Ever since our kids started getting into rock climbing, these gyms have supplanted the traditional children's museum as the place we look forward when we travel, and the kids need to burn off some energy. The spot was one that we found online, and we're very impressed with the place. The climbing gym has two levels, a bouldering area upstairs, and large climbing walls, with ropes and belays downstairs. The main climate walls were really impressive. The largest ones we estimated to be 40 or 50 feet high. Bigger than we are used to, but not so big that the kids couldn't conquer them! Pricing seemed very reasonable, and really when it comes down to it, there aren't many prices that we wouldn't pay to get the kids to runoff some energy and have a good time doing it. Well, worth your time garrulous of if you're stopping in for a quick climbing session or looking to do more training long-term. read more

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Our kids have been enjoying the Rock Gym for almost a year now. Great facility and up until today, excellent service. Our kids had a private 1 hour lesson booked at noon. We showed up at 11:50 and checked in, asked to wait near the front desk for our instructor. 12:00...nothing. 12:05...ask where our instructor is...told the manager will come out and speak to us. 12:15...no instructor, no manager. Neither of the front desk staff could effect a refund for our lesson, or offered an explanation why we didn't have an instructor. I get that things out of our control can arise and complicate the schedule. My concern is that there was no communication about it before we battled Anchorage Sat AM traffic, or during the 25 minutes we waited at the rock gym. read more

I love rock gym kitler wall has very cool climbs.......................................................

Great way to start the day, especially since they open at 6AM most of the week. + They offer in-person demonstrations. Tess showed us the ropes, literally and figuratively, before we got started. While we are new to Alaska Rock Gym, we've been to others and this is the first time we've received a personal orientation. + ARG has thought through the grossness of wearing climbing shoes and gear into the restrooms, and encourages you to go before gearing up. + There are gym machines, a yoga studio, elevators, and multiple water fountains, in addition to auto belay, partner, and free climbing options. The things that could be better: - $22/adult just to get in, then more fees to rent shoes and/or harness. I wish we could've stayed longer than 1.5hr or come back again later in the day. - Long, tedious waiver with the "option" to add a minor that does NOT work. So you have to go back to the main menu to fill out an even longer waiver for children because they require the adult info (again) in addition to the child's. Please get this bug fixed on your iPads or offer paper waivers. It's worth the trouble though to watch your child [and let your child watch you] try and fall, try a little harder each time, and make it to the top! read more

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Overall i thought this place was pretty impressive. as a spoiled indoor gym climber from CA and DC on vacation this place was solid. Big facility with lead, bouldering, and traditional climbing options, they have auto belay and the usual gym/work out areas. The climbs felt like there were consistency rated as my weak V2 climbing ass found out lol. The staff were chill and nice, would definitely recommend to check out during an off day. read more

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In the middle of COVID (March 2021), I received an email from Alaska Rock Gym that they are going to start charging me $8/month for the honor of not climbing in their gym...during COVID. Accounts were frozen when they shut down, without a fee. Guess they decided the pandemic was over. Can you imagine any other business doing this? Netflix charging you $4/month to keep your Netflix active, but you can't stream anything. Sure, you can not pay $4/mo, but then they'll be a $30 startup cost when you want to use Netflix again. Auto insurance charging you $20/month while you aren't driving, when you get a car you can "unfreeze" your insurance. Don't want to pay $20/mo? That's cool, but then they'll be a $200 admin cost to start up your insurance again. If these policies sound insane, that's because they are. It costs no additional employee hours to "freeze", "unfreeze", "cancel" or "create" memberships. It's all just meaningless jargon to extract more money out of climbers and add friction to a process that should be incredibly simple and straight-forward. Why we as customers give the rock gym a free pass at implementing these pay-day-loan/rent-a-center style pay schemes in any time...let alone during COVID...is beyond me. Monthly memberships now cost in the triple digits. The holds are greasy and rarely cleaned. The aroma of the facility is of BO and feet. The soap dispensers are always out. The automated water is still miscalibrated. But, they brag about how they sanitize their counters constantly...counters no one ever touches except them? They constantly make you re-sign waivers on buggy, laggy iPads and force you consent to all manner of things. (including their using any and all pictures of you for their marketing and advertising) Their mask mandates are nonsensical and weird. When other businesses are locking down, they are staying open with no mask mandates. When COVID numbers are way down and other business aren't requiring them, they are not only mandating masks but forbidding certain types of face coverings entirely. (neck gaiters, which the CDC says are safe..btw) Cherry on top: their grades are soft as hell...to the point of being dangerous. Go ahead and subtract two decimals if you want to get a grade that feels like it does here. For example, a 5.11 here feels more like a 5.9 outside. I can't imagine someone leading a 5.11 in this gym, then going outside and attempting to lead a 5.11 on real rock....SCARY. read more

