A Day in the Life of the Climbing Gym

A typical day at the climbing gym usually starts at 10:30 am. I arrive and start setting up by first tying knots and inspecting the ropes for any wear and tear. I then proceed to have some tea and bread, which is around 10:45 while I also take the time to catch up with the office staff (when I say catch up, I mean throwing some banter). Topics usually revolve around sports and general trending subjects from around the world. The gym officially starts operations at 11 am that's when we are ready to receive guests.

THE MORNING ROUTINE

The morning sessions are generally slow and there's the occasional one or two guests that walk in, but it looks a little bit different during school holidays when we have a lot of kids joining the morning sessions. When there aren't a lot of clients during the morning, a day will end up being

characterized by either cleaning gear rentals (which include shoes and harnesses) or catching up on some reading, with book titles ranging from organizational leadership (my favorite,

authored by Mark Miller) and adventure blogs in order to keep up with trends in the sector, as this proves quite handy as interaction points with guests.

The morning sessions also are an opportunity for me to climb with fellow staff and grow both in skill and knowledge and also banter around. This session helps us get to know the routes and how best to climb them, which means we’re able to give better instructions when interacting with guests.

WHEN THE AFTERNOON HITS...

Lunch typically starts at around 1:30 pm and we usually enjoy it at a small restaurant around the corner. I have had the chance to invite a few BlueSky guests to join us for lunch and the chapatis and beans have proved to be a hit with the ex-pat community. Some even end up grabbing some chapatis to take home and claim they end up climbing better after having some chapatis.

The afternoons are often characterized by guests starting to trickle in, most of them regulars, but we never miss a few new guests in town who either are here for work or leisure. Most of them get to know about BlueSky through their social circles as they take the opportunity to socialize and connect with people from different cultures but also from their own. The gym serves as a meeting point for people from around the world and we usually make fun that BlueSky sometimes feels like an airport. If you are in Nairobi and you are an expatriate you have to go through us!

RELATIONAL INTERACTIONS

Being a BlueSky staff member lets you interact with guests easily, as they literally trust you to secure them. Each guest usually climbs for about two hours and by the end of the session, you get to know a lot about them, like what brings them to Kenya, how long they will be around, what kind of work they do, which country they’re from and generally their life story, including siblings, upbringing, and so on. The sessions typically feel more relational than transactional and staff members end up being friends with the guests.

Guests form lasting friendships with our staff, to the point where they typically schedule their climbing sessions when they know certain staff members are working and the friendships are not only limited to the climbing gym. The evening sessions are quite busy and usually end at 8.45 pm.

Most clients come from work straight to the gym and they say it feels like a home away from home – their words not mine!

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