Ever heard of ice climbing? How about drytooling?
Thanks to The Scratch Pad (TSP), Utah is carving out a name for itself in both niche sports.
In just one week, TSP athletes delivered dominant performances with their ice axes and crampons in Switzerland, Colorado, and Liechtenstein, sweeping podiums and representing the United States against the best climbers in the world.
At a celebration last week, athletes sliced up cake with their ice axes for all to enjoy and showed off their skills in a public climbing demonstration.
Choosing to keep climbing
TSP started out in Orem in 2021, the only gym of its kind in Utah. In 2022, when founder Dustin Lyons’ partner stepped away from the business, he had to make the tough call on whether to continue TSP.
An ice climber himself, Lyons says that from the beginning, he hoped that the gym would be a place where people could train for ice climbing, as well as find community — and that community is exactly why he chose to keep going when things got hard financially and logistically.
“What really motivates me is seeing these incredible athletes try something new,” Lyons says. “It’s a very small, niche sport … and we’ve done a lot to really grow the sport, grow the community, grow the team.”
Now that the gym has moved to Bountiful, they’re closer to most of their athletes, making it easier for them to train.
Putting Utah on the map
“More than half of the U.S. National Youth Team trains at The Scratch Pad,” Lyons says. “Seeing all the youth athletes make a final in the world championships was incredible.”
From the beginning, TSP has been involved in the competition world, and they’re now 11 athletes strong, with four adult athletes and seven youth athletes.
“I really love seeing these [athletes] and their success,” Lyons says. “It’s been really incredible to see what this little gym that started as a little labor of love has blossomed into.”
Now 14 years old, Conner Bailey was the first youth to join TSP’s team in 2021, after Lyons reached out to his rock climbing team looking for interest. Five years later, Conner just won gold in lead climbing at the World Youth Championships in Liechtenstein.
Conner says The Scratch Pad has been an amazing help for him, from physical to mental preparation. “I’m grateful for The Scratch Pad because it gives me a great place to train,” he shares.
Conner’s mother, Tessie Bailey, was an ice climber as a young adult and knows how hard it is to find a good mentor in the niche sport. As a mom, she’s thankful for the peace of mind TSP’s formal instruction provides. “I think the business does well in providing scaffolded opportunities for kids to grow in what a lot of people consider an adventure sport.”
That foundation of great mentorship is shaping a reputation. Conner says that when he travels for competitions and says he’s from Utah, other climbers immediately know, “Oh, you train at The Scratch Pad.” One climb at a time, the Bountiful drytooling gym is creating a legacy of world champions.