Alaska Rock Gym - If you pay $30, you can then only pay $87 a month, so you won't have to pay $106/month...it's so simple! - Gyms Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

It's a pretty cool place. Started going every now and then with a coworker and it's nice when no one is there. It can get crowded during it's busy times but it's a chill place to hang out. read more

Awesome place to climb, everyone is friendly and helpful! Larger than many of the other climbing gyms I've been to in the past so it's a great place for all skill levels of climbing read more

Nice facility and routes. Staff is frequently not responsive to issues and at times have unpleasant attitudes.

The only gym in town and they take full advantage. They just raised prices, again, and the gym is starting to show a lot of wear. The crash pads, plumbing, lights, sound system and stairs are all breaking down. No one seems to know where the managers are and I hear the general manager spends more time in hawaii than alaska. The gym is always full of kids and people who don't know what they are doing. If you are coming in for the first time know that the orientation process is a huge chore and done by college kids who also have no clue whats going on and most likely get poverty wages. If you want your money going to the slum lords who run the place and not the climbing community then this is the place for you. read more

Great staff, very friendly and accepting people. Clean and modern facilities. I only did bouldering and they had very good routes up considering there's only one boulder area. Routes are challenging and fun. I always try to drop by whenever I'm in Anchorage. They have auto belay routes up too so next time I need to remember to pack my harness! read more

Alaska Rock Gym - Mild overhang V4 route. Successful send. - Gyms Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Visited the rock climbing gym mostly because we were from out of town and wanted to use the weightlifting are. We showed up and ended up enjoying the bouldering area so much we mostly just did that while we were there. We didn't try the automatic belay system but that was cool to see. read more

It's the only rock gym in Anchorage. So I guess that makes it the best? It's not a bad gym. They have quite a few routes for top rope, lead climbs, and bouldering. For the most part, it's pretty clean and well maintained. Staff: The staff here aren't the most friendly. Most of them usually keep to themselves. Which isn't that great if you're looking for help or if it's you're first time here. But looking on the bright side, they're aren't rude. And if you know where to go and what to do, you don't need to interact with the staff too much. Rock Climbing: They change they routes every so often to keep things interesting. But I have seem them re-use old routes. They have competitions here every so often as well which keeps it pretty interesting because you can try out some the competitor routes. Gym: They have a small little gym here. They have a couple of treadmills, stair master, and bikes. They have lots of free weights. It's pretty clean and well maintained. Overall: I think this is a nice place for climbing. It's the best gym (only) in anchorage. read more

Friggin awesome. Staff is friendly, the wall courses change frequently, bouldering area has VB all the way up to double digits, and gear rental is cheap. However, the prices are a bit upwards of typical gyms with one visit being a little above $20. Monthly passes are a great deal, even the yearly ones are. But you have to go for a couple months before you think about spending a whole year getting your moneys worth read more

Top-notch indoor rock climbing facility no matter what part of the country you're coming from. Very accommodating staff. Highly recommend

