Diamond Rock Gym

A 33-foot wall inside Diamond City Sports

Diamond Rock Gym is the climbing side of Diamond City Sports, the sports and recreation building on Ridgedale Avenue in East Hanover that also houses Diamond Gymnastics. Diamond has run a climbing wall in the town for more than twenty years. Its current wall, built by Eldorado Walls, has about 3,000 square feet of sculpted surface between 25 and 33 feet high, with bulges, dihedrals and arêtes, three caves and ledges to stand on, and terrain from slab to overhang.

Climbing

• Top rope: 23 lanes, belayed with Gri-Gris, plus six auto-belays for climbing without a partner.
• Routes: more than 55, graded 5.3 to 5.11c, including the gym's take on Golden Dream from the Gunks.
• Bouldering: a small area with 12 to 15 problems from VB to V4.
• Zip lines: two, with 250 feet of zipping between them.

Visiting

All climbing is by appointment, so call (973) 560-0413 before you go; wall appointments are offered at weekends. An auto-belay pass, with a short orientation once you are harnessed up, costs $15 for an hour or $20 for the day, and instructor-led sessions for one to five climbers are booked a few days ahead for weekends. The building's entrance is on Murray Road.

Diamond Gymnastics runs term-time rock climbing classes and combined gymnastics and climbing classes for children from about six, and its summer camps include climbing. Birthday parties with a zip-line ride, and scout, school and corporate team-building groups, are booked for weekends.