“It’s not the height that kills you. It’s not the fall that kills you. It is the sudden stop that usually does it,” Gravity Nester, owner of Center of Gravity Rock Gym, preaches before climbers take to the walls.

Center of Gravity is a rock climbing gym located inside of an old grain elevator built downtown in 1895. After an explosion warped one of the walls in the 1930’s, owners shut it down.

In Novemeber of 2012, Nester bought the building and opened the gym in December.

Within the building’s internals are 40-foot walls lined with different routes for different skilled climbers, something Nester says is a great way to get exercise.

“Even though I am a Marine, I hate working out in a gym,” Nester said, “Rock climbing is a good way to exercise without feeling like you are.”

 The main attraction to the rock gym is the 100-foot indoor climbing wall. To start this wall, the climber must descend 15 feet below the floor. Many climbers take a permanent marker with them to sign their names if they reach the top.

The current customer record time to scale the 100 foot wall is 1:10.69. Nester’s best time is 00:56.

For low, technical climbers, each wall has the capability of bouldering, climbing with out any ropes or harnesses.

The climbing gym only has 14 ropes with about 20 different routes, but Nester said he hopes to have 32 climbing routes. And, soon, he said he hopes to create a fresh air climbing wall, turing the outside walls into a climbing area.

Nester said he is looking for volunteers to help with the future projects or help train customers on their first climbs, volunteers who have climbing experience. The volunteers who put in at least four hours per week will receive all the free climbing they can get.