If you don't have experience with wall climbing like me, you definitely need their intro class. For $20, you are instructed on the proper way to climb including all safety measures. Rental shoes and harness are included. Our instructor was very knowledgeable and a great teacher. I truly enjoyed my time here. Now I can't wait to get my hubby to complete his intro class so he can belay me! Their registration was very convenient and paperless using ipads and electronic signatures. The front desk offers a variety of drinks just in case you forgot your hydration bottles. They offer other classes, yoga being one of them. They have a second floor for boulder climbing. I highly recommend this place for body conditioning. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. read more

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Don't let the negative reviews give you a bad opinion of this gym. This is hands down one of the best rock gyms I've ever been to! The price is up there but is reflective of the amazing facility that routinely updates its routes and offers an entire gym with weights and yoga room to do conventional workouts in. Not sure why people are giving negative reviews based on the political leaning of the gym. read more

Best rock gym in Alaska. But I guess that doesn't say much.... Yoga, climbing, fitness, cardio, workout classes-- what else does someone need? I love that PROW (the huge protruding feature in the middle of the lead climbing wall), but miss the wave wall at the old facility (the completely horizontal roof). I think the only improvement would be the addition of a Moon systems training board. Or a hangboard/training board area. read more

Being in Alaska for a week made me miss climbing as it was something I did multiple times a week so I thought I would check out. Looking at the old reviews I was definitely not expecting much. As you can see from the previous yelp location page that they had. The pictures were extremely dated and most of everyone was disappointed with their experience. Regardless I gave this place a shot and boy was I pleased. It re-opened on August 1st and I got here 5 days after opening and it was a climbing heaven. They have 3 floors. The bottom floor being for top rope/lead climbing and also bean bags for any guests trying to just spectate, 2nd floor would be the entrance/front desk and weight room, 3rd floor for bouldering. I'm glad I was able to climb here and able to check a brand spanking new climbing facility. Definitely will be back on my next trip :D Keep up the good work guys! read more

After learning to climb here, its shown me that I got quite spoiled with how good the quality and variety of routes is offered here. The gym is always very clean, staff is very friendly, the overall atmosphere is very inviting, and there is plenty to do. Favorite gym by far. read more

I came here on my first visit to Anchorage. Coming from Seattle Bouldering Project, the bouldering section of this gym is small to me, but it's HUGE compared to other mainly top-roping gyms! To my surprise, there was a roof section also!! On that note, I'm not a huge fan of the top out - I'm used to top outs where it's not flat on top but instead depresses into a walkway with a down climb that's short. There's a good number of routes here in the amount of space they have. The center free standing thing is almost all overhung and the walls on the perimeter are very slightly slab. I do wish they had more severely tilted slab...nothing better than trying a slab climb and missing a foothold and smacking my face into the wall, after all. ;) They've also got a training wall right behind where the stairs come up. Awesomeness!!! I didn't top rope while I was here - no belay buddy. They do have a dry erase board for people waiting for a belay buddy, but I'm not sure how much I'd trust a stranger to belay me. That being said, the really nice guy who checked me in (Eric?) said that they're still considering auto-belays, but because most accidents happen with auto-belays, they're a little hesitant. I get it...but being one person who'd like to climb top rope, auto-belays are awesome... All in all, a really solid place. Will return and use up all 10 of my punches on my punch card! :D read more

Totally amazing rock climbing gym...and workout gym as well. First thing you see when you walk in is a bunch of top rope and lead climbing routes. There has to be over 70 anchors in there pit area. Second floor has a great bordering area. Tons of problems and even a cool "World Cup" sections. ...I thought I had what it took watching the bouldering World Cup but trying the easy route I guess not. But non the less this is a very cool idea. There pit area is about 45' tall which makes for some great routes. They use ATC's here and don't require grigri's as of yet. If it's your first time here expect to get checked off for top rope if you want to do these routes. Lead climbing is a whole different story. Didn't have time to get checked off for that but they have a whole "bulge" sections just for lead climbing. All in all I had an exciting time here. The staff is great and the facility is very cool. Lots and lots of problems are to be had here! Can't wait to come back! read more

