Crux Climbing & Bouldering

Once you get used to climbing 75ft indoor walls you’ll never go anywhere else. Staff is super friendly and everything is well maintained.

At every point in every sports lifestyle, theres always a place where the epitome of skilled players come to play. As a budding rookie you’ll overhear the novice and the experts strive for levels only men chasing the gods would reach.
That was my attempt at getting all ESPN/​Sport Illustrated.
But seriously the crux must be the Mt. Everest of Calgary’s climbing centers, it boasts the highest climbing wall in the city (not sure how but I could see it driving up from 16^th ave). But the few times I’ve went to other locations I’ve always overheard the boulder jocks talk about this place.
«Hey bro! Made the c4 at the crux the other night.»
«Bro that’s friggin awesome, we should celebrate»
Crux (pronounced Crotch) has the city’s most challenging bouldering routes. At least in my rookie opinion because even their most basic levels were too difficult for me to complete. Unless maybe I was having an off day, but I was dead tired within the first hour. I imagine that one really had to think about their climbing form and grip here. THere were some paths where I was expected to grip two hands on a rock the size of a peephole. Thinking about it almost drove me insane. Even my buddy, who was tall and lanky, had trouble climbing.
Still a fun place, I managed to find a lot of fun in free climbing. THey do have need little nooks and crannies that make it fun. Would I come back here for climbing? Maybe. WHEN OLYMPUS CALLS!

This is not only the tallest gym in Calgary, but arguably the safest and super accommodating for all levels of climbers. They’re kid friendly too!
I can’t speak for the classes since I climb there with friends on a weekly basis, but the staff are great, approachable and always on hand to offer advice to improve your technique.
The Crux offers great bouldering caves, top rope and sport lead climbing, but keep in mind you need to take a belay test for both kinds. Difficulty ranges from 5.8 to 5.12b+ with routes being changed regularly.
They have a variety of deals from a 10 pass to a year pass depending on your commitment. They’ve also done some Groupon vouchers to encourage new people to try out the gym.
Note to new folks/​Groupon holders: It ‘s okay to wear sneakers for your first time but it is way easier to climb in proper climbing shoes. The rental fee is cheap or you could grab a lightly used pair off of MEC gearswap or go all in and buy a pair for $ 60+.

We can to this place because we had a Groupon. We were trained by Paul and gave us excellent Belay training.
We’re really out of shape so it would be nice if they had at least more than one REALLY easy wall to climb for us wusses. Good challenge tho! There are some busy nights but we’re always able to get a wall.
We really enjoy the atmosphere. Everyone is there to have fun, build trust and relationships and team building.

I really like the Crux for a few reasons.
1. Convenient class times. I’ve taken a beginner’s class here as has my boyfriend. It seems they really cater to people looking to get out there and try it.
2. It’s tall. And when I say tall, I mean 72 ft high. This is great if you want to work on your climbing endurance. If you’re a newbie, I don’t suggest climbing all the way to the top every time — especially if there are only two of you climbing. You’ll get really tired — really fast.
The gym is really «no frills,» and I mean REALLY. You won’t find anything fancy here. Guaranteed. But, if you don’t care and just want to climb, I recommend it.