Ground Zero Climbing Gym

Had our 9 year old’s birthday here recently. Excellent time had been all. Nate was great with the kids and very helpful. Would definitely recommend

I took three 13 years old to enjoy this gym each were newcomers the staff were very rude with us and one kid was told he could not climb anymore because he went too far up also the place is completely full if dust they also don’t sell water they only have gatadorade which is of short supply

Rock climbing is a fairly foreign concept to me — I tend to err on the side of caution and generally avoid activities that involve heights/​risk. My partner managed to convince me that it would be a grand way to spend a miserably rainy Saturday afternoon, and I must say that I’m glad I tried Ground Zero. Here’s why:
— Staff: Very enthusiastic, helpful, and attentive.
— Simplicity: Most people will catch on very quickly to the knots/​harness/​rappelling/​etc.
— Fun: Once you get over the initial height heebie-​jeebies and reach the top of your first wall, you’re hooked.
— Variety: Lots of walls for all. I think I tried about 11 different climbs and successfully scaled 4 or 5. My grip gave out before I could try the remaining 3 or 4 advanced walls.
— Value for money: $ 12 for a day pass + $ 2 for harness rental = $ 14 for hours of fun. We skipped the shoe rental — my partner regretted this but I found that my cross trainers were fine.
My only complaints were as follows:
— Facilities: Bathrooms, waiting areas, etc. are kind of lackluster.
— Wait time: Partially our own fault for going on a Saturday. At least 3 large groups of children (one was a birthday party with about 15 kids) arrived whilst we were there. Many of the children were simply too young/​disobedient to be rock climbing.
*A friendly note to all parents! If your child is deathly afraid of heights, does not follow directions well, and/​or is under the age of 5, please do NOT take them rock climbing. It is not fair to other climbers if you spend 20+ minutes trying to coax your child up the wall or allowing them to scale the wall more than once. Move on to the next available wall and let others have a turn. Likewise, if you cannot control your children, don’t bring them here. It is extremely tiresome for others to have to wait for some unruly, unharnessed, and unsupervised child to quit climbing the walls so that they can have their turns.
Now that I’ve vented, I can assure you that I’ll definitely be returning to Ground Zero!

I have mixed feelings about Ground Zero. For newbies, I think this would be a solid four or five stars, but for people who have climbed in real gyms, this only earns three. I went with a couple of friends — one had never climbed anything higher than a fence (and even that only with encouragement and threats), one regularly climbs both indoors and outdoors, and I’ve climbed a couple times.
Ground Zero has grigris, which are automatic braking devices designed to stop a fall, installed on each line. Fair enough, especially when you have teens belaying adults or whatnot. Problem is, we were taught a totally bizarre method of belaying that involves pulling up the slack hand over hand (not down in the brake position!), and when you let them down, you don’t let the rope run over the grigri for a smooth descent, but over your hip and the small of your back?!
This gym — or at least the guy who was working there that day — doesn’t teach safe climbing techniques, so don’t go climb outdoors immediately after learning here. Eeek. In fact, I went climbing with the same two friends at a proper gym in the US and had to unlearn a host of terrible, dangerous habits I’d picked up here in order to properly belay my friends without putting them in danger.
That being said, if you’re only ever going to climb here, I think you’ll find this a very satisfying four or five stars. The routes are fun, a complete novice can belay you thanks to the grigris, and the bouldering routes are pretty sweet. Harness and shoe rentals are cheap, and there’s one tricky overhang route that I’d love to master.
You’ll be safe enough here with a grigri on the lines, but I had to knock a couple stars off the review for the terrible safety habits they teach. When you get to a gym or outdoor climbing spot where it’s all manual, you don’t want to do this weird hand-​over-​hand thing.

I had my son’s birthday party there last year. I was impressed at how organized it was and the kids had a lot of fun. The staff however, were SO rude. I was literally yelled at for trying to take a picture of my child during the «harness lesson». I understand safety is at stake but by the time I whipped out my camera, I had a good idea of how it worked. I was not impressed. It might be a great place to go as a teenager or adult but I got the impression they weren’t the biggest fans of children.

I’m what you’d probably call an addict. I climb a lot. Maybe there is something in the white chalky powder everyone uses on their hands while climbing. Maybe it’s because it’s the only thing I’ve ever been even a little bit good at. The point is Ground Zero provides my fix.
If you’re new to climbing or old hat, ground zero has a lot to offer. The rope routes change somewhat frequently, and there are usually about 40 new bouldering problems once a month.
A great community of regulars can typically be found in the bouldering area. If you’re new to climbing and want to learn more, or if you’re new to the area and need someone to show you where all the great local outdoor climbing is, then strike up a conversation with one of them.

This place is so badass that I can’t even begin to understand why they’re not run off their feet with climbers every single day. Seriously. How aren’t more people taking advantage of this?
Now I’ll be upfront with you. I don’t love The Exercise. I find it boring and typically don’t like having to use my muscles for any reason, let alone sweating in public. So naturally I would have assumed that adding a harness and unflattering footwear into the mix would kill the experience before it even began, but no. NO! I looooove Ground Zero and, as it turns out, I looooove rock climbing (indoors). It’s also stupid cheap ($ 12 for a full-​day pass), so you don’t have to break the bank to find out if you even like it.
The owner has usually been the one on-​site whenever I’ve visited and he totally fits the part. You can tell he must be pretty hardcore when he’s not ‘in the office’ but he’s able to make that enthusiasm work even when he has to deal with n00bs like me. He’ll get you set up, teach you everything you need to know, make sure you’re not going to plummet to your death because of your own stupidity, and then he leaves you to do your own thing. The big walls are a blast, the slanted ones make me question if my arms originally belonged to a six-​year-​old girl, and the bouldering sections are a great challenge if you can’t cope with the heights.
Important: choose who you come with wisely. They will be the ones holding your ropes. And staring starting at the awkward crotch-​bunch that happens once you’re harnessed up. So… there’s that.

People collect all manner of things from baseball cards to miniature glass cats. I like to collect life experiences. I strive to try one new thing per season. For example, last winter, I learned to ski. This summer, my goal was to learn how to rock climb. For my birthday, my boyfriend surprised me by taking me to Ground Zero, an indoor rock climbing gym. I was excited, but sceptical that I could do it, being an avid couch potato and all.
Ground Zero had a really cool atmosphere, that’s the best word to describe it. They had a lounge area with a lot of great reading material on climbing, you could even enjoy a coffee while you sit and read. Other than the lounge and the main desk the place is virtually empty, save for some crash mats.
After we got suited up in our gear, which was minimal and easy to put on, we were given a crash course in climbing. The rundown was thorough, but short, so we could get to climbing as soon as possible. Naturally, I made my boyfriend go first.
When it came to my turn, I was nervous, but hey, the walls don’t look that high. Until you get about half way up, then you feel like you’re halfway to the moon. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t poop my pants a little.
If you’re not in the best shape ever, like me, climbing can be tough. It’s sweaty and exhausting work. You hit your breaking point, where you think, I can’t physically go any further. Or I can’t reach, I can’t do it. But you have the staff there and a partner to shout their support to you. When you take a chance, push yourself, reach out, grab that final hold and pull yourself up, it’s like seeing the face of God. It’s so exhilarating, you feel so proud that you were able to push yourself and make it. It’s one of the most amazing feelings I’ve ever known, I felt like I could so anything.
Whether you love rock climbing or you’ve never been, I recommend Ground Zero. It’s a great workout, it’s exciting, fun and there is a very helpful and supportive staff behind you the whole way.