Pretentious. We went to the gym to take kids to climb. The kids were certified to belay but the adults were not. Every time I mentioned this to the three hipster staff they looked at me like I had an extra ear and told me that I have to take a class to learn. Every other rock gym I've been to had someone explain the process in five minutes. It's not like belaying is difficult. Anyway, while I waited for instruction the three hipsters sat at the reception desk giving each other excessively long hugs and playing on the computers. I was finally told that I had to go upstairs to the bouldering area because I could not be on the floor to belay for the kids. If there are three staff members who are obviously not busy (but busy giving each other overly-intimate hugs) yet still incapable of teaching someone to belay, then that's a waste of everyone's time. I left angry and will not be bringing my business there in the future. read more

Kids loved this place. Spacious, clean, lots of routes for all levels, friendly staff.

Went here for the introductory class and had a great time. Instructors took the time to explain everything while giving hands on lessons. Clean facility with friendly staff. Just be sure to to register ahead of time if you're interested in doing the into class because the slots fill up quickly. read more

Went in today just to find out about memberships and the details of getting signed up. I've been part of another gym about the same caliber in the lower 48 which was quite a bit cheaper for starts (almost half with yoga included). The aroma of sweaty foot is so bad in this place I just couldn't get past it. On top of that the bathrooms seemed extremely dirty, paper towels were everywhere, and the worst part is the only piece of bathroom equipment I could get to work was the water. Out of soap? Do they even work? I know holds in general probably aren't the cleanest thing ever but who wants to go climb around all day on those things knowing people can't even clean shit off their hands properly before doing so? This place has a lot going for it, (hence the second star) and it seems like it could be a cool place, but with all the above I just couldn't possibly consider a membership here. read more

I'm soooo afraid of heights but this place was legit! I'm so glad we ended our Alaska trip with some rock climbing. The staff is very helpful, informative and took the time to refresh our memory on how to properly belay. There's different levels for you to test out your climbing skills and it's definitely reasonably priced for the day pass. Wish we had something like this back home! If you're in anchorage, check them out. read more

This was like my third time coming here and it will be my last. The service was mediocre at best and not to mention over half of the bouldering section of the gym is currently closed right now. While climbing there was a rope on the ground that didn't seem like a big deal but trust me one of the workers made it known that it was a big deal by yelling at my friends and I. While we were standing close to the rope again another worker started picking up the rope and hit one of my friends. This was a terrible experience and I will not be back. read more

This place lost a sale due to the horrible customer service. The lack of a welcoming environment set me off. Then when we asked for help, the guy at the desk immediately questioned/judged our ability without asking if we would like some help. When we told him we had only climbed a few times, he told us to go upstairs to do the lower scale climbing. But little did we know there was a class available to help us learn how to climb correctly because we weren't told about it. We simply walked out and no one seemed to care that we were unsatisfied. Horrible service and smells like feet. Don't recommend for recreational fun, only if your a serious "climber". read more

Super awesome design and a huge facility with awesome climbing opportunities, but the pricing is absolutely absurd. Climbing gyms in the Lower 48 (Hangar18 in Los Angeles, CA for example) are priced at about $30/ month for the exact same climbing opportunities and workout equipment. Just the guest pass & monthly pass prices alone here are enough to make you faint. (i.e. $90 for a monthly student guest pass, not including the prices of fitness center use or shoe rental? Woah.... Do you believe college students have $120+ to throw down like this?) The gym is cool, don't get me wrong. They have so much potential to make a killing profit and have an outstanding customer basis if they stopped catering to the very wealthy of anchorage. I get that there needs to be some hard value to their product, but rating their product - an average product that is literally identical to most climbing gyms in the U.S. - as 5 times the price point is just pointless. They're losing more money than they could be potentially gaining relative to their competitors. Believe me... the. maintenance cost of that big ass facility will start to weigh heavy on you and you'll wish you had a much larger customer base beyond the very wealthy select few. And at that point, your estimated timeline for making your projections will be too slim to adjust your prices and expand your customer base. The gym will tank within ten years without a realistic value here, guys. Side note, bathrooms are pretty dirty like all of the reviewers are saying. If I'm paying well over $100 a month for an average climbing gym and fitness center, the bathrooms need to be spotless and worth the outrageous price point. At the very minimum, here. There is no reason on planet earth the prices need to be catering to the wealthy, especially when the most popular climbing fitness centers around the country charge 1/5th of what this one is charging. It's a joke. "But you're trapped in Alaska, so what choice do you have?" -Alaska Rock Gym, probably. read more

