Before the invention of moon shoes, people had to attack pesky cliff faces with forearms of steel and Funyun-fueled intensity. Scale vertical surfaces the old-fashioned way with today's Groupon. For $39, you get an Intro to Belay class and a five-day punch card to Vertical Ventures, located in West Park, a $95 value.
The introductory belay class ($35) includes all the necessary equipment and imparted knowhow necessary to start scaling indoor peaks. Learn how to properly don the safety harness and tie knots, and also get acquainted with safety rules and what "belaying" means. More-experienced climbers can skip the class by demonstrating belaying proficiency, but they will still get a day of climbing and gear rental in addition to the five-day punch card. For those who take the class, it also includes your climbing for the day. With over 6,000 square feet of climbing surfaces across multiple climbing styles, there is no shortage of man-made stones to unturn.
Your five-day punch card ($60) gets you climbing access any five days within the expiration date (60 days after your intro class), but does not include gear rentals ($11 total for shoes, harness, and chalk bag each day). Climbing at Vertical Ventures is a great way for someone to get started, or is a perfect after-work and climb-during-inclement-weather alternative for experienced climbers who want continuous practice in the off-season and between manned explorations of Mars. First-time mountaineers need to pass the belay class before climbing at Vertical Ventures. As you ascend, the friendly staff is happy to give you some basic help along the way.
Climbers under age 18 must have parental consent.
Reviews
Reviewers on Meetup.com give Vertical Ventures a perfect and unanimous five stars:
- Nice people running it. As safe as rock climbing can be. Deceptively small place that can kick your ass. – Vincent
- Qualified and knowledgeable instructors. There to help you challenge yourself in a safe venue. – User 10282266
- They provided the equipment and instruction. The facility is well maintained and is a safe place to learn to climb for the first time. – Wayne Douchkoff
Groupon Says
Social Climbers
In addition to having about a zillion awesome videos online, the bouldering community has sought out a number of celebrity spokespeople to endorse the emerging sport. In fact, the following celebrities offered these sentiments unsolicited, so pure is their love for bouldering. Check them out!
- As a three-time presidential candidate for the Federalist Party, I can tell you nothing takes the edge off twice losing to that brainiac Thomas Jefferson like scuttling up a sizeable chunk of white granite. I found it kept my regiment in excellent shape when our mettle was tested at the Battle of Brandywine. – Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Early American Statesman
- I climb more for work than recreation, but it’d be nice to be able to cling to the surface of something without some animal-themed mad scientist braining me with an Adamantium wrecking bar. – Spider-Man, Menace
- Please stop calling me Carl, my name is Reginald, Reginald VelJohnson. Carl Winslow on Family Matters is just one of many characters I’ve played over the years. A lot of people know me as Sergeant Al Powell in Die Hard. Have you seen Die Hard? You’ve only seen the new one? Well that’s just perfect. – Carl Winslow, Treasured Character Actor
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