I've been a member here now for a few months (and a climber for 20 years) and so feel like I am now…read morefamiliar enough with my home gym to fairly review it. My favorite things about this gym: - Creative setting in the shorter walled section so you feel more comfortable trying new moves without the fear of falling too far - The layout with open sweeping views and plenty of light - The arch - tons of cool practice with overhangs and traverses - Bike parking inside! - Big area with mats upstairs to do warm-up and warm-down stretches Areas this gym could improve: - Cleaner holds! Not just Uptown - all of the locations. They're so greasy that it automatically adds a grade to any problem, and not in a fun way. - For lower-rated climbs, setting routes that aren't just jug ladders. It is possible to make beginner climbs fun and challenging in a puzzly way, but Uptown doesn't do that. It's all jugs. - More community events, and the community events that exist should be free to members. If I'm a member I shouldn't also be paying to go to sound baths or take fitness classes and participate in citizens' competitions. I've never been a member of a gym that charges its members for ANY events. There are free events at FA, but they're essentially just meetups. Anything with more to offer carries a charge.

Increasingly unsafe. Kids under 8 running around the weight room. People parking infants under…read moresquat racks in their stroller no joke. Idk how they have a good insurance policy.

I love this climbing gym! There's a surprisingly large parking lot here (despite being in the…read moremiddle of the city), and there's even some bike parking where cyclists can securely lock their bikes. Coming from a different gym, we had to get certified for belaying. Fortunately, through their membership system, we were able to take an extremely informative class, then take the belay test at our convenience at our next climbing session. These walls are probably the tallest I've seen in my cimbing time! Even my more experienced friends say they often get exhausted around 3/4 of the way through a route. Certainly a welcome challenge for top roping. With a membership (or day pass), you also have access to the full gym and bouldering upstairs. Members also have access to a host of yoga classes at different times. The locker room is super convenient with built in locks that you need to input a numeric combination. There are plenty of bathrooms and clean showers. Definitely worth checking out!

ALWAYS a great time at First Ascent Avondale! To celebrate my brother's birthday, he and a friend…read morebouldered and my friend and I auto belayed. We all had a great time! My friend and I are excited to take a belaying class at First Ascent so we can tackle even more climbs!

UPDATE: after posting the email exchange, Georges reached out to me directly via messages and…read moreapologized for his reaction to my original post and invited us to his gym. He was out of the country during the time of my visit and had volunteers open/close his gym. Writing is not my profession nor do I desire to become a storyteller. I prefer reading non-fiction. All of my reviews are based on my personal experiences. I'm just not imaginative enough to create fibs. I chose not to be descriptive of your colleague b/c I don't want to shame him. I will keep it at that. You know best as to who has access to the gym. I didn't see in the fine print a reservation was needed, also I bought the Groupon back in January of this year, so that fine print could've been revised after my purchase. In any case, what about the 5 people that were there on the same day waiting to get in? Did they also not make a reservation? If that's the case, maybe it wasn't obvious to any of us? Or, they made a reservation and you made all of us wait. As mentioned in my review, I emailed you. Since you flat out called me a liar, I traced back to the email I sent on the day of which was Tuesday, 5/16/2017 at 5:58pm. Hey, turns out the person I was communicating with was you! To make things easier, I posted a screenshot of our email exchange under photos.

Great experience today because a fellow climber took us under his wing…read more To be fair, the initial instruction was minimal. We got bored within an hour; all I knew was to move up the wall.

This place was incredible! My kids had so much fun! They…read morehad climbing structures of varying levels of difficulty for my bigger kids & a fun toddler area for my littles . They even had ninja warrior style ramps up to some of the climbing structures which my kids could do safely with the harnesses. And in the back there is a zip line obstacle course, video games, laser, tag, and more. We did not have time to do everything because there was just so much to choose from! I definitely recommend the physically active options over the video games. It is a bit on the pricey side, but definitely worth it!

We went to a birthday party this weekend at climbzone! I have seen ads for it all over the place…read morebut this was the first time seeing it. What a fun place!! There climbing walls, a soft play area, ropes course, zip line, laser tag, and bumper cars. As well as rooms/alcoves for birthday parties. It seems like there are activities for kids of all ages. I can't wait to go back with my little one.

Huge place. Great variety of routes. There are so many routes that you can't do them all in one…read morevisit. It would be hard to get bored of the climbs there, because there is almost always a route you've not tried yet. This place has more realistic features and cracks that other gyms don't have. The route grades seem a little inconsistent at times, and compared to the other climbing gyms in the Chicagoland area. For example, most routes feel much, much harder than that grade anywhere else. And many of the mid-to-harder grades seem better suited for taller people, as the shorter among us have to dead point or dyno to many of the holds. You'll definitely get braver and stronger climbing at Vertical Endeavors. Room for improvement: The loose black rubber flooring is always a complaint because like a trip to the beach where you find sand everywhere, pieces of this flooring comes home with you. It also leaves black stuff on your hands and feet, so I recommend that you wear socks/closed toed shoes between climbs, because it's not that easy to scrub out.

