Bricktown’s OKC Rocks renamed Rocktown

The Journal Record
October 31, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY – A nonprofit youth program and a climbing enthusiast have jointly purchased the OKC Rocks climbing silos in Bricktown near downtown Oklahoma City.

Aaron Gibson, a climber of more than 15 years’ experience, acquired a 15-percent interest in the landmark near Interstate 40 and will be the president and manager of the business. Touchstone Youth Project will hold the other 85-percent interest in the business, agency director Nicole Hunzicker said. Gibson said he has the option of buying a larger stake in the shared venture, but no plans to become sole owner. Gibson would not discuss financial details of the deal other than to say that some personal debt financing was involved.

Gibson has a Web designing business and has organized rock-climbing events, but he said this is his largest professional venture so far.

An official reopening ceremony for the renamed Rocktown Climbing Gym is scheduled for Nov. 10. Gibson has already started renovating the silos with roof repairs, paint and heating. He said some of the silos have been underutilized and will be opened for more gym space and special events. Gibson is considering an external makeover as well.“We’ve got an incredible facility and the potential, for improvement and growth is limitless,” he said.

We are building on something that was started seven years ago and our plan is to take it to the next level. … Our goal is to be the best gym in the country, not just for climbing but for the positive community that we are going to build within the gym.”

OKC Rocks owner Freddy Harth began refurbishing the abandoned grain units a decade ago and slowly transformed the complex into one of the premier climbing centers in the country. Few climbing gyms can match the building’s total wall space and vertical height. A typical gym or commercial climbing wall will top out at about 30 feet; Rocktown’s tallest reaches 90. Harth had installed 36 handhold routes to pick from, ranging in difficulty class ratings from 5.6 to 5.13 under the Yosemite decimal system – a climb above 5.5 requires security rope and usually a belaying partner, with increasing strength, stamina and protection required up to the world’s most difficult ascensions at 5.15.

Gibson has known Harth for several years and said he’ll continue to use him as an advisor. But Harth will not hold position in the new company. The climbing gym will remain open to the public with expanded hours and group event opportunities, even though some space will be set aside for the Touchstone program, the owners said.

Hunzicker founded Touchstone about five years ago with a goal of providing to low-income youths “adventure-based education, mentoring and life skills cultivation.” “It’s a way to learn by doing, and we use rock-climbing,” she said. “We learn about trusting one another and being trustworthy, and about facing fears and trying something that’s difficult and challenging. A lot of the things we deal with and talk about during rock climbing apply in real-life situations.”

The volunteer mentor program has helped more than 60 youths since its inception, Hunzicker said. She said Touchstone has worked with local school districts, but the outreach organizer recently died and school connections will need to be re-evaluated.


Touchtone Youth Project Director Nicole Hunzicker and 15-year rock climbing enthusiast Aaron Gibson plan to celebrate the opening of Rocktown on Nov. 10. Rocktown was formerly known as OKC Rocks. (Photo by Jeremy Scott)