Alta Boulders and Fitness

I'm an intermediate climber who really enjoys the sport, but this gym makes it difficult to enjoy. Despite the clean atmosphere and friendly staff, the routes are the main issue I have. The routes are either far too easy, or far too difficult OR just require you to do some crazy jump up to another hold (not really the climbing I'm used to... or enjoy.). Personally, I'd like there to be one MAYBE two showy/jumpy routes at a gym, but it seemed to be around 50/50 here, so I could not get the workout I desired. Most of the routes do not have a rating associated with them so it makes it even harder for an intermediate to determine which routes to attempt. My final gripe for the place is that the grips themselves are very abrasive on your hands, my friend and I both got blisters from them, and we climb every week no issues in Oregon. I will be coming back periodically to see if it improves. Great location for me, unfortunate routes.

Seriously though, shoutout to Tomas for making this place such an awesome place to workout. I can only make it about once a week, Mondays before 8am, but it’s something I look forward to all week. This location is closer than Gilbert for me, and at first I thought I was missing out by not having access to the big walls, but the vibe here alone is worth showing up for. The gym is always clean, Tomas is always friendly, and he’s really helped me gain a better understanding on how to get the most out of my time at a climbing gym. It was bittersweet to hear he’s going to be moving on to bigger and better things. Management definitely has big shoes to fill.

Good gym: very large and diverse, big fitness center and a huge variety of climbing areas. Many routes and different styles and difficulty levels. I saw a few v9, not sure there are higher grades but I admit I didn’t have time to explore entire place thoroughly. Grading tends to the sandbag side but mostly fair. Would definitely come back if I’m back in town.

Good, clean bouldering gym with plenty to keep you busy. Mats were soft. Route setting seemed to be a little all over the place in terms of grading. Some problems of the same grade were super easy and then some were very difficult, more so than any other gym I've ever been to. I was kicked out of the workout area, which is not seperated from the climbing area, for "not wearing close toed shoes". I have been to MANY climbing gyms and have never experienced this. I'm not sure what close toed shoes are meant to protect you from in a climbing gym where nearly everyone is walking around in climbing shoes, sandals or barefoot. I was not offered an explanation.

The new best climbing gym in the East Valley is now open! This is the 11th rock gym I've climbed at and the first one where I knew I was getting a membership on the first day. Awesome bouldering-only facility with excellent space, diverse walls, fresh new holds, creative setting, a cafe that hasn't opened quite yet, a large set of roomy lockers that have their own locking mechanism, and a complete "normal" gym with cardio and weight equipment. Super excited to welcome Alta to the neighborhood and looking forward to checking out their rope-climbing facility opening up in a few weeks.