Vertical Endeavors

I had to wait a solid 45 minutes for an orientation. Granted, we had just missed the prior orientation as we arrived — but even waiting 30 minutes would be a poor experience.
After that, though, we were quite pleased with the large variety of routes — including some walls featuring «natural» holds.
Nice staff, excellent facility. But be prepared to wait for an orientation your first time in!

VE has everything from beginner auto belays to very technical overhanging Boulder areas and lead routes. The clientele is very friendly– I never have a problem finding someone to belay with me if I’m there alone and don’t want to climb on the autos. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

I finally made it out here. I finally had some time and a reason to stop by but it is certainly a welcome addition to the Chicagoland gym list. I was torn to give it 3 but given the lackluster alternatives in the area, I think it is the best option in the western suburbs of Chicagoland. The facility is nice but I hated their policies. The required orientation is a waste of time and pretty useless. Moreover, waiting for 20 minutes to get the orientation really pissed me off. Then you had to go back to acknowledge you understood the orientation? A simple video would save customers a lot of time and frustration (maybe not for birthday parties but the experienced climber has no need for an orientation). Also the fact that they couldn’t belay test me because I didn’t request it when I first came in was totally stupid. I waited for my party to arrive but said they couldn’t belay test me for that visit and that it had to be requested upon arrival. They probably have some policy like that to keep people from instructing others (so they can get people into their belay class) but it just frustrated me that they wouldn’t accept my belay cert from another VE location nor test me.
But again the facility itself is nice. Not too tall but there’s plenty of variety and routes. The ratings are super easy on climbing and challenging for bouldering (I’m a climber). They still use shredded tires in the climbing areas which I hate but they do have a nice large crashpad floor for bouldering. There’s a bit of fitness equipment (spin bikes) but no yoga classes. There are showers and lockers and a short supply of cubby holes for storage. I thought the pricing for day passes was good ($ 16 for weekdays and $ 18 for weekends) but the rental pricing was a bit high ($ 12). I’d love to try their lead routes which looked much longer than the standard top rope routes (and they loan out ropes which isn’t common to find). Recommend for climbers in Chicago that can access the western suburbs.
And if you can go back in time 30 years to open this facility, that’d be great.

So with the vast increase in competition that the Chicago area now has with the opening of more climbing gyms, VE definitely has to compete for the hearts and pocketbooks of climbers and curious newbies alike.
The pros I’ve listed in my previous review all still stand. I also add this gym has crack and overhanging climbs, especially for lead routes. Brooklyn Boulders in downtown Chicago does not have this. With plenty and I mean plenty of routes to choose from, this is great!
So negatives I can list, now that I have gyms to compare it to. But I really only have 2.
— ceilings are not as high (only 30ft), so every problem feels like a sustained Boulder problem at that grade. Good for working on strength, but can affect your training for endurance. You can’t rest very much during most parts of the route.
— the last time I was here, maybe I came on a slow Saturday, but it felt pretty dead. They need music in the background or something.
Other than that, it’s still a really great climbing gym! Though I live in the city and have a membership elsewhere, I still come to visit to try different climbs and train on different routes.
Plus their sales are worth taking advantage of. Especially their punchcard sale!

Awesome climbing gym. Nice staff. Great place to learn. Has climbs for all levels and a bunch of auto-​belays and bouldering in case you don’t have a partner and have to come by yourself.
The people who frequent the gym have so far been super friendly and courteous and this place is an easy place to make friends with new people and get new climbing partners.
Also, the place is huge. So many routes and they change the routes pretty often. There’s a nice diverse set up so that you can find some places to do crack climbing, lead climbing, bouldering, incline, decline, or just some exercises.
They also have a few cardio running machines for some odd reason.
Nice locker rooms and showers with lockers.
Good set-​up. One of the best rock climbing gyms I’ve been to.

Much better than the old facility. There is actually bouldering space here.
Waiting 10 minutes for an orientation is silly.
They jack up the prices on the weekends, so you can pay a surcharge to watch over other people’s kids and deal with crowds. Thanks guys. Seriously, NO climbing gym I have ever been to charges a higher rate on the weekend!!!
No workout area but a ton of space.
Serous though, I haven’t even climbed yet, it’s been 15 minutes, I just want to boulder, and I have to wait for an orientation, even though I’m still certified in their system.
This place still has the kids birthday party spot that the old one did, and still a little up tight. Also kind of a bummer that they still used the shredded rubber to walk on.
I feel as if it would benefit the owners of VE to visit gyms out west to see how things should be setup and run.

