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New (big!) gym opening in Golden - Earthtreks

Marc H · · Longmont, CO · Joined May 2007 · Points: 265

My GF and her 13 yo daughter are thinking about getting a membership here.

How are people feeling about ET Golden these days?

Thank you in advance!

mark felber · · Wheat Ridge, CO · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 41
Marc H wrote:My GF and her 13 yo daughter are thinking about getting a membership here. How are people feeling about ET Golden these days? Thank you in advance!
Judging from the crowds last night, I'd say people are feeling pretty good about the place. I went through a couple of punch cards last winter, since I now live closer to the gym I bought a membership for this winter.

The sheer amount of space, height and variety of terrain in the gym is great, the route setting is good, and they seem to have improved the consistency of the grading. Quite a few of the boulder problems last night had been there a while, but I guess that's to be expected after a slow summer season.
Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480
Chick on Crack wrote: And holy heyzus, if you're going to leave your baby capsule under a route, I'm not going to apologize if I land on its head.
Haha.. I myself think kids are a puzzle so I'm not the best babysitter. I do however enjoy the childless crowd's reaction to unruly children running around the gym. It reminds me of the whole dogs at the crag discussion.
JASON A. · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 6
Tzilla Rapdrilla wrote:It seems that ET is having a bit of an adjustment period getting used to a much different clientele in Denver vs. their other gyms. I suspect that dealing with much more experienced and finicky climbers in Denver is different for them compared to a high noob percentage back east. That said, they do have to manage their risk & deal with uninformed insurers and that may lead to some rules that seem to be nonsense. It may be a harsh contrast to Movement where half the climbers belay with no brake hand & the other hand holding the Gri Gri cam firmly locked open. I think it would be an easy ET improvement to add cards for customers to rate the routes as no one is going to drag their phone around in there and the ratings would likely be much more accurate. Routesetting would be improved from a less bouldering approach, smoother movement & routes set better for people of different heights (more footholds).
I see many more gumby's lead climbing at ET in Golden than I ever did at ET in Maryland. People who lead climb in Maryland usually won't do it till they have a firm understanding of what they are doing. People in Colorado feel that they are entitled to lead climb just because they grew up in the mountains.
Wally · · Denver · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 0

Nice stereotype Jason. Great you have this figured out!

Jon C. Sullivan · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 30

Man I really don't want to hear about east coasters running a gym in cowboy territory then thinking it's ok to talk nonsense about CO climbers. People here are way too proud and competent ( well some anyway, with others at least trying ) to have some east coast mouths running trash about the people they're there to service. Please ET, do not, repeat, do not walk around in a staff shirt and think you can poke fun at the CO crew. We are damn strong, motivated, balls of steel mountain people. If you don't like it, bail, like you all would if you'd step foot into the alpine rock arenas we host above 12,000. I thank you.

Ryan Marsters · · Golden, CO · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 1,431

I still can't get behind ET's membership billing policy. I went there a dozen or so times this winter and considered getting a membership. However I changed my mind after finding out they had a hold-over fee if I decide to suspend my membership for the summer season. Why would I pay them money not to climb there? They gave me some excuse about the servers and personnel out in the E coast somewhere taking care of the membership, as if IT guys can't figure out a rather rudimentary database setup nowadays.

Here's my understanding, give or take a few bucks:

Membership = $70 signup + $70/mo.

Suspend during the summer season = $10/mo. for up to 3ish mo. After 3 mo. or suspending outright, re-pay the $70 signup fee.

^The numbers there might be off, but that was the gist of it. I'm not going to pay you money not to climb at your gym and I'm certainly not going to re-pay anything resembling a signup fee/kickback to the IT guy that doesn't know how (or claims to not know how) to set up a connected database with suspended accounts.

I haven't been to ET since March or so, but it was a quality gym and fairly easy to get on routes with the occasional wait. They did a good job of incorporating a lot of the early feedback from this thread, with legal considerations, and the ratings were becoming more consistent (except for some cryptochild dude). I'm not a boulderer so I'm not sure if they ever threw mobile pads in there. Still, the texture of the gym is unlike anything outdoors.

TJ Brumme · · Marrakech · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 1,648
Ryan Marsters wrote: Here's my understanding, give or take a few bucks: Membership = $70 signup + $70/mo. Suspend during the summer season = $10/mo. for up to 3ish mo. After 3 mo. or suspending outright, re-pay the $70 signup fee.
The whole point of paying the $10/month to suspend your membership is so that you don't have to pay the $70 again. Alternately, you can cancel your membership (instead of suspend), avoid paying the $10/month, but whenever you signup again you will have to pay the $70.

