RunOut #40: Will Climbing Gyms Survive Covid-19?

OK, so America right now is, basically, the second season of The Walking Dead. We know how to kill the enemy, but somehow we still keep getting eating by the zombies. Welcome to the apocalypse, fuckers, only this apocalypse means, no more Moon Boarding at your local gym, and no more climbing at your favorite crag. Climbing is canceled. This is Andrew Bisharat, and I’m here as always with my smoking hot albeit remote cohost Chris Kalous, and today we’re practicing our social distancing podcasting etiquette while speaking to Fabrizio Zangrilli, a climber, mega alpinist, and, most importantly, the founder and owner of The MonkeyHouse climbing gym in Carbondale, Colorado. Fabrizio agreed to speak to us today to share some insight into the real struggles that climbing gyms are going through amid Covid-19. Climbing gyms, of all the outdoor businesses, are getting hammered by this virus. And so Chris and I wanted to hear from the source about what that actually means. Times are tough, people. No one knows what the future holds. Except that Glen dies. We totally know that Glen absolutely dies. So now, without further ado, Fabrizio Zangrilli.