Climb On was created to help climbers find a partner and make a climbing plan. It brings nearby climbers and climbing preferences into one place, with a conversation ready when a connection happens.
Behind the app is TC, a solo founder living full-time in a van. He’s starting in Bend, Oregon, and spending a month at a time in climbing communities across the United States. The app goes on the road with him; so do the questions that shape it.
## Starting in Bend
The first chapter is Central Oregon. TC is in Bend, with Smith Rock and the surrounding climbing community part of the launch plan. He already knows the owner of Redpoint, which gives the project a personal connection to climbers gathering around the Smith Rock Climbing Festival.
That connection is useful because the app is about something climbers can explain in an ordinary conversation. Finding a climber for a climb. Working around a schedule. Meeting climbers after arriving in a new place.
A demonstration on a phone is one way to show the idea. Hearing how a climber already finds partners is another way to understand what the app can do for them.
A month in each community
TC’s road plan is to spend a month at a time in climbing regions and major cities across the United States. That means returning to places, recognizing climbers and continuing conversations beyond a first introduction.
He’ll visit gyms, talk with owners and spend time where climbers climb. A month creates space to hear an idea, build something useful and show the climber what changed. It also creates time for a first climbing plan to become a second one.
The van keeps the operation compact. Travel, product work and everyday life share the same space. A simple business model gives TC more time to spend on the app and the climbers using it.
The details belong to the climber
Climb On gives climbers a place to describe their own climbing. A profile can include styles, availability, gear and the area where they want to climb. A gym entry lets a climber say where they climb indoors, in their own words.
Two climbers can then decide what they want to do together. The app provides the introduction and a place for the plan; the conversation belongs to the climbers.
That distinction shapes the product. A shared gym or a free evening is useful information. So is a message explaining the day a climber has in mind.
Building through conversations
The founder’s work has a simple rhythm: talk to climbers, build, return and keep the conversation going. The feedback form gives climbers another way to take part, whether TC is in their town or several states down the road.
A feature idea can start with one sentence: “Here’s what I was trying to do.” That is something a solo builder can work with.
The next chapter
Climb On is available for iPhone. The next chapter is written in the climbing plans climbers make with it, from a familiar gym to a place they’ve just reached.
[Download Climb On](/go) or [share a feature idea](/feature-ideas). What would make finding your next climbing partner easier?
Keep reading
[How does the Climb On app work?](/blog/how-does-climb-on-work) · [How do I find climbing partners while traveling?](/blog/how-do-i-find-climbing-partners-while-traveling)