It's been a few months since I had a session at Boulderz, a great little bouldering gym in Toronto (see my writeup from a couple years ago). Some friends of mine were planning to go this aft so I decided to join them. As it turns out, Boulderz has acquired a fantastic machine for ritual humiliation and chastisement -- the Treadwall.
It's exactly what you think it is -- a treadmill with climbing holds on it. The roof in the workout area isn't that high at Boulderz, so the device is set at a steep angle (It doesn't look that steep here, but trust me, this thing will kick your ass!).
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| It doesn't look that hard... |
I really like it. It's going to be great for working on my (currently pathetic) endurance. The video above doesn't do the experience justice, because it looks like I'm moving in slow motion. In fact, you get a burn going very quickly. You can also adjust the speed it travels at, and track how many feet you've climbed as well as how long you've been on it. Several routes of varying difficulty have been set (I was on the easy yellow one) so you can tailor the workout to suit your stamina and level of ability.
Good choice Boulderz!