Sorry I didn't get back sooner. We are looking into renting one. Not sure what kind of insurance issues we will be facing. I was hoping there are a company that handled all that paperwork.

Thanks for all you suggestions. I off to do some research. I'll let you know what we end up doing.

We bought the small round climbing wall for our school (K-4) They split 5th grade off this year. We wanted a taller one, but then it was "too" tall for kindergarten. Keep that in mind when looking. It's totally round like a space ship and only about 6 feet high. The kids love it. They can climb on all sides. It's a huge hit!

Are you talking about BUYING one?

Not portable, so this may not work. But our PTO funded a climbing wall in the gym of our elementary school. It was ordered from a school supply catalog that specilizes in PE and sports equipment. It's a kit of the various "rocks" that are mounted into the cinderblock wall. Our school maintenance staff installed them.

We did it in stages, allocating Box Top funds. I think we spent a total of $700-$800. It goes more wide than tall for safety reasons and has standard gymn mats underneath. So it's not high enough to need the safety harnesses.

I found a few websites for you and there's one on sale on EBay right now. (Current bid $3000)

www.americanrockclimbing.com/
climbing.com/classifieds/market/
www.sansara.homestead.com/We_Build.html
www.epusa.com/walls/
www.extremeengineering.com/main_frame.htm
www.eldowalls.com/

Keep us posted on what you decide to do. This is interesting.

If you are talking about RENTING, there should be quite a few choices as these are pretty popular. Just check with the companies that rent the big inflatables. Word of mouth should get you to a source. In our area (not Illinois) these would be listed under "Party Planning" in the yellow pages.

Here's one Internet hit that covers your part of the country (but a local source would probably be cheaper).
www.verticaledgeentertainment.com/

[ 09-24-2004, 06:59 PM: Message edited by: JHB ]

Is this for the school to purchase or rent?

If for renting call your local places that rent jumpies, blow up slides, etc. A couple of our places also rent climbing walls w/ 2 attendents on duty. Prices average here (NM) $700.00/4hrs (includes attendents.)

We are looking to get a portable climbing wall at our school. Does anyone in Illinois have any suggestions? I tried a Yahoo search but came up empty. I know I have heard of other schools that do this. Thanks!