events
boulder league
summer 2025
SUMMER BOULDER LEAGUE IS HERE.
5 WEEKS OF CLIMBING, NEW SETS EVERY TUESDAY
8/12 - 30DEG
8/19 - 60DEG
8/26 - 15DEG
9/2 - 45DEG
9/9 - LEAGUE FINALS 5DEG+15DEG
WINNERS ANNOUNCED 9/11
RULES:
You can climb any day of the week! But each set is only Boulder League-able for one week.
With the exception of a NORTH WALL LEAGUE FINALS, which will only be available for points from 9/9-9/11.
Teams must have 4-6 climbers. Need a team? Give a holler in our Discord!
League participation is $35/climber, not including gym entry.
Sign up by Sunday, 8/10.
Rules & Scoring
Teams must be 4-6 people. Make sure to have a cool team name!
Climbers must be at least 14 years old.
Each competitor will have a physical scorecard, which they check out and back in at the end of the night each week on league days. Scores will be updated by the following Tuesday.
You can climb any time for the duration of League for your score to count, but we encourage you to climb between 5p-9p!
Team scores are a sum of all its members’ scores, with the following adjustments:
For teams of 4 or 5 members, we will bring them up in scoring to 6 members by duplicating the lowest scores of the week to fill “ghost seats”.
How individual scores are calculated:
Scoring is relative to each individual’s redpoint grade ( V_r ), the V-grade someone can consistently complete in ~4 attempts at Uplift.
Boulders at your V_r are worth 100 points.
Boulders above your V_r are worth +50 points per grade.
Boulders below your V_r are worth -40 points per grade.
Each attempt deducts 1 point.
Please note that your V_r is reported on an honor system. If unusually high scores appear (if you’re consistently flashing above your V_r), we reserve the right to make notified adjustments.
FAQ
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Give a holler in our Discord to find other people that are looking for a team!
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Sign ups close at 10p on Sunday 8/10!
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We’ve got a big leader board in the gym! Come on by to check it out.
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Stan’s Vr = V4
V4 flash = +100pts.
V5 in 7 attempts = 150 - 7 = +143pts
V6 in 15 attempts = 200 - 15 = +185pts
V3 flash = +60pts
V2 flash = +20pts
V1 or V0 flash = no points awarded.
Note: Stan would not likely be flashing any routes V5 or above, given his redpoint grade is V4. If Stan appears to be performing too well for a V4 redpoint climber, Uplift reserves the right to adjust his Vr .
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This time, we’ll have a fun cool trophy! We promise it’s not a hobby horse.
calendar
She Rocks Climb Night
August 26, Tuesday, 7p-9p
September 30, Tuesday, 7p-9p
October 21, Tuesday, 7p-9p
November 18, Tuesday, 7p-9p
December 16, Tuesday, 7p-9p
Join She Rocks for a fun weekday evening of bouldering! Women and non-binary folks of all climbing levels are welcome. Discounted day passes for $15, with rental shoes included. Come join us for monthly fun, and look for Leigh our host in the blue tank top!
Book Club
August 21, Thursday, 630p - The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear
September 18, Thursday, 630p - The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
Get together with other climbers and talk about not-climbing! What an idea. Hosts Nate and Victoria want to get people together and talk about the fun books we're reading.
Feel free to bring dinner to eat in the mezzanine, dessert will be provided.
Full reading of the book is not required, however spoilers may be discussed!
No sign-up is required, just feel free to drop in.
Need a copy of the book? Hit up our friends at Ridgecrest Books just down the street! They're our favorite neighborhood bookstore, just a mile away from Uplift.
Shoot us an email if you have any questions!
Summer BBQ Potlucks
August 9, Saturday, 3p-6p
September 5, Friday, 4p-7p
At Uplift, we love to climb, and we love to eat. Now it's time to eat! Join us Saturday August 9 and Friday September 5 for a family-style BBQ potluck. We'll provide smashburgers and hotdogs, you'll bring a hungry stomach, a friend, and maybe a side dish to share!
Get your session in and then eat up! Food is free for everyone, so invite your neighbor!
