Olympic Club owner Scott Stallard is climbing up in the world - literally. The gym owner is building Bermuda's first climbing wall and while already committed to the idea, he hopes to find a partner with more climbing experience, to help him bring the project to fruition.

Developer Gilbert Lopes is building a seven-storey condominium building on the 4,314 square-foot lot next door to the Olympic Club, and has agreed to allow the Olympic Club to build the climbing wall along the side facing the gym.

Mr. Lopes shares ownership of the lot with the Olympic Club.

Mr. Stallard has received planning permission for the wall to be built by Shy Architecture.

However, there are no dates for construction to begin yet, and he said the next step is to get engineers working on plans for a concrete platform on the wall that spectators and climbers can stand on.

In the original plans, provision was made for a platform which would fit about six people, but Mr. Stallard hopes the wall will be used by schools and for competitions, so he wanted a larger platform to accommodate greater numbers.

But he wants to take every precaution in terms of safety, he said.

"It has to have tremendous support and strength," he said, explaining the ground at the site is soft, and three or four pilings would need to be driven deep into the ground underneath the wall.

The platform would be accessed by stairs coming out of the gym.

"I have to go back to Planning with changes for it to make it bigger, but it's dependent on the engineers," he said

Once Mr. Stallard gets the expanded platform approved, he said he will give the go-ahead to the Oregon company which is building the wall, Entre Prises.

"They do walls for cruise ships (and) for hotels in Jamaica," Mr. Stallard said.

Entre Prises would build the 35-foot wall in Oregon, covering all in a waterproof, sunproof man-made material.

The plans include a flat-top to allow abseiling (climbing from the top down), which Mr. Stallard said would give emergency personnel here in Bermuda another place to train and practice for when they have to scale buildings from the top down.

Naturally, climbers will also be climbing from the bottom of the wall up.

Mr. Stallard explained they will be top roped, with climbers below belaying them, so if someone should fall they only fall a few inches. "You're never not protected," he said.

Once the wall is completed in Oregon, it will be shipped to Bermuda and put in place.

"I'm probably going to do it with a partner as opposed to the rest of the gym," said Mr. Stallard.

He has no one in mind yet, he said, adding it was a recent decision, however he was looking for someone who had climbing experience and would be willing to invest or manage/run the wall.

"I'm no expert at climbing," he explained. "If I can't find anyone locally I'll bring someone in to run or manage it."

He is also looking for people interested in becoming instructors, and said he will possibly train some of his instructors from the Olympic Club for the job.

He believes the wall will have a positive impact both on tourism and young Bermudians. "I want to give young people a reason to stop saying there's nothing to do in Bermuda."