New (big!) gym opening in Golden - Earthtreks

I've only checked out the bouldering, but so far I'm a fan. Interestingly, I found the bouldering grades to be pretty soft.

Went to the gym yesterday, and I have to say, the gym is responding. They changed the grades on a bunch of routes to reflect what's listed in thesendspot.com and at least one of the newer routes I saw had a bunch more footholds. Bravo to ET for responding.

re topropes in the way: I wonder if you couldn't pull the topropes that are in your way and then put them back up when you are done leading? What does ET have to say?

Mike: Old time's sake indeed! Let's do it!

Stopped by for the first time - solo

Let me tell you - the "belay partner board" is useless. I posted my name looking for a partner and then went and bouldered for about an hour - no partners - yet there were at least 150 people in the gym - and no other names on the board. Make sure you meet a partner there if you need one.

This is all I can share so far:

Pros:
Large with tons of routes
Nice workout/gym area
Kids area looks nice if you have kids
Tall walls
Lots of lead routes
Friendly staff
Lots of "cubbies" for your shit
Tons of bouldering
Close to lightrail

Cons:
Spendy - a day pass is $19
Parking is a joke
No auto-belays

I didnt check out yoga or the locker rooms yet

the belay partner board is pretty useless. They had the same system in Maryland. Wasn't great there either. On the occasions when I have to go it alone, I seek partners at R&J by keeping an eye on the auto-belays. Perhaps the Earthtreks website could add a belay partner feature for use while at the gym? Anybody have any thoughts about this?

Victor K wrote:the belay partner board is pretty useless. They had the same system in Maryland. Wasn't great there either. On the occasions when I have to go it alone, I seek partners at R&J by keeping an eye on the auto-belays. Perhaps the Earthtreks website could add a belay partner feature for use while at the gym? Anybody have any thoughts about this?

It's a 2x3 foot dry erase board sitting off to the side - with a crappy dry erase marker - I'm sure most people walked right past it.

Someone here said there were no auto-belays because they wanted to "promote community" or something like that.

I'm all for that! but I suggest 2 things:

1. Note to everyone who visits - even if they have partners - "hey we have a partner finder board system over here in case you're looking for someone etc etc" - I saw a lot of parties of 3 that maybe could have used a 4th...

2. Make the system more noticeable - not a crappy small white board...

I didn't have any trouble finding the belay partner board, and I'm pretty sure anyone who wants a partner will find it. Something on the Earthtreks website would be nice, or people can just use he partner finder forum on this website.

Auto-belays can be nice, but they cost money and they create a few hazards of their own. Reading the forums on this site, I've learned about one fatal accident in Texas, and one injury producing accident in Boulder (BRC?). I've also seen some pretty stupid, dangerous behavior on auto-belays. If I were a gym owner I might not be too eager to spend the money on auto-belays if my gym were already attracting plenty of customers.

I too was dismayed to find no auto-belays. However, I went solo twice this week and both times the trade-a-belay white board worked out for me. The first time I bouldered solo for half an hour before someone spotted my name and approached me. I saw him again on Wednesday in the bouldering area, and even though I was meeting someone else there I offered to belay him anyway.

The second time I found someone who had written on the board a half hour before I got there in the morning and asked if he needed a belay.

Overall I had good success with the board. My advice is even if you don't see anyone's name on it but would like a belay, write your name on it. Its worked for me, and as long as other people use it then it will be a great way to meet other climbers.

I'm not scared to go there alone. Each time I had I met someone and had a good time, which is an upgrade over just doing auto-belays at rockn and feeling like a loner. I know that even if I was meeting someone there I would be willing to belay anybody on anything. I'm the guy there every other day for a few hours at a time. Gray pants and white shirt usually.

Wow, I am amazed at how cranky and negative all the comments are. I guess that is the nature of comment threads written by people at desks- it means we're not climbing.
I think this place rocks!!! I have climbed in a lot of gyms all over the US. This was the best I have visited. I had no complaints about a lack of feet on routes. My 12 year old son had no problems either. Great routes, cool holds, creative route-setting, very friendly and professional staff. Keep it up and don't worry too much about the haters. There is too much good going on to let the internet vitriol get you down.

Pros:

Excellent resource for west Denver. It's about time someone took the initiative to build a full service rock gym.

Light rail access.

Interesting climbing features with great overhangs

Large Bouldering area

Nice workout room with free-weights and so much more

Big parking area (if you don’t believe me then go to Movement sometime)

Spiffy locker room with no need to bring your own lock

Reasonable membership rates (not daypass rates)

Cons:

Though most of the boulder problems are quite good, there is a high degree of inconsistency in the route setting quality with no simple way to give feedback such as comment cards on the routes. I don’t have a smart phone and don’t care to comment on grades as much as quality. Who climbs with their phone anyway? I’ve gone from climbing excellent routes to ones that are reachy for me at 6-foot, to one or two that are downright bad (I climb from 5.10 to 5.12+). I haven’t seen improvement since it has been about a month now with no substantial resetting.