Ryan Marsters wrote: and the ratings were becoming more consistent (except for some cryptochild dude). I'm not a boulderer so I'm not sure if they ever threw mobile pads in there. Still, the texture of the gym is unlike anything outdoors.
Cryptochild sets by far the best routes in the gym, with ratings that I feel actually correspond to outdoor climbing. Every other setter is hit-or-miss as far as route quality; not so with cryptochild.
slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103

sign up fees are completely retarded. pretty much about as lame as it gets....

ErikaNW · · Golden, CO · Joined Sep 2010 · Points: 410

They do a discount (or used to) on the initiation fee for AAC members.

+1 for Cryptochild routes - always thought provoking, never obvious!

Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480
slim wrote:sign up fees are completely retarded. pretty much about as lame as it gets....
Earth Treks runs plenty specials or ask them to wave the sign up fee.
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

I was so excited to hear about this gym opening up. Totally stoked and ready to get a membership.

Then I went there. I think it was the most underwhelmed I'd ever been. First off, I don't boulder, so that section isn't on my radar. Then, most of the walls are only vertical or just a little steeper. There is very very little in the lead only because it's way overhanging terrain. It's absolutely disappointing. No amount of routesetting or listening to customer feedback can fix a poor design, they're stuck with that. Also, when you subtract the upstairs party walls, the square footage isn't much different than BRC or Movement, much smaller in regards to useful steep terrain.

The way I train, I want to work muscle and endurance. Training, and in the case of the gym often, overtraining on things like crimps is a horrible idea for me. I also have a finite amount of pain in my toes I can take per week. I'd rather save that for weekends on Colorado's almost boundless crimpy sport routes.

It might feel different if I bouldered and used campus boards and systems boards and the like. After 19 years of this though, I know what keeps me psyched and what makes me want to train and try harder. It's steep roped routes where I can feel tangible gains from my effort.

All that said, Movement says they're looking for a late November start. I'm counting the minutes.

slim · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2004 · Points: 1,103
Bill Kirby wrote: Earth Treks runs plenty specials or ask them to wave the sign up fee.
why should someone have to ask to get the sign up fee waived? do they waive it for anybody who asks? again, just completely lame. my guess is that when the new movement opens up ET could be strugglin'.
James Hicks · · Fruita, CO · Joined May 2012 · Points: 131
nicelegs wrote: Then, most of the walls are only vertical or just a little steeper. There is very very little in the lead only because it's way overhanging terrain. It's absolutely disappointing. No amount of routesetting or listening to customer feedback can fix a poor design, they're stuck with that.
I am not quite sure what you are upset about. Are you saying there are not a lot of overhanging routes to lead? That would seem strange because there are a lot of routes with roofs or at least past vertical scattered all throughout the gym. The wall near the bouldering area is the only one I can think of that doesn't have at least one section that is past vertical or with roof routes.
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

A short roof, a bump, or a slight overhang is a far cry from angles like Movement and R&j I have. It's not even close to the same thing.

Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480
slim wrote: why should someone have to ask to get the sign up fee waived? do they waive it for anybody who asks? again, just completely lame. my guess is that when the new movement opens up ET could be strugglin'.
Because ET is just like any other gym or business.? They're in business to make money. Every gym I've joined as a initiation fee. Everyone has dropped it to get me to join. kinda like when you go buy a car.. Nobody pays sticker.

Lame? It's just business. Don't take it personal.
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

Sure it's just business but it's bad business. A climbing gym should practically be a clubhouse for the community. Not a nameless corporation there to take your money.

Question: Why do you have a startup fee?
Answer: Fuck you, that's why.

How very Comcast of them.

Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480
nicelegs wrote:Sure it's just business but it's bad business. A climbing gym should practically be a clubhouse for the community. Not a nameless corporation there to take your money. Question: Why do you have a startup fee? Answer: Fuck you, that's why. How very Comcast of them.
Should be? If that was the case gyms wouldn't do birthday parties. Gyms do they gotta to keep the lights on. I doubt the owner of ET is hitting home runs.

Funny you bring up Comcast. I do work for Comcast.
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35
Bill Kirby wrote: Funny you bring up Comcast. I do work for Comcast.
I now understand your desire to defend shitty business.
Matt Pierce · · Poncha Springs, CO · Joined May 2010 · Points: 312
NickinCO wrote:I went the other day and the gym is cool. One thing I found very disappointing is their lack of ventilation. There was so much chalk dust in the air I wanted a respirator….
The one and only time I went to Denver Bouldering Club this happened to me - this along with the dogs (Im allergic) and I never went back...
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Colorado
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