The Uplift Downgrade is BACK! Now in our fourth year, we figured it’s time to mix it up. You’ll be climbing in new categories, you’ll be competing in a new format. But what’s great about the Downgrade isn’t changing — great fun, great community, great prizes, and great live music.
Sign up to compete with us on June 28, climb with your friends, win prizes in our Big Raffle, and enjoy live music from our friends in the Josh Hou Group. Don’t miss our biggest event of the year!
results
categories
women: Beginner, Intermediate, Advance, Open
men: Beginner, Intermediate, Advance, Open
non-binary: Beginner, Intermediate, Advance, Open
Beginner: V0-V2
Intermediate: V3-V5
Advanced: V6-V8
Open: V8+
Sign up to climb in Session 1 or Session 2, and you’ll choose your category on the day-of when you pick up your scorecard.
format
This year’s Downgrade is will be a Classic Redpoint format. Instead of having specific routes assigned to your category, every route will be available to you.
Routes will be assigned a point value from easiest to hardest.
Each route will have a mid-way Zone that’s worth 50pts, regardless of difficulty. You’ll either get points for reaching zone or topping out, but not both!
We’ll be counting points for all the routes you climb, not just the top 5.
live music
We’re excited to bring back the Josh Hou Group to help us celebrate the wrap-up of the Downgrade! They’ll start playing right as Session 2 ends, so make sure to stick around and enjoy the music while we calculate scores and winners.
Josh’s band helped us celebrate the Lunar New Year in February, check out this recap video!
Photos by our friend Isaac Baik
ROUTESETTING CLINICS
We’re proud to offer routesetting clinics once again at Uplift Climbing! We’re hugely passionate about the trade of routesetting, and love to provide opportunities for people to learn from the best. With two clinics to match varying levels of experience, this is a learning opportunity that you won’t want to miss.
Our Introduction to Routesetting and Professional Development Routesetting Clinics are led by Moé Corbett and Joshua Haynes, both seasoned veterans of the industry. With over 30 years of setting experience combined, they bring a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience that they’re really excited to share!
We’re especially excited to add a Women’s Only Introduction to Routesetting Clinic, led by Moé Corbett and Elly McClane. This opportunity comes from much demand for a learning environment that prioritizes getting more women comfortable in routesetting spaces.
Introduction to Routesetting Clinic
6/21 • Saturday • 8a-4p
Our Introductory Clinics are open to people with little to no setting experience. If you’re exploring routesetting as a career, or looking for tips for your home wall, this is the clinic for you!
We’ll cover fundamentals such as the basic Goals of Routesetting, creating routes for others (not just you!), hold selection, grades, styles, and safety. You’ll learn about basic movement while exploring the difference between “progression” and “cruxes”. If you’re hoping to become a routesetter as a career, we’ll talk about what opportunities in the future look like, surrounding both career and health.
You’ll start the day with these basics, while putting holds on the wall under the watchful eye of expert instruction. Later on, you’ll set routes and forerun as a crew, with lots of hands-on attention from instructors. This is an opportunity you won’t want to miss!
I had an amazing time setting at the Uplift clinic. I've done a few other routesetting clinics but what made Uplift's stand out was that the instructors, aside from just teaching how to use tools and put holds on the wall, dived into details about the theory of routesetting and how to set quality boulders. I learned the most at Uplift! - Matin, 2023 Clinic Participant
Women’s Only Introduction to Routesetting Clinic
6/22 • Sunday • 8a-4p
As we’ve hosted routesetting clinics over the years, it’s become increasingly apparent that we should provide learning opportunities in women’s specific spaces. This year, we’re excited to bring a version of our Introduction to Routesetting Clinic that is by-and-for women.
Participants are accepted by application on a rolling basis. Applications are open, with early responses going out by May 2.
This clinic is open to women (trans and cis) and any nonbinary people who are comfortable in women’s specific spaces.
Participants must be able to climb at a V3 level
We’ll have extra pairs of safety glasses, but if you have any other personal protective equipment, please bring it (work gloves. ear plugs, etc).
Professional Development Clinic
6/23-24 • Monday-Tuesday • 8a-4p
This clinic is for existing routesetters that are looking to gain more experience in a professional setting. You’ll learn and work with other participants while receiving lots of hands-on attention from instructors, covering both the commercial and competition side of routesetting.
