By Jim Cavan

When the UNH Climbing Club set up its information booth during Freshman Welcome Week at the end of August, no one expected the year-old club to grow tenfold – least of all Greg Coit, a junior at UNH and one of the Climbing Club’s leaders. “We’ve been really surprised at how quickly the club has caught on,” says Coit. “We’ve always had a [climbing] wall here on campus, but we were shocked at how many freshmen actually signed up, especially because we’ve only been an official club now for a year.”

Obviously with a team that large – the group went from five members a year ago to close to the fifty this year – the young club needed somewhere to practice. Enter Indoor Ascent.

Chad Murphy, who owns and operates the Dover climbing gym, has always been a recognizable figure in UNH’s climbing circles, his space being one of the only full-fledges climbing destinations in the Seacoast area. Murphy had always offered UNH students a significant discount, charging $150 a semester for unlimited climbing. Before the start of this semester, however, Murphy decided to up the ante, offering semester memberships of $110. The club now comes to Indoor Ascent twice a week, where they practice for team competitions held throughout New England.

Such involvement typifies Murphy’s community ties, which go well beyond his work with the UNH team. Over the years he has worked with Big Brothers / Big Sisters, the Chase Home for Kids and Shortridge Academy – just to name a few – helping each of these organizations provide a safe haven for disadvantaged youth while giving access to his gym at drastically discounted rates. Just last Friday Murphy began a weekly program hosting 40 local home-schooled children and their parents, at one point overseeing 65 people at once.

For the kids from Shortridge, Murphy has worked out a barter whereby students climb for free in exchange for volunteering their own time to provide community service in the city of Dover. Murphy takes great pride in not just volunteering himself, but further instilling within these kids the instinct to “go out and do the same by others.” It is a dynamic that has been wildly successful so far, and one that Murphy plans to continue fostering throughout the Seacoast.

Along with his extensive community involvement, Murphy, who co-owned the gym for the previous four years before taking sole ownership six months ago, has maintained a steadfast dedication to making his business as green and sustainable as possible. To that end, Murphy plans on installing high-efficiency spray-foam injection into the gym walls, partnering with Hampton-based MJW Drywall and Spray Foam Insulation. Murphy was put in touch with MJW through his membership in the Green Alliance, an ever-growing Seacoast “green business union” which helps sustainability-minded businesses through joined marketing and networking. Additionally, Murphy has plans to install motion-lighting in the climbing area, which will allow lights in areas not in use to be shut off automatically.

Unfortunately, Murphy’s space is rented, so some of the bigger long-term goals – such as installing solar panels – might have to wait. Still, Murphy contends that his business has made great strides in attempting to “greenify” their operation, and sees the spray-foam insulation as a way of quickening that process.

“With the spray-foam, we’re hopefully making a change that has the potential to snowball – the energy we save with the spray-foam will allow us to purchase more efficient light bulbs, which will in turn save enough energy to one day make solar a possibility,” says Murphy.

Taken together – the inspired stories of community outreach, along with trend-setting goals for rendering his gym more sustainable – you get that sense that Murphy is someone as in tuned with the big picture as he is with the bottom line. It’s this focus that provides Murphy the clearest connection between the success of his individual business, and the well-being of the greater community – be it a community of people, or the earth itself.

“For me one of the big things to remember is that you come here to practice for the outside world,” explains Murphy. “People who come here almost always end up going to do their climbing outdoors, and just to have the incentive to protect the outdoor climbing areas invites a green mindset. In the same way, we want to foster a sense of community with regard to people as well, so we try and apply the same principle when working within the community.”