BLOOMINGTON — Thirty years ago this month, Chris and Pam Schmick bought a former grain silo and turned it into a rock climbing gym on Bloomington’s west side.
The couple had gotten married in November 1993, and just a couple of months later, they purchased a climbing gym in Peru called Upper Limits. The Schmicks felt it wasn’t the best location, as it was in a smaller town, and they wanted to be more centralized.
Chris Schmick is originally from Morris and Pam Schmick is originally from Pekin, so they knew they wanted their gym to stay in Central Illinois — but they were having a hard time finding a building tall enough to challenge climbers. They thought about looking in Chicago, but stumbled upon an old grain elevator in Bloomington and thought it would be a cool location for a climbing gym. The owners were willing to sell, and after much renovation work, Upper Limits Rock Gym & Pro Shop opened Sept. 2, 1995, at 1304 W. Washington St., Bloomington.
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“After we opened there, we were open for three years, and things were going pretty well,” Chris Schmick said. “One of our friends worked at The Pantagraph — Lenore (Sobota), she was an avid climber — and I rigged this gigantic frozen waterfall, so basically me and my friends could go ice climbing. Lenore came to do a story and photos, and it went viral.”
The story was published by The Associated Press, and soon other newspapers around the county began to run similar stories about the frozen waterfall at Upper Limits. The Schmicks said they were even receiving calls from Good Morning America, Discovery Channel, Sports Illustrated and more, all wanting to talk to them about their climbing gym.
Upper Limits started receiving visitors from Chicago, and lots of Boy Scout troops, too. Upper Limits was featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune in the 1990s, and in 2016, it was recognized by Smithsonian Magazine as one the seven “most innovative gyms in the world.”
“The waterfall just kind of did it for us, snowballed everything,” Chris Schmick said. “Thirty years ago there weren’t that many rock climbing gyms in the country … it was kind of a new thing, so we had tons of publicity from that, so things were really taking off.”
About five years later, in 2001, they opened a second location in downtown St. Louis, followed by a third location in Maryland Heights, Missouri, in 2011, and a fourth in Chesterfield, Missouri, in 2016. While the downtown St. Louis location closed about two years ago, the gyms in Bloomington, Maryland Heights and Chesterfield are still open.
The Schmicks now live in Jasper, Arkansas — a prime spot for outdoor climbing — and mainly run Upper Limits out of their St. Louis headquarters.
As avid climbers themselves, the Schmicks have climbed all over the country, and recall being in the middle of nowhere, in faraway states like Wyoming, and seeing cars with Upper Limits bumper stickers, or people wearing Upper Limits T-shirts.
“The biggest thing is actually the communities … everybody knows your name, everybody’s talking to you, (it’s) everybody’s happy spot,” Chris Schmick said of the business’ longevity. “If you’re into rock climbing, you know, it’s kind of just like any passion, a fun place to be … it’s just a place that feels like they belong. Being around climbers is paradise.”
There have been challenges over the past three decades, of course — Chris Schmick recalls working 14 hours a day, seven days a week during Upper Limits’ early days, and having competition from other gyms as they opened. But he barely remembers that now, he said, adding that if you have a good product, people will come.
“(With) any small business, obviously, the passion (has to be there)… It’s been honestly tons and tons of work, but it really hasn’t felt like work,” Chris Schmick said. “It’s really cliché, but it’s the truth. It’s not hard work when you do something you’re passionate about, so that’s a nice bonus.”
Thomas Wallace of Normal started climbing at Upper Limits 10 years ago, and now goes about twice a week. He said the community at Upper Limits is nice and something he can rely on, especially with support from other climbers.
David Cate of Bloomington has been climbing at Upper Limits for 15 years and agreed it’s a great place for community.
“We’re all fortunate that they change this place up every couple of months, so we’re always climbing new routes. It’s always fresh and new,” he said. “And I think when we travel and we tell people we have these silos in the middle of Illinois, everyone wants to come and see ’em.”
To celebrate the 30-year milestone, Upper Limits will host an Anniversary Crash Pad Jamboree from 1 to 6:30 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 6.
The event will be open house-style, with a friendly boulder competition open to all levels starting at 4 p.m. There also will be food and prize drawings from D.P. Dough, Tragur and Rivian; a brand-new organic crash pad to try out; and more. Attendees must be present to win prizes. Apparel and stickers also will be available for purchase.
Tickets to participate in the competition are $40 per person, but there is no cost for spectators.
The Schmicks will be on site for meet-and-greets, and said they hope everyone will come out to see them and share their Upper Limits stories.
The couple added they appreciate the employees and gym members who started climbing at Upper Limits when they were kids, and now have families of their own that they bring to the gym. They even have employees from 30 years ago that they’re still good friends with. Not too many businesses can say that, Chris Schmick said.
“It’s definitely a labor of love,” Pam Schmick said. “The big thing is the kids. They get into it, and the sport just kind of takes over your life. And (it’s) something they can do forever, you know. We’ve seen a lot of people get engaged, a wedding or two. The community is just great because everybody’s into it.”
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Contact Olivia Jacobs at 309-820-3352. Follow Olivia on Twitter: @olivia___jacobs
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