About ÜG
Übergrippen opened its first facility in 2017 as a locally-owned small business created by Jake and Kim Crine. Many people assumed Übergrippen was a franchise or a chain business — we are not! Jake and Kim had lived in Central Park (which is a northeast community of Denver) for 10 years and then in 2014 they decided that they wanted to bring something to their local community to make it a better place for their neighbors to spend time with their friends and family in an active way. Indoor climbing is an activity that uniquely allows people of all ages and abilities to participate together and they knew this kind of facility would fit in perfectly.
During Jake and Kim’s pre-opening, Matthew Leach visited ÜG and loved exactly what they had built. Matt had an established career in tech, from teaching college for over a decade to working for numerous start-ups and bootcamps; had also been an investor in The Spot since it’s early days of 2002 in Boulder, Colorado. Jake/Kim and Matt quickly became friends and Matt figured if he could find the ideal location for the next ÜG, he’d step back from tech to be the managing owner with the support of Jake and Kim. It took nearly a year of searching, but by the end of 2018, Matt found an ideal location building the next location in Castle Rock, Colorado.
Christine Ritenour was a Navy vet and had her own plans to build a bouldering gym in Castle Rock and had reached out to Jake for some friendly small-business advice without even knowing his expansion plans. It didn’t take long for Matt and Jake to add Christine onto their team as another managing owner.
Despite the long negotiations to keep Übergrippen out of the warehouse areas and place it right in the middle of the Meadow’s Town Center of Castle Rock and the 8-month construction delay due to Covid-19, they finally got the construction rolling with plans to be open in September of 2021.
Our Mission
To transform and enhance the lives of people of all ages and skill levels, from the first-time climbers to the seasoned experts, by enthusiastically sharing our passion for climbing and fitness.
Building More than “Just Another Gym”
From the first concept of Übergrippen, Jake made it a point to avoid that unpleasant word “gym” in favor of referring to ÜG as an indoor “crag”. Everyone at ÜG loves the idea of extending this community experience beyond just adding climbing walls to a warehouse.
Our team strives to open climbing facilities in the heart of residential neighborhoods because we are not a gym in a forgotten industrial area, but a crag that you can walk or ride your bike to. Übergrippen is a place the community comes to climb, but hangs out to connect.
We welcome our members and guests to climb and hang with their friends in the crag or outside in the yard that we have in each of our locations. Members and guests often bring a food to enjoy outside during the summers and even take advantage of our grill which we encourage people to use for free. Adult beverages are encouraged as well, although anyone drinking must stop climbing for the rest of the day. The ÜG crag is the perfect place to slow down and enjoy your time with those people that are important to you!