Topics covered include:
Advanced Setting Techniques and Movement Analysis
Aesthetics
Holds vs Volumes
Functional vs Contemporary
Working on a Routesetting Team
Communication, Trust, Adaptation
Decision Making
Setting/Forerunning outside of climbing style and “ability”
Industry best practices
If you’re another gym, this is a great opportunity to send your team to receive fresh ideas and learn industry best practices! Your routesetters will learn from the best, while also spending two full days collaborating with others in an environment that will bring out the best in them.
The Uplift Setting Clinic provides an environment that challenges your setting process, regardless of how long you've been in the game. It's a breath of fresh air for the craft in a world of commercial sets and competition setting guidelines. - Emmett Cookson, 2024 Clinic Participant
My experience with the routesetting clinic was both inspiring and affirming. The opportunity to collaborate with peers from a variety of backgrounds created a rich, organic learning experience. The activities and discussions were valuable in the moment, and applicable to my work and my team. Since our time together, I've noticed I have a wider perspective and more focused skills, and I hope to participate again in the future. - Lauren Zammit, 2024 Clinic Participant
If you’re limited financially or are underrepresented in the climbing industry, we’re happy to provide scholarships as well. Please reach out to andrew@upliftclimbing.com for any questions regarding financial aid
kaiju climbathon
a three-gym endurance battle for seattle
And the winner is….EDGEWORKS SEATTLE! With almost 800 routes climbed, and anchored by bicycle-travel from Momentum to Edgeworks to Uplift, Team Edgeworks brought home the trophy!
Thanks to everyone for an amazing Saturday. It was so much fun to climb and party with everyone all day, to get to know people from other gyms, enjoy the beautiful weather, and celebrate this amazing community. We’ll see you at the next one!
A portion of registration has been donated to the Washington Climbers Coalition. The WCC’s mission is to make Washington a better place to climb through advocacy, stewardship, and education. If you’ve hiked the trail to Snow Creek Wall, climbed anywhere in Gold Bar or Index, clipped bolts at Little Si, or been to pretty much any other climbing area in the state, you’ve enjoyed the efforts of the WCC!
lunar new year &
anniversary celebration
February 1, Saturday, 4p
FREE for members!
Everybody knows the real New Year's celebration happens at the Lunar New Year. And coincidentally, this year it falls on the same week as the 4 year anniversary of Uplift's opening. Let's have a party!
Climbing has always been the thing that’s brought us together, so what a great time to celebrate the members, the community, and the neighborhood that make Uplift special. You’ll need a day pass to climb, but it’s free to come enjoy the music in the evening!
FOOD TRUCK: 5p-8p
Kathmandu MoMoCha will be in our parking lot in the evening for you to enjoy delicious Himalayan Street Food! Get your session in, then enjoy some delicious dumplings.
LIVE DRAWING: 5p-6p
Our friend dozfy is BACK, this time with live art! If you enjoy the beautiful murals on our walls, or the Friendly Crewneck, make sure to come by and meet the man. Bring a photo of your pet and dozfy will send you home with a keepsake pet portrait!
LIVE MUSIC: 730p-830p
The Josh Hou Group is coming with a quintet to entertain you with modern arrangements of Chinese folk tunes, as well as plenty of Mando-pop, Canto-pop, and Tai-pop.
Live music starts at 730p, invite a friend (or your mom!) and bring a folding chair! There’s no cost if you’re just coming to enjoy the tunes, but there will be a tip jar for the musicians. No climbing once the music starts.
SHOP
Need to show the world how much you love climbing? Say no more. Craggu has you covered with handmade and upcycled climbing rope tote bags, and will have a bunch for sale during our event!
MEET-UP
Looking for your crew? Our friends at the Asian Climbing Collective are hosting their first ever Seattle meetup that evening! Come say hi and meet host Lin!
SUPPORT
A huge thanks to Flashed for the support in making this event happen. And for making the best chalk and bouldering gear in the business.
Arc’teryx Seattle can always be counted on for helping us throw a party. Thanks for helping with this one!
