Rocksport Indoor Climbing Center

Hello. I just started climbing a couple months ago. I wanted to go somewhere that I could ask people questions and not feel like a total idiot not knowing anything about climbing so I heard from people this was a good place to start. After climbing for some time I started to get used to it. It was fun and a great workout. Overall I really enjoy going to climb but there are a couple things that are lacking here. The customer service is below average. I didn’t want to post my review after my first several poor experiences so I decided to wait some time and see if the employees would change… unfortunately they did not, at all. Every time I walk in I am never greeted and rarely does anyone ever say hi. Usually the employees just talk to each other behind the desk and don’t even acknowledge me. There is however one lady that would always say hi which would be nice when she was working. But for the most part the employees lack, majorly lack customer service skills or seem to just lack basic friendliness. Now the equipment is always great and the routes, though I can not climb many are always great and fun to climb or try and climb. The gym itself always has nice music on which is a plus and a great part is most of the people climbing are very friendly. Its very sad to say that the majority of the people climbing are much more friendly then the employees. Many times I have walked up to the employees to ask a question and they continue talking like I don’t exist. I would recommend this gym to other people but I would just tell them the staff is not friendly.

Outstanding customer servicce. Lindsey was by far one of the best associates I have worked with so far, she was very accomadating and friendly even though it was very busy. Every time I have gone I have felt welcome. It does seem like the team is really close which can give the impression of «clique-​y» however that is bound to happen when there are regulars and good team work. I think everyone was just a pleasure and very nice. And staff does climbing a lot too so it is always nice to chat with them and get tips. The only thing I could have wished for was more paths were availble. The gym was pretty decent sized and there is deffinitely room to put more belaying things up (sorry as a noob my terminology is horrendous). I just wish they were up so we could try more paths and that is the only critique which knocks one star off. Definitely a I would regular.

One of the worst climbing gym experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve been climbing for 15 years, and have climbed in gyms all over the world. There are only a couple of gyms that I can think of that rival the absolutely wretched setting. The best part of the gym was the challenging crack system built into the wall (which the setters have nothing to do with).
Pay attention setters: making routes awkward does not equal making them harder. Go climb outside and find movement that inspires you, then try to recreate that movement in the gym. There should be flow, the route should be a puzzle that fits together perfectly when completed. The route should not send you barn-​dooring off every move. The route should not put you repeatedly into a ball. My guess is your setters have never climbed outside, which is a shame because Lake Tahoe has amazing climbs. Take a trip, climb in Red Rock. Go to Yosemite. Learn what good, inspiring climbing is. Because right now, it appears you have no clue.
I was also absolutely appalled watching one of your instructors «teach» a beginner how to belay. I would never let that instructor belay me. Ever. If that is how your staff teaches belaying, please stop, unlearn what you think you know, and relearn what this video teaches.
I overheard in the gym, «This place makes me never want to climb again.» I concur. I will never climb at RockSport again.

A really cool place with great people. Felt a great positive energy. Overall was an awesome experience!

I love this place. Mark the owner is super veteran friendly. He has a couple of his kids that are in the military as well and that is one of the reasons why he is so vet friendly. The prices are fair and the staff are friendly. They have a great atmosphere and all the right gear for you to climb. They have gear you can rent or buy at their counter. The facility has bathrooms, changing areas/​lockers, and also a party room. Great for groups activities, family get togethers, parties and more.
The place isn’t usually too crowded unless they have an event going on. Weekends can get crowded but not so bad you can’t climb. They also welcome groups if you and your friends ever decide to go climbing. They can have their staff help you learn the ropes so to speak hehe. That was great. You see what I did there with the rope and yeah hehe. I know silly pun. Don’t kill me for it hehe.
Other than the climbing there is a place to work on your grip with the boulder wall and tight rope. Tight rope? Yeah they have that too hehe. Parking is easy and there are some good places to eat around this area too. Well thanks for reading my review and maybe I’ll see you there sometimes.

