The Nord-Vaudoise climbing gym is the first in Switzerland to be equipped with the “Clift Climbing” system.
Posted: 10.01.2022, 11:30 a.m.
Gaëtan Capraro on a climbing wall, whose grips have been equipped with LEDs and sensors, thus offering different games and routes.
FLORIAN CELLA
Fun and diversity. This is what the climbing room of Chavornay has won by increasing a wall of tactile and luminous holds. Although flashy, this new offer is aimed at both sports enthusiasts and seasoned climbers. “For example, we can program dynamic routes with jetties, explains Gaëtan Capraro, the main site manager. People who like it are quite rare. So it's not worth putting up a wall just for them." On the other hand, with digital, everything becomes possible.
Whether you're in a more competitive or playful mood, a sesame connected to the mobile opens up access to several climbing modes. Like the game "Sprint" which leaves 1'30 to touch a maximum of holds among those which light up. Something to delight even the youngest, admitted from the age of 7. "If you put children on it, they don't stop," laughs the 26-year-old enthusiast.
"You have to find your way a little more, which is more like outdoor climbing."
Gaëtan Capraro, co-manager of the Chavornay climbing gym
Before installing this high-tech adornment on one of the walls, the young team from Chavornay went to test it in Munich, Germany. “The feeling was weird but interesting, remembers Gaëtan Capraro. You have to find your way a little more, which is more like outdoor climbing. On site, the group was thrilled by the potential of this technology in the making.
The “Clift Climbing” system was developed by a young Hungarian entrepreneur at the Moholy-Nagy University of Applied Art in Budapest. “The designers will move towards competitions and the Olympic Games, presents the Bavoisan. The goal is for it to be scalable.”
Pilot room
As the first Swiss structure to connect to this type of interactivity, the Vaud room enjoys a special status. “We are a pilot project,” says Gaëtan Capraro, enthusiastic about this collaboration. In return, the development cost “less than 20,000 francs”.
Rising in December, this new attraction quickly found its audience. “If we add up all the routes climbed, we are more than the height of Everest”, greets the Vaudois. What put balm in the heart when the local Chavornay, like other players in the sector, saw its attendance halved due to the pandemic. "I don't expect to make up for the extreme drop," says Gaëtan Capraro. For now, he is focusing on the development of the interactive wall. “There, we have eight lanes, but we will have thirty-two at the end of January.” With, as a bonus, other games at stake.