Many of the routes, especially in the cove area intersect, reducing the effective number of routes available to climb at any time. I’m not sure if this is more to do with the gym design or the route setters, but it becomes a nuisance when it’s crowded.

The pads in the bouldering area are very firm (I assume for durability) and the walls are quite high, most with token throws for the lip. It’s not hard to imagine someone hurting themselves as it’s jarring even when you land properly from higher up. This is true to the point where I won’t attempt to finish many climbs at my grade level. Porta-pads would be an excellent addition.

Overall I think this is a good gym but it could be great!

I totally agree with Davedad... it's unfortunate to see all these negative based comments on here. ET just built an amazing state of the art facility, that most areas would be exilarated to have, and folks are seeming to try and find things to complain about. No gym will ever be perfect, because everyone's opions are different, but some of these complaints are ridiculous. It's like complaining that a gym is TOO big...come on! ET is a super customer service based company, all about community...so if you have an idea that can improve eveyone's climbing experience, bring it to their attention. They already seem to be responding to the needs and wants of their customers. But just spraying comments like " The routes are too hard" or " The walls are too rough and ruin my shoes" doesn't really help them fix it. Why? How would you fix it? What else would you like see in the future? Remember a company can't make everyone happy all the time... but you're not helping yourself if you show up to the gym without a a partner, not ask anyone for a belay,and then just spray that you're mad the gym doesn't provide auto belays. Be psyched that you're lucky enough to have a brand new badass gym to climb in( and many other to choose from close). Enjoy having interesting hard routes to climb on and not worry about the grades, because being able to participate in this amazing sport should be enough...just climb, it's fun if you let it be! And step out of the bubble a bit, go meet some new friends, climb something fun, and grab a beer afterwards! Trust me, you might like it!

RB81 wrote:I totally agree with Davedad... it's unfortunate to see all these negative based comments on here. ET just built an amazing state of the art facility, that most areas would be exilarated to have, and folks are seeming to try and find things to complain about. No gym will ever be perfect, because everyone's opions are different, but some of these complaints are ridiculous. It's like complaining that a gym is TOO big...come on! ET is a super customer service based company, all about community...so if you have an idea that can improve eveyone's climbing experience, bring it to their attention. They already seem to be responding to the needs and wants of their customers. But just spraying comments like " The routes are too hard" or " The walls are too rough and ruin my shoes" doesn't really help them fix it. Why? How would you fix it? What else would you like see in the future? Remember a company can't make everyone happy all the time... but you're not helping yourself if you show up to the gym without a a partner, not ask anyone for a belay,and then just spray that you're mad the gym doesn't provide auto belays. Be psyched that you're lucky enough to have a brand new badass gym to climb in( and many other to choose from close). Enjoy having interesting hard routes to climb on and not worry about the grades, because being able to participate in this amazing sport should be enough...just climb, it's fun if you let it be! And step out of the bubble a bit, go meet some new friends, climb something fun, and grab a beer afterwards! Trust me, you might like it!

For $19/day they can handle a little criticism.

34 Gyms in the US have a $18 day pass or higher climbing-gyms.findthebest.com/. Sounds pretty standard to me, especially for the 8th largest gym in the country. You get what you pay for!

RB81 wrote:34 Gyms in the US have a $18 day pass or higher climbing-gyms.findthebest.com/. Sounds pretty standard to me, especially for the 8th largest gym in the country. You get what you pay for!

Shill?

It's a nice gym. It ain't Nirvana.

Checked out ET this Sunday. While the general impression is positive, there are a number of things that I wish were different, unfortunately most of them can't be changed at this point.

Positives:
Friendly staff.
New spacious facility.
Awesome bouldering terrain (can almost compete with The Spot on its own, although far smaller than The Dog Patch in San Fran).
Taller walls than other gyms in the area (but not that much taller than Movement Boulder, especially when accounting for the average steepness of the wall).

Negatives:
The texture of the wall really is very rough. I was amazed I wasn't bleeding everywhere wearing shorts, and I see fallen rubber bits collecting on holds. Kind of a WTF moment (reminds me of the idiots at Stone Summit that used sandpaper backing on their campus wall).
The cracks are an obvious afterthought. Those of you that actually climb cracks would understand immediately. It's a joke compared to the cracks at Planet Granite in the bay area.
There's not enough consistent overhang of different angles (15-40 degree walls). It looks like the gym had the space for it, but an arch & some short horizontal sections just doesn't cut it. I 'd say of all the shortcomings, this is the most serious.

Other observations: I found the route setting to be generally good, but lacked a bit in the techy, footwork intensive and static body positioning variety. There are a lot of routes with pretty strenuous body position and off-balanced moves, which aren't my forte, so it's good training. I did find some routes seem to have more hand holds I'd skip than foot holds. There are a lot of moves of the reach variety (which people often confuse with holds set far apart but can be reached using good core strength via a high foot or dynamic movement). As for the grades, in the 11d-12c range, some felt a bit hard (or even quite hard given the lack of good clipping stance), others felt right on. I was warned Jason Kehl's routes are pretty stiff. And the only one I tried (twice), graded 13a, felt like a pretty solid mid 13 and climbed like a bunch of (cool) bouldering moves stacked on top of each other. But whatever, every gym has route setters whose routes I suck at.