Unbelievable. And not in a good way.
Solid climbing practices do not seem to be priority here, and the place just radiates lawsuit-​waiting-​to-​happen. As a visiting climber, I was on edge the entire time I was there and it was, overall, a thoroughly discouraging experience.
They do not require any sort of belay test (I do not think a lead test is required either, though did not personally look into it), and instead they apparently deem the auto-​lockers and grigris at each toprope station as sufficient safety considerations for untrained, inexperienced climbers. There was no staff walking around the floor supervising/​instructing/​ensuring people weren’t being idiots.
I was there for less than two hours, and these are just SOME of the things I encountered:
–improper belay technique EVERYWHERE (hands coming off the brake end, both hands continuously held above the belay device, etc)
–someone who had the grigri clipped to their harness backwards
–someone who had their harness on wrong
–someone climbing in flipflops
–someone who asked ME if I «know how to do that one knot» (referring to the double figure 8)
–children literally running like crazy and climbing unsupervised
–people walking under and even bouldering on the wall directly below roped climbers
–shoddy auto belay setups (I saw the setup of 2 of their 3 autobelays. One was secured to the wall by two chains with NON-​lockers, the other at least had a locker on its single chain but was backed up only by an old girth-​hitched sling).
–tri-​axially loaded biners (on the autobelay setups and also on the ground as a result of belayers tethering to the ground using the same biner they belay from)
See
for a discussion on Rocksport’s questionable autobelay setups.
While I understand that not all of these things will likely result in instant catastrophic injury or death, it is nonetheless unsettling to see a professional climbing business seem to willfully overlook/​take shortcuts on basic climbing safety standards. You can expect to occasionally come across sloppy technique from individual parties at a crag, but NOT from a gym whose job it is to provide a safe climbing environment and who should be encouraging and teaching others to follow suit.
I hope I just caught the gym on a a bad day, but regardless, I pray to god that I never meet/​have to rescue one of their climbers at a crag somewhere… Good luck, Rocksport.

Since I know nothing about rock climbing I give this place 4 stars. The staff was super nice & the place was wide & lively. It was my first time rock climbing & I’ve got to say — I love it but really suck at it. There were a bunch of kids around that smashed my performance to heck & I’m pretty sure they could all beat me in arm wrestling. I kid you not a little 5 year old girl was climbing the wall, hopped off, did 2 push ups, & started climbing again. If you’re a newbie like me, just have fun!

This summer’s new activity is rock climbing, and RockSport has been an excellent place to take up this hobby. I bought a three-​month summer pass for $ 69, which includes unlimited climbing and gear rental (shoes and harness), which seemed to me like a steal! The employees are really friendly and I’ve seen them looking really helpful out on the floor to people who look like they too are newbies. I haven’t taken advantage of their knowledge or assistance because I go with my boyfriend, who is an experienced climber. But now that I have my own chalk bag (not included in the basic rental), I can go without him, and much to my surprise I WANT to climb here on my own! I say this as someone who otherwise prefers being sporty outdoors. The music they play over the loudspeakers is a good mix of rock, alt-​rock, and some but not too much country.
My favorite thing to do at RockSport is bouldering, and they have a great range of routes and lots of space. I’m only able to climb the pink labeled routes – the least difficult ones. Almost every week there are new routes for both pink and the hard ones that my boyfriend climbs. But I like that, at least with the pink, at least one or two routes seem to stay the same for three weeks. It’s comforting to have an oldie to warm up on or to go to after trying (and perhaps failing!) on new ones.
My second favorite thing to do at RockSport is slackline. Oh, how much side eye I gave my fellow college students who set up slacklines in the quads at my undergrad and grad institutions! («HIPPIES!») Little did I know then that it’s really fun to work on one’s balance and confidence on it. Slacklining is also a great way to rest up in between bouldering and top-​roping.
I’ve found my fellow climbers at RockSport to be really chill and not side eye inducing. The dudes and ladies who obviously are experienced climbers don’t seem at all judgy and don’t make me feel uncomfortable at all as a newbie. I like how there are ridiculously fit and knowledgable little kids climbing as well as ridiculously fit and knowledgeable older people there. I’ve seen parents and teens have a lot of fun, especially top-​roping. I highly encourage folks to get some friends and to try out RockSport.

My first impression of this gym was ok. The staff is nice and friendly and the place was clean. The facility is OLD… and seems like it is set up more for birthday parties, kids, and families. The simulated cracks are literally falling apart and there are loose hunks of wall material in them.
The holds are super polished and worn down. I did like the added challenge of these difficult holds, but come on… it is time for some new plastic guys. Also the taped routes are kinda difficult to read, many pieces of tape loose, missing, or peeling off. Some of the boulder problems were super fun and they had a double roof area in the front.
Their top rope set up is a little strange. All the ropes are hooked up to first generation GriGri’s. I don’t know how old the devices are but they show serious wear, enough for me question their use. The grigri 2 came out in 2011 so we know that the devices in use are at least 5 years old. Most of their ropes need replacement too, Ropes are flattened from continuous use and feel chunky