Came to check this place out but the nasty attitude of the fat middle aged white trash woman behind the counter sucked away every bit of enthusiasm and curiosity I had.

This is a nice climbing gym. While it is the largest climbing facility in the US, the walls are not actually that high — only ~30 feet. I already miss the 50′ imitation rock walls at VE Warrenville (and LPAC and LVAC). The walls here are completely flat, although they are slightly textured so you can smear, unlike the smooth slippery walls at Brooklyn Boulders. I also like the set up at VE Warrenville better where they had the autobelay routes in one area so it kind of separated the beginner climbers from experienced climbers. If you don’t have a belayer, it can be a wait for the autobelays, and since they’re not congregated, you’ll have to wander around to look for them.
Because there is so much space, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t feel crowded despite coming on a Saturday afternoon.
Prices are reasonable. If you’re lucky, you can get a 10-​pack of day passes for $ 96 when they offer their promotional 20% discount!
Overall a good climbing gym — fun routes, clean facilities, not crowded. I do wish the walls were taller, and I wish it was closer to the city!

An awesome place to climb! I’ve been coming here twice a week since October and have never had a bad experience. There are tons of routes to choose from, and they try to turn over the whole gym 4 times a year (I think). So just when you think you’ve climbed all you can, they come up with new walls! Day passes are $ 15 on weekdays, $ 17 on weekends. A harness and shoes will cost you $ 10. A great, relaxed atmosphere to work out in!

I came here yesterday with a friend– it was both of our first times. The place was huge and had so many different walls. It cost $ 15 for the day and $ 12 to rent equipment– a harness, shoes, and a chalk bag. Note that the shoes run extremely small for climbing purposes! Very uncomfortable. I normally wear a 6.5 with a little bit of space but I got a 7 here and it was still a super tight squeeze. The place has tablets set up so multiple people can sign waivers at once. If you actually read the waiver, they are not liable for anything– their volunteers/​employees making a mistake or even the equipment you rent from them failing. You are liable for everything that could go wrong. Since it was our first time, we got a short lesson of how to auto belay and a tour of the walls. I volunteered to be the example to show how to attach yourself to the belay– I realized later I was facing the wall, thus blocking everyone’s way who was supposed to be learning from this. I think maybe the instructor should make sure people can see. The locker rooms were tiny– there were two tiny benches, I think 1 or 2 showers, and all in a tight, confined space. Bring your own lock! The changing area is right at the entrance of the bathroom door so there is absolutely no privacy– as you will be the first thing someone sees when they enter the restroom! There is a water fountain outside the bathroom and some unattended cubbies by the counter.
Anyway… there was a good variety of walls to climb on. Most of the walls are labeled with the «level.» It says 5 and then the numbers after the decimal represent the level– the higher the number, the harder the level. Each wall has different colored rocks– I guess you are supposed to pick just one color and follow that the whole way up.
There are lots of bouldering walls– they are SUPER challenging and tiring!!!
My friend tested out of the «self belaying.» He was teaching me later how to do tie the knots. Our «tour guide» walked by and asked what we were doing. We told him I was learning how to tie the knots for self belaying– thinking he would say «oh that’s awesome!» Instead, he told us we were not allowed to teach anyone anything at the gym– it was part of the rules. I asked him how people are supposed to pass their self belaying test and he said they are supposed to take classes at Vertical Endeavors or learn outside of the gym– there was just no teaching allowed in the gym, unless you took the class. I thought that was a ridiculous rule. You should be allowed to teach someone how to tie a knot at your own free will. That made me like the company a lot less– greedy, greedy, greedy!

Awesome indoor rock climbing gym! The only comments I have for improvement are more garbage cans sprinkled throughout the gym or easily accessible, frequent toilet paper refills, a snack vending machine for Clif bars or energy replenishment, and less beeping sounds.
Overall great gym and definitely recommend!!!

Amazing place to rock climb! Though it can be pricey, it is definitely worth the experience!