Lastly, these are my opinions. If you don't agree with them, too bad for you.

Let's re-set a bit. There's no question, I'm massively psyched that there's *finally* a rock gym (and a very good one at that) on the west side of the Denver area. This has been a screaming need for a decade or more. Extra cool that it's right across the highway from the light rail station and has OK (not good) parking.

I'm pretty sure most or all of the comments here are intended in the spirit of constructive criticism. I would hate to lose this outstanding resource due to route-setting or other correctable issues.

my two cents...
Thoroughly enjoying the gym so far! I like the route setting. The routes seem to make good use of the angle changes in the panels. I've not gotten on the harder routes (12 and up) as it seems 5.11 here will be tough grade for me. The grades can be stiff on some routes which really isnt a big deal. I would add my vote to wanting more consistency between the grades but that I'm sure will even out over time. (I've seen them changing grades on routes so they are trying...) The wall texture is rough but allows great smearing and is forcing me to place my feet accurately rather than skidding them down onto the hold. Re the parking. I dont get the folks who say its a problem (or even a little problem). After seeing an earlier comment about the parking I used google maps to check out Movement, BRC, Spot, and RnJ. These gyms have roughly 40-60 spaces, plus some street parking. I drove around the lot at ET this weekend and counted 118 spaces plus 9 carpool spots. Construction remnants are blocking prob half a dozen spots but there are still more than double the spaces of the other gyms, PLUS street parking for many more.

Derek Lawrence wrote:Re the parking. I dont get the folks who say its a problem (or even a little problem). After seeing an earlier comment about the parking I used google maps to check out Movement, BRC, Spot, and RnJ. These gyms have roughly 40-60 spaces, plus some street parking. I drove around the lot at ET this weekend and counted 118 spaces plus 9 carpool spots. Construction remnants are blocking prob half a dozen spots but there are still more than double the spaces of the other gyms, PLUS street parking for many more.

RnJ North has hands down the best parking. I climbed at Mvmt for two years. By far the worst parking of all the gyms in CO. During the week if you weren't there by 5:15 you were walking from across the street, but WTF cares about a 30 sec walk anyway? Sounds like everyone complaining here expected a perfect gym. I've visited over 75 gyms in the US and between ET Golden, Hoosier Heights in Northern Indianapolis and Planet Granite in San Francisco these are the gyms in which all other gyms are being measured against.

This gym IS great. And there is some good constructive criticism here. Hopefully the gym will address what they can. I agree with the above comment, at $19, they can take some heat. One thing that's very different from Maryland, there is very little reason to climb inside if you don't want to. No real middle ground between membership and a full price day pass is bummer. Why not sell a 20 punch pass? Or a 1 month pass?
At nearly 70 a month, I really think hard about my use of the place during the prime climbing months. Also, the landscape will change again when Movement opens in central Denver.
Can't wait to see how everything shakes out.

I agree, no real middle ground between a day pass and a monthly membership. I asked about a punch pass and was offered 7 visits for the price of 6. A 10 or 20 visit card that offered a little more savings would be nice, and maybe the people who drop their membership during outdoor climbing season would keep a punch card for bad weather days. BTW, it is possible to buy a one month pass, for $89. Not sure how many they'll sell at that price. People seem to be using the place, though, so I don't know how motivated they are to lower their prices. Maybe prices will change when Movement opens up their gym in Denver.

Haven't been out to see the new gym yet, but climbed a couple days ago with a Golden friend who was back in MD for the week, and it seemed like her observations were pretty consistent with what I've seen on here. A couple thoughts based on years of climbing at ET's other facilities:

-Two of the bigger complaints are about the lack of feet and the rough texture of the walls. If the texture is like our gyms back east, that means the entire wall is a foothold. It takes a while to get used to it, and you'll probably burn through rubber a bit faster at first, but I feel like the end result is a footwork style that translates really well to most kinds of rock I've encountered. It also seems like one of you needs to jump on the opportunity to open a new resole shop!

-I agree that grading should be internally consistent, and ET setters are usually good about changing grades due to feedback, but it also amazes me how much people are still hung up on the numbers. I go to gyms so I can train, not so I can one day tell my grandchildren about the blue 5._ that I struggled on for weeks and then triumphantly red pointed the night before the setters took it down. The setters' job isn't to make us look good on everything, or to reinforce our notions of how hard we climb. Their job is to make us fall. Falling isn't failure, but rather an opportunity for learning. If the whole point of training us to apply those skills elsewhere later on, better to train in a sandbagged gym where the moves are always a little bit outside our comfort zone, and then go out to a new area and be excited about how easy everything feels.

Overall i'm really excited about everything I've heard, and can't wait to check this place out!