SPECIAL GRAND OPENING GUEST - ALAN WATTS!

We are thrilled to announce a very special guest at our grand opening event! It is a great honor to welcome Alan Watts to Coeur Climbing Company on July 9th. Watts is one of America’s most influential rock climbing pioneers. Widely regarded as the founding father of Smith Rock in Oregon - an iconic climbing destination - he played a key role in the development of sport climbing in America and around the world.

Although sport climbing was initially controversial, it brought a new level of safety while pushing the limits of hard climbing, changing climbing from a "fringe sport" to one more accessible to everyone. Watts was one of the first American climbers to break into the 5.14 grade, a grade that is now considered the new benchmark for elite climbing to reach. Watts will be on-hand to share about his climbing experiences and be available for photos, autographs, and connecting with our local climbing community. We could not be more excited!

“Alan’s long career has had a profound impact on the climbing world,” says Daniel Shaw, co-founder of Coeur Climbing Company. “We’re honored to have him join us at our grand opening.”

Post Falls Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Coeur Climbing to bring Watts to Post Falls in July. “Climbing is a big part of what makes Post Falls special,” says Christina Petit, CEO of Post Falls Chamber of Commerce. “Having a world-class climber like Alan visit will highlight our city as a climbing destination in the Inland Northwest.”

Raised in Oregon just 20 miles north of Smith Rock, Watts started climbing at age 8 with his father in the Oregon Cascades. In 1975, at the age of 14, he first climbed at Smith Rock with a high school friend, teaching himself how to climb. At the time, Smith Rock was largely undeveloped and completely unknown in the US climbing community. While attending the University of Oregon in Eugene, Watts rose quickly through the grades while climbing daily at a small basalt crag known as the Columns. In 1980, he returned to Smith Rock, devoting himself to developing new lines at a time when few climbers saw the potential.

In 1983, with almost every crack line already climbed, Watts broke with tradition and rappel bolted Smith’s blank-looking faces and impressive aretes. His ascents of Watts Tots and Chain Reaction ushered in a new genre in the United States – sport climbing. Routes like Heinous Cling, Latest Rage, Last Waltz and Darkness At Noon continued his momentum. His first ascent of Monkey Face’s East Face in 1985 was the hardest free route in the United States at the time.

Despite his success, Smith climbing remained almost totally unknown before an Austrian photographer took photos of Watts climbing on his most iconic routes in August 1985. Within six months, these photos appeared in European climbing magazines, including an iconic cover shot on England’s Mountain Magazine. A feature article in Outside magazine soon followed. After years of climbing in obscurity at an unknown crag, Smith Rock and Watts became famous throughout the climbing world.

The controversy between the new style of climbing and the traditional style only grew more heated in the United States, but by the late 80s sport climbing finally gained acceptance. The influence of Smith Rock on US climbing at the time was profound; the tactics Watts pioneered at Smith quickly spread throughout the United States.

In 1988, at a time when the climbing gym industry was just getting started, Watts co-founded Entre Prises USA, the first wall company in the United States. He served as president until leaving the industry a decade later, shortly before the climbing industry boomed throughout the country.

Watts’ lifelong love of Smith Rock led to the creation of three comprehensive guidebooks to the area. His latest version, detailing 2271 routes, will be released by Falcon Press in August 2023. In 2022, he created Watts Rocks to share his wealth of climbing knowledge with today’s generation of climbers.

Watts graduated from the University of Oregon in 1987, and earned his MBA from Portland State University in 2002. In 2009, Rock and Ice recognized Watts as one of the ten most influential climbers in US climbing. He has two children, Ben and Morgan, and lives in Bend, Oregon with his wife, JoAnn.

Coeur Climbing’s grand opening is scheduled for July 9, 1-5 pm. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @coeurclimbing for the latest gym updates!