My child was attending a party here in March. Birthday child was turning 9 and so several kids this…read moreage. There were also other participants there, ranging in age from 4 or 5 to adult. Most people at the party had no experience climbing. There were some people there not climbing, including young children. After a quick tutorial, everyone went to start climbing. It seemed too quick even. I did not realize there was no staff in the general area they were climbing to help get the area ready (if needed) or clip them in. It seems this would be smart to do and it definitely is needed. My youngest was heading to the climbing area from the party room and a 9 year old was trying to get his climbing area ready by releasing some clips. No staff or adults with the party were helping. We were walking by and since the child was not strong enough to get the other clip off, the clip on the floor flew up and randomly hit me in the face as I was walking by. It all happened so fast, and I thought I lost by eye. The 5" metal clip hit right below my eye. So glad I changed into my contacts before we went because I can't imagine what else would have happened if my glasses were on. I needed to go to urgent eye and the ophthalmologist. Thankfully, the 5" metal clip hit right below by eye and it seemed I would be okay after I healed. It took 5 weeks. While I am okay now, I'm hoping I have no issues come up due to this preventable injury. They make you sign a wavier for anyone there, but it seems to be negligence on the business. Why are children and other inexperienced climbers releasing clips and clipping themselves in?! Maybe this place is good for experienced climbers, but if you are thinking to have a kid party here and most have no experience, I would look elsewhere. They need staff assisting with getting areas ready to climb and clipping climbers in. Bad enough I got hurt and thankfully the 5" metal clip hit right below my eye, but next time it might be a more serious incident.

Great gym Great workout…read moreNice people Bouldering only Many routes We Loved it Kids loved it Would recommend Will repeat

10/10 experience…read more The ease of booking online was incredible - for a 2 person 1 hour guided climbing session + free admission for the rest of the night the cost was $78 Emma confirmed our booking in the phone and was friendly and nice. Alan was an incredibly personable teacher and made the experience so fun! Lucy also greeted us at the front desk and made us feel welcome when checking in. First Ascent is an incredible experience and makes for a great spot to workout + an interesting date night! I'm

This is my favorite movement gym. I'm so jealous Chicago has this vs the gyms I have where I live…read more I love how many routes there are and how tall they are. Nice staff, clean, great hours. It was really quiet and open when I went on a Monday. I didn't take any classes but it looked like they had a full schedule again of yoga and HIIT

Large gym facilities Sauna…read more LGBTQ+ Friendly Constant Community Events Respectful people

A fun fitness day with the girls! We tried rock climbing at Brooklyn boulders and it was…read morechallenging but fun. S/O to Lamuna (I hope I'm spelling that correct) , she was such an amazing guide for our visit. We got to try different level climbs and then the tall wall for the finale. I really enjoyed this experience! I loved the challenge the tall wall gave me but forgot I had to come down and got nervous to jump lol all in all, 10/10 experience would go again!

The wall and climbing are great, however the parking situation is horrible. Also, and this is the…read moremain reason for my ZERO STAR review, they switched over to a new computer system and deleted my 10-pack and would not transfer it over despite the fact that I had proof of purchase. Crooks. A 10-pack is worth $261 (see photo). In my opinion they stole 2 weeks of groceries from me! They should not be able to get away with things like this. From other 1 star reviews, it seems behavior like this is a trend for them.

We brought our 6 year old daughters here and it is so much fun for them. We watched as they were…read morebuilding confidence as they climbed. And thanks to Elijah's help, my more timid daughter was able to reach the top and ring the bell!!! Extra shout out Elijah, you made their birthday a great one!

My best friend has been coming here with his kids for years and I just went with the kids this past…read moreweekend. First of all I have lived in Crystal Lake for 8 years now and I had no idea this place existed. I'm always looking for activities to do with the kids and a rock climbing gym should be no exception. My buddy had two guest passes for my kids to try out the gym for the day and I had to rent shoes and a climbing harness for my kids, and this was absolutely fair as they didn't have the necessary gear to climb. The employee gave us the gears and gave us a brief safety run down of what to do and where to go, simple enough. The rest of the time was just them climbing and playing. We started off on the Auto-belay/Tope-rope Room side as the kids wanted to get comfortable with climbing first. I have a 10 year old and a 5 year old and the 10 year old had no issues attaching herself to the auto-belay but the 5 year old had issues and I had to help him out every time to connect and disconnect himself. Then they wanted to go on the "expert" side where there are no safety belays. This room is surprisingly large and kids climbing section was cool as heck along with hidden a room for climbing. The kids really enjoyed this side of the room. Overall, I'm glad my buddy invited us over to North Wall Rock Climbing Gym as it gave us an activity to do inside and quite frankly it was just fun. It's an easy going gym and kids can just climb and have fun and hang out. I'll be taking my kids here more often now that I know that this place exists!

Went for the first time on Wednesday and had an incredible time. Everyone was so welcoming and…read morefriendly! This was my first time cycling and all of my questions were answered with grace. I was nervous going in there for the first time, but everyone's hospitality quickly eased my mind. The instructor savannah was great as well. I loved her music selections. I had a great time and will definitely be coming back!

When I first joined back in February 2024 I was looking for something to do outside of work. I…read morewould have never expected cycling to be my thing prior to Cyclebar - Yorktown. I have found and gained so much more! I have made friends, memories and experienced more than I thought I could do! The staff, trainers and owners are so friendly and helpful! Each day they all go above and beyond to make Cyclebar - Yorktown a community-based environment. They care about each of us and learn everyone's name. They are all very supportive and motivational regardless or your goals or cycling experience. It is a great place to be, and I am so grateful I have found Cyclebar Yorktown! Wish I found this place sooner! So lucky to be part of such a healthy and welcoming community. It is a great and safe environment to be a part of! Thank you Cyclebar Yorktown!