCES DURING TRANSITION

We’re providing several options to assist climbers through the transition, including:

Info Nights with Vendors. We’ve invited the folks from Black Diamond (Ryan Spivey), Petzl (Jay Dufrense), Edelrid (Anna Campbell) and Mammut (Collin Jenkins) to help us showcase available assisted belay devices and provide information to learn and make informed decisions on the products available. 

These events will be held from 6-9pm on the following dates:
• March 7:  Bellevue
• March 8:  Tacoma
• March 9:  Seattle

No registration required! We hope to see you there. 

Tips and demos from our staff. If you’ve never used an ABD before, our staff will happily show you how to use any ABD.  No appointment required, just come see us at the desk!

Free clinics for members. Grigris are not the only ABD only option! Our climbing school instructors are offering free 30 minute clinics designed to teach you how a variety of different active and passive ABDs work, how to use them, and offer recommended belay techniques for various models. Registration is now open, sign up online!

Free rental devices. We will have a selection of Black Diamond Pilots and Mammut Smart 2.0s available for use during the transition.

30% off all ABD devices in our retail shop. Including discounts on Black Diamond Pilots, Edelrid Giga Juls and Jul 2s, Petzl Grigris, and Mammut Smart 2.0s. 

(Limited time offers through March 31, 2023)

MORE INFO:

ABDs provide redundancy.
“In climbing, we use backups all the time.  We use them as an integral part of our systems and we often use words like redundancy and security when we’re talking about backups.  In every case, the basic concept is the same: a climber relies on one system to stay safe, and there is another system that acts as a back-up in case the primary system fails or malfunctions.” – American Alpine Club

Human error reduction.
“Brake assist was basically created to add a “belay backup” in case of emergency or misuse while belaying, with the added bonus of being able to hold the weight of the climber once activated. The basic concept is that in the event the rope moves too quickly through the device, for example if a belayer loses control, the speed and friction on the device cause it to move in a way that stops the rope from feeding.” – Weigh My Rack

Belay Technique
This policy change does not change the way Edgeworks expects people to belay.  As always, all belayers must maintain control of the brake strand at all times and be alert and attentive while belaying.  ABDs are not “auto-locking” or “hands-free” and should not be treated as such.