Had an amazing time at this rock climbing gym. This location is the largest indoor rock climbing location in the US. A lot of challenging walls, with assisted belays and boulder climbing. Although how anyone would want to climb a boulder with no safety is beyond me. I went here for the first time yesterday. Their prices are slightly cheaper during the week days and they offer a competent rental package. If you have good sneakers you don’t really need all the additional stuff that they offer. Basic harness should do.
Come here with friends as this is a social activity. I will be back. There is the advanced wall that needs to be conquered.

Amazing place, great workout, it’s huge! I took my kids here and it was a perfect outing. Great value, the staff was always nearby and extremely helpful, and there were plenty of self belays so no waiting in line. Highly recommended!

Had to make a trip to the largest climbing in the nation. Me and a couple of friends stopped by shortly after they had their bouldering competition so we were excited to try out the comp problems.
First off this place is HUGE. Tons and tons of walls with lots of great-​looking angles and features. I like how the auto belays are generally clustered in specific areas so that certain walls are free for just top rope or lead climbing. Given that this place is ginormous, I was a little disappointed in the amount of bouldering space that they had. But that seems to be the trend in the midwest with more of a catering towards roped climbing. I was also disappointed that the walls were only 35 feet tall for how vast this place is.
One particular gripe I had was how long the orientation was. I would estimate that it took at least 30 minutes. We had to fill out the typical waiver, wait for a group orientation, walk throughout the entire gym, fill out a form saying we completed the orientation, demonstrate that you know how to clip into the auto belay, actually climb a little with the auto belay. At the end we just wanted to start climbing already, but wait, one more thing: you have to have an employee watch you if you want to be «certified» to top out on boulders. I can see how this lengthy orientation could be boring and off-​putting for new climbers and kids. I know it’s only a one time thing, but at least it could be catered better towards the audience. As a climber of 4+ years I don’t think its necessary for me to be told about the difference between top rope, lead, and trad and what bouldering is.
It was pretty empty when we were there, but I can only imagine how busy this place can get. The locker rooms are tiny for how big the gym is and the only water fountains are near the locker rooms. It would be nice to have more strategically placed hydration stations, especially since the staff was pretty adamant amount minimizing the amount of clutter on the crash pads and floors, so you can’t exactly leave your water bottle sitting around.

Amazing rock climbing gym! Everyone is super friendly and they have so much to offer! Highly recommended

This is my second time coming to this place and all the automatic ones are locked. I asked the staff about it and the girl seem to not care about it. So there isn’t much you can do unless you’re a qualified belay. I won’t be coming back unless they fix this. Waste of money.

Holy crap. This place is HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE.
So many different walls with a full spectrum of difficulties and overhangs, with auto belay and free hanging ropes to meet any level of skill and physicality. Clean, modern facilities with friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable staff. A full stocked pro shop. Plenty of free parking in the lot out front. Is there anything more you could ask for?
The locker room is a bit on the small side, considering how many potential climbers you could have at one time, but other than that, it’s a climber’s paradise. Sign up for a membership and climb to your heart’s content.

It’s open. It’s huge – largest on the world? – it’s friendly, and it’s got everything. The only caveat is that it’s even farther than the Warrenville location from Chicago.
Meh, screw it; I’ll drive it. Rock on.
Note: I own and use a Lenovo Thinkpad T400. Why is that important? The holds at VE GH are so spanking new, my Thinkpad no longer recognizes my fingerprint logon method…

When hearing about their grand opening from a coworker, my friend and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out Vertical Endeavors.
–This place is huge. And by huge, I mean it goes on and on and on. The parking lot and residential streets were completely full, and the place was jam packed; yet, we never had to wait in line to climb or anything.
–Before climbing, you are required to take an orientation with a staff member that lasts about 15 minutes. They give you all the basics you need to know to stay safe during your climbs. If you want to do the more serious walls, you have to be certified which requires another orientation. But even the basic walls were challenging.
–The staff here are really friendly. I also like how the place let’s seasoned volunteers help out as well. Most of the time they were sharing tips and tricks with us, which was really helpful!
–The facility is very clean and well kept. Despite the fact that it was day one, the staff were on top of their game.
–For those of you that are afraid of heights like I am, just calm down. You could potentially do a practice fall if you’re nervous and you don’t have to climb all the way to the top when attempting a route. If you stick to it, you’ll be better next time!
Overall, if you’re looking to have some fun and getting a full body workout. You can’t go wrong with Vertical Endeavors.