Climb Murfreesboro (Gym Review)

COOPER

Stay, you idiot! Tell him, Murph! Stay …

Murph, tell him again! Don’t let him leave …

Cooper is crying with frustration …

COOPER

Murph, don’t let me leave …

Cooper watches as his earlier self heads to the door-

COOPER

STAY!!

If you’re a huge Interstellar fan like me, these few lines¹ near the end of the film stick with you. Partly because Mathew McConaughey is extraordinarily compelling in this scene especially, but also because we have felt the way Cooper feels in this scene. Cooper is watching himself, years earlier, leave Murph. He wishes he could change the past…make himself stay…but no matter how much he shouts and how many codes he leaves for Murph on her bookshelf, past Cooper still leaves, inciting great pain in present Cooper. 

Now, I’m not saying watching yourself leave a climbing gym is the same as watching yourself leave your daughter for sometime around 80 years on Earth, but when you climb at Climb Murfreesboro (called Murf by the locals; in Murfreesboro, TN), you’ll be yelling the same lines as Cooper: 

“Murf, don’t let me leave!”

“Tell him, Murf!”

“Stay, you idiot!”

And the like. The reason you will be saying these things is because once you climb at Murf, you’ll never want to leave. This gym is heaven for any climber (boulderers, sport climbers, and speed “climbers” alike). There are rows of bouldering walls (roofs, slab, and everything in between)…some are World Cup boulders, others are just classic Murf fun. There’s a kids section that even the older folks must explore because of its whimsy:

For the speed climbers, there’s a full speed wall with fresh, textured holds. There’s a chart by the start that holds the leader board for speed climbing. You can compete against the rest of the community in speed climbing…and who knows, maybe you’ll land on that top 10 list! All you need is a timer. 

Now for the big stuff…the lead walls are a sight! There’s a classic prow and vert, and some subtle features that I am surprised by every time I climb there. The draws are spaced well; the walls and hold are textured nicely…what’s not to love? On top of that, Climb Murf has some of the best setting I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. The Murf setters are incredibly creative and have a great understanding of body position. As a woman who is nowhere near 6’ tall, I always appreciate it when I can try hard on a route that challenges me because of my technique, endurance, and strength as opposed to my size and to how far I can throw. Every route is so well done…there’s no other way to describe them other than “wow.” Maybe the Interstellar script writer(s) could have a better way of describing it than me, but I think Cooper’s words are enough. 

Don’t let us leave, Murf!

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Notes:
1) These lines are adapted from a PDF of the Interstellar script.

2) Climb Murf’s website!