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!

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.

Place is kind of disgusting. Visited Sunday night where they were only open for another hour and…read morehad to pay for an all day pass. Not very busy but every table was dirty, sticky and not wiped down. Finally found the only clean table. Leads me to believe the attractions probably aren't wiped down too often either. After paying full price, learned that the ropes course was closed, the swinging bar attraction was turned into a toddler zone, the gravity attraction closed. The feel was that the owner is letting the place run itself. I Live locally, won't be back. Will head to Ninja Zone in IN next time kids want to go.

It was my son's birthday and I decided to take him here for some birthday fun. The cashier looked…read morevery displeased to be there but wasn't disrespectful. The security was cool. Most of the attractions were up and the kids had fun. I was disappointed that the laser tag was not accessible and the restrooms should definitely be checked more often but all in all I give them a thumbs up.

Overpriced. This place is more expensive than Ninka Kidz but has worse amenities. Also the really…read moreold foam blocks ruined my kids new pants. I'm definitely never taking my kids here again.

I'm very disappointed with the level of customer service we experienced during our visit. This was…read moreour first visit since moving to Indiana, and we were invited by a family friend--we were honestly shocked by how unwelcoming the environment felt from the moment we arrived. The two women at the front desk seemed visibly unhappy to assist us, as though our presence was an inconvenience. There was an older staff member who refused to answer even basic questions until our waiver was completed, which immediately set a negative tone. After finishing the waiver, we approached the counter to purchase socks while waiting for our friends to complete the pass purchase for the kids. We were told we could not be helped unless we were also buying jump passes, which was both confusing and frustrating. Things only got worse from there. Wristbands were placed on the children incorrectly, and instead of resolving it smoothly, we were told to go back and wait in line again for replacements. When it came to the required socks, we were told they were sized based on shoe size, yet we were given identical sizes for all the kids. When we returned them because they didn't fit, the staff member threw them in the trash in front of us and handed us a larger size without any apology or attempt to address the issue professionally. Throughout the entire experience, the staff appeared irritated and disengaged, which made the visit uncomfortable and disappointing. Unfortunately, this level of service overshadowed what should have been an enjoyable outing. I do not recommend this location.

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!

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

First Ascent is a great climbing community for beginners as well as seasoned enthusiasts! A…read moremembership at FA allows entry to any of the Chicago locations, which gives access to different setting styles and a variety of boulder/top rope routes. The Arlington Heights locations is one of two (soon to be three) that has top rope routes. If you don't have a belay partner, there are a good number of autobelay routes! Depending on the time, the walls can get a little crowded and there always seems to be youth teams and classes going on. For early risers, they have been holding member only hours on Saturdays from 8-10am. In addition to the walls, there's an extensive weights and cardio area, as well as yoga, HIIT, and Pilates classes. Also, they plan various community building activities, including meetups, craft nights, member appreciation nights, injury prevention workshops, and more! For me, First Ascent provides a well-rounded and fun exercise routine with a great community!

This climbing gyms is enormous! Upon inquiring from the staff, it's a converted water park, and the…read moresize of the facility certainly shows it. Staff are extremely helpful even in the midst of super busy seasons (like winter holidays when kids are out of school). I really appreciate how you can get a set of free equipment rentals with a membership, especially since I had to rent a pregnancy harness a few times. There's everything you need to top rope, boulder, or lead. For top rope and lead, make sure you go through the proper certifications and/or classes through the gym. As this gym is in the suburbs, the size of the parking lot is generous as well. Even during peak times, there's usually a spot available. I love that they have a little compost and community garden out front as well. The locker rooms are equipped with plenty of lockable storage, showers, and bathrooms. They also provide towels should you forget! There are yoga studios to the side with plenty of opportunities for classes --just check the calendar they update. It's an excellent facility for all ages. Honestly, some of the youngest lead climbers I've seen have been at this gym. It's really cool to see how supportive this place is for the community.

Positives: satisfactory and clean, which honestly goes a long way…read more Negatives: pretty much everything else. It feels stuck in the early 2000s, especially compared to the other Lifetimes. I abhor the sauna setup, the coed situation is not it and makes no sense, it skews heavily male and the lack of consideration for women is honestly aggravating. And the front desk can never seem to be bothered with a simple hello or even basic acknowledgment.

I would like to review for the positive aspects of the Club. Consumers rarely write anything…read moreunless they have an issue. This club is very nice. It is clean, well organized and the staff is friendly and attentive. They have more than adequate cardio equipment and it is very spacious. I only wish they had at least two of the more popular machines. Otherwise, I am very happy with Lifetime.

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.

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.