I've been going here since they were on fairbanks street the good old days. now it's overpriced for nothing special if you ask me. It's lost it's charm with the new overpriced location. read more

This was a terrible time for me, the whole bouldering section was roped off and i was accidentally on the other side of the rope.. it's one thing to nicely ask, "hey sir you're on the wrong side of the rope" instead a lady who worked there proceeded to yell loud at my group i was with while the other worker started pulling the rope up from under our feet causing one of my friends to fall to the floor. terrible experience. Wouldn't come back. read more

I have visited several climbing gyms in multiple states and Alaska Rock Gym (ARG) ranks amongst the best there is. ARG's new facility is not only best in class for its climbing walls and bouldering area, the facilities are well designed, family friendly, with a top-notch weight room and yoga studio - all of which are ADA compliant and very welcoming for climbers of all skill levels. Additionally, their staff is very welcoming and I have found them to demonstrate exceptional customer service. On my last visit found myself in a moment of great personal crisis and this is where ARG's staff intervened. Andi (sp?) used her high emotional IQ and exceptional sense of empathy to quickly diagnose my situation, chart a clear path of action, and shepherd me to an extraordinary result. It is clear to me that Andi possesses a master-class understanding of customer service, humanity, and all around general goodness. If we ever find ourselves in the age when great beings of this universe are able to be cloned multiple times over in order to achieve global community, selflessness, and compassion I sincerely hope that several Andi's will be awarded this high honor. If your local municipality, region, or nation state is every in need of a great person to inspire and lead the masses to great success I would strongly recommend Andi. She's pretty much a wizard that only practice her magic for the good of all and is primed for a C-level management position in any organization. Please book ARG for you next birthday, family gathering, corporate event, industry summit and hire Andi to be your keynote speaker. She could probably charge large sums of currency to do so but she would likely decline because knowing that the attendees are better people and the world is a better place because of it is payment enough for her. Bless you Andi and thank you for helping me when I locked my keys and phone in my rental car. Disclosures: I have no affiliation with ARG other than being a repeat customer. I've only met Andi once and it was a great honor. I am 80% sober at the time of writing this. #NotFakeNews #AndiWoreItBetter #100% read more

The new gym is fantastic! Staff are friendly, routes are changed frequently, and the gym community is nice.

Great gym with nice staff. Visited while on vacation and just top-roped. Tall walls and well-organized info about each climb. Ratings are maybe a little soft, but that seems to be the norm for new gyms. I like a gym that I can visit in a trip and get a decent workout and the staff don't nitpick on the belay test when they can tell you're an experienced climber. read more

Stoked to find out that there was an indoor climbing gym just a mile away from where we were staying. Huge facility offering top rope and bouldering. We were there for bouldering and found no shortage of problems. Clean facility. Cool staff and good crowd. Rates/prices were reasonable and awesome hours. The only thing that made it short of a 5 star rating was having to keep a close eye on our things. We were warned that there has been theft and to watch our belongings. Appreciated the heads up. read more

If you like to climb, this is the best place for it! This new gym has so many routes, sport, lead, and bouldering. I may not be a very good climber, but there are plenty of options for my range of skills. I have brought friends along, completely new to climbing, and they all had a great time! Also conveniently located next to pizza, if you like pizza! :) read more