The rowdy, scrappy gym-climbing contest that is the Showdown

This story first appeared in the Outdoors newsletter. Click here to learn more and sign up.

Climb So iLL’s annual Showdown event is a gym-climbing competition, yes—but not like the Olympics.  

The starkest difference, according to Ian Anderson, Climb So iLL’s director of operations, is one of vibes: Whereas Olympics climbing is, in his view, rigid, sterile, professional, well-lit, and “pretty boring,” the Showdown is a “really rowdy party” with theatrical lighting, spinning DJs, and high-stakes moves in front of hundreds of screaming fans. “It’s like 50 percent climbing competition and 50 percent live show,” says Anderson. The climbers, only about half of whom are local, “almost become performers,” he says. 

The precursor to this event was the shindig that two of the company’s co-founders, Dan and David Chancellor, used to throw each year inside their barn, in Southern Illinois. That was a “rowdy and informal” affair, recalls Anderson: big bonfire, music-festival vibe, zero-dollar budget—and plenty of derring-do up on the wall. After the Chancellors and Climb So iLL moved to St. Louis, they began putting on the Showdown in 2014. This year, Anderson says, there may be as many as 225 athletes battling it out before some 600 spectators at the company’s Steel Shop gym in St. Charles.

The competition unfolds in two stages. First is the qualifying phase. The climbers, who are segregated by skill level, have three hours to complete the five hardest routes they can manage. There will be about 40 routes to choose from, and there’s no limit on the number of attempts. The higher up a route a climber advances, the higher their score.

Then the top six men and top six women advance to the finals—“the big event under the lights,” Anderson says. This is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, April 26th.

In the finals, each competitor tries to complete four climbs in four minutes each. Participants will not have seen these routes before, and because of the time constraint, each attempt is “very high pressure,” Anderson points out. (The cash purse is $2,500 for first place, $1,500 for second place, and $1,000 for third place.) 

Which brings us to another big difference between the Olympics and the Showdown: The holds that are produced by Climb So iLL and used in this event are weird. In fact, each year, the company tries to unveil a new hold such that the competitors will be encountering it for the first time. This year, for example, they’ll come across a huge version of the Baby Supreme, a baby-head-shaped hold that’s normally 12 by 18 inches; the Baby Supreme in the 2025 competition will be close to four by five feet, Anderson says. 

Then comes the after party, which will feature the DJs spinning in front of video screens. There will also be drinks (4Hands Brewing Co. is a sponsor) as well as food, though Anderson says those plans are still firming up. “Last year, we had maybe 500 White Castle sliders and a crew on roller skates handing them out,” he says. “Things like that you’re not going to see at the Olympics.”