Touchstone Climbing Incorporated

This review is for how the membership is set up. I had paid upfront for a year long membership, which like many gyms waves the initiation fee. Once my year was up I wanted to switch to month to month, but could not without filling out a new contract and paying the previously waved initiation fee. Not only do I find this system of re-​joining each year time consuming and annoying, it is selfish. Waving a fee only to require it later is greedy, especially to someone who just spent $ 800 to use something 40 times max (which is what gyms are banking on when people pay a year up front, and thus why they are willing to wave fees). I would have kept it up paying the $ 75 monthly fee until I receive my financial aid to pay for another full year, but now I don’t know if it’s worth it.

Am a member of the touchstone climbing gyms, this is definitely not my preferred location. I have been here a few times and the employees are not as welcoming as the other locations. They always seem to be staring you down and I always seem to be doing something wrong, it is just not a very welcoming atmosphere.

A dozen rowdy 2^nd grade boys had a blast at my son’s climbing birthday party. The Berkeley Ironworks staff were fantastic: courteous during reservations, understanding with changes, relaxed about boy-​rowdiness, and supportive of each climber.
The setup is pretty straightforward. Each child has to have an adult fill out and sign the climbing authorization forms for the kids to climb. Everyone meets at the back wall where the easier climbs are located. I took the initiative to review rules of the climbing gym — no running, no climbing without an adult, stay out of the gym and weights area, bathrooms are over there, etc — before the staff took over. The staff have the kids don their harnesses and they go through some basic safety rules. Then they start tying in the kids and away they climb.
I was surprised at how many wild and rowdy boys were suddenly timid after they climbed a little way up. But the staff are very relaxed about the kids coming down and trying again later. Some kids headed all the way to the top; some went barely above their own height until the end of the party was looming near. Some aggressive soccer players weren’t so aggressive with the rock wall; some timid soccer players climbed up high and fast like firecrackers. Some kids gravitated toward the Foosball table for alternative fun. Just shows the diversity of skills and comfort levels.
The area for the birthday cake is small and the least appealing aspect of the party. But the staff were kind enough to fit our half-​sheet ice cream cake in their freezer until we were ready to start cutting it. And, really, the kids don’t care how nice the area looks as long as cake is in their future.
The Rock Themed Goody-​bags — we created ourselves:
geodes — ordered from Home Science Tools — which we cracked in the parking lot
pop-​rocks candy and chocolate rocks — from Sweet Dreams
little, and kinda cheap, carabiner key chains.
Bonus: pack of gum — amazing how big that scored with the kids.
After his Rock Themed Birthday Party at Berkeley Ironworks, my son was a Rock star with his friends!