Warehouse Rock Gym

Just as a base, I’ve been climbing for about 7 years, visited at least 20 indoor gyms all across the country, and have done some setting as well.
For first time climbers, I’m sure this gym will work fine but for experienced climbers, I would look a little farther north to Edgeworks in Tacoma.
I initially had my membership at this gym when I first moved to the area so I’ve been quite a few times and gotten a decent feel for the place.
To make it short, all of the walls (roped and bouldering) are too short, the setting is some of the most awkward and weird setting I’ve seen (some that could cause injuries), there’s not much of a community there at all (maybe there is but I never saw anything, maybe it’s just very exclusive), most holds are greasy with zero friction and some (not all) of the staff are pretty uninviting and condescending. I’m a V8-​V9 climber and only once got talking with a guy that volunteer belays for parties. It also gets extraordinarily packed far beyond reasonable capacity. They run a lot of birthday parties and youth groups in a space that isn’t really big enough for that and regular members, so you’re often having to pick and choose your days and hoping you get lucky. All of the bouldering setting feels like they’re just trying to get the most out of their extremely short walls but it leads to horrendously awkward starts and tons of traverses simply to make more moves. If a problem was set straight up the wall it would be maybe 4 moves max. The ratings are pretty inconsistent as well. The rope walls are similarly set and not very high at all so it’s hard to really do much with it.
They are apparently teaming up with some other folks and building a brand new big gym in Lacey, so maybe things will improve there.
Cliff notes: Bad setting, greasy holds, short walls, overly crowded, not much for experienced climbers. If it’s your only option it’ll do for a quick burn, but for a membership the extra drive farther north is worth it.

I am a novice rock climber. Tonight was my first time going here and the people that worked there and the people climbing were all very friendly. There are many different lines to try.

The front desk staff was extremely rude & pretentious. I was belittled by one of the guys working because I am not an experienced climber and was just there to have fun! Not become an expert. He forced me to learn the climbers knot and told me I couldn’t climb until after I learn the stupid knot and show him, after I had already paid for my shoe rental and climbing pass. He was extremely condescending to me as well in his words. I’m sorry you are 10 years younger than me and have no respect. I’ve climbed at other gyms for FUN. and no one has ever been so rude and condescending to me before.
Please teach your staff manners and customer service.

My son attended a birthday party at this establishment today and I was really impressed. I was worried at first that kids, as young as eight, would not be brave enough or able to climb the high walls but all of them proved me wrong. It was a excellent experience for the children and parents. The staff were kid friendly and walls offered multiple difficulty levels, upon observation from this non climbing individual. Upon looking at their prices, and seeing the excitement from the children, I realized that this place is a great place for a party room and also to come to for blowing off stress for a day. The gym offers multiple types of climbing walls, many which were not at a children’s level, so all experience levels should find some pleasure.

WRG is a wonderful place. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable and the atmosphere is relaxed. Both of my kids have learned to climb here and now climb competitively. The classes have been super helpful, and even though I’m not a super jock by any means I feel welcome here too.

I’m probably spoiled coming from the DC area, which has both Earthtreks and Sportrock. Some of the tallest, biggest and highest rated gyms in the country with route setters who are frequently recruited to set at the national competitions. And free weights/​cardio equipment and even yoga classes thrown in with your membership.
BUT, for a town and a gym this size, Warehouse does pretty well. The membership prices are definitely reasonable, although having to pay the entire annual membership cost up front would probably turn off some customers. The bouldering problems are set a bit stiff (sometimes just awkward), but they do a good job of changing them up frequently to keep things interesting. They post the schedule of birthday parties ahead of time so you can avoid them, which I definitely appreciate. I rarely get on rope here even though I prefer it to bouldering because the walls are simply too short to really make it worth it. 10 – 15 laps up the auto-​belay might start to get you some real stamina, but otherwise just enjoy the bouldering area.
The one thing I’ve really noticed lacking is that sense of climber camaraderie/​community. The staff is friendly enough, you might get some casual banter with a few boulderers, but I haven’t found any truly open/​welcoming climbers to get on rope together, climb outdoors, etc. I’m always opening to networking and finding new climbing partners, but I imagine given the small size of the gym most patrons (admittedly including myself sometimes) are just there for mid-​winter training to keep from losing too much strength before the spring rolls around. Get in, get your workout, and move on. I get it, it’s just a shame since climbing has always been such a good gateway into finding my social group.

I went to Warehouse Rock Gym recently with a friend and it was both of our 1^st time experiencing rock climbing. It was nice that we were greated at the door by what looked like the owner or at least someone who know something about something, ya dig? He was helping another group learn to belay and when done helped us out. To my surprise we didn’t have to get all the harnesses and ropes and such, he told us we could just do bouldering to a certain height. After he was done helping the other group he took the time to show us how the routes worked and explained the difference between bouldering and other types of climbing. I really appreciated that. I expected to walk into the gym and see all these non-​novices scattering around the walls like supreme athletes or spiders. But there were actually quite a few novice climbers there.
We paid $ 18 for use of the gym and the rock climbing shoes and spent like 2 hours in there at least so well worth the money. The floor is padded and has spongy mats on the floor as well to help you not injure yourself and/​or die and such.
Let me tell you though… don’t over do it on the 1^st time because 4 days after I went, my arms, sides, and back are still sore. A good sore though. The whole experience was mega fun. I will be going back, maybe actually do some climbing with ropes and harnesses. And the memberships are pretty reasonable as well. Almost the same as if you went to a regular gym. You definitely get a workout here though!

Friendly place to get your crimp on. Big bouldering space, and just enough toprope routes to keep you coming back. Which I need to do.

GREAT place for a birthday party! Our son had his 6^th b-​day party here and it was the perfect way for the kids to blow some energy on a rainy spring day!

I was actually surprised to find out that Olympia had a climbing gym, and right down the street from me nonetheless. Located in the same building as Alpine Experience, if you fail to inquire as to the existence of said gym, you might not notice it; it’s pretty well hidden.
It’s not very large, but it is quite functional. You can top rope, lead climb and boulder. Personally, I enjoy their bouldering most of all and, in comparison to other gyms I’ve climbed at, Rock Gym’s routes appear to be a tad more difficult.
The staff rocks. They’re super friendly, have great taste in music and a sense of humour. They aren’t that expensive, but they are uberaffordable if you join as a couple.

As Olympia is not exactly a huge city, it was not surprising to find that the Rock Gym here is relatively small. They do make good use of it, though, with top-​roping, lead climbing, and bouldering. The staff is friendly, and the environment is safe and casual. I miss things like bouncy floors (like they have at Stone Gardens in Seattle or Mission Cliffs in San Francisco), but it isn’t a big deal, with plenty of moveable pads that you can use. In addition, the price is right, well worth the money. The routes seem to run a little harder than other gyms that I’ve climbed at, but there is still plenty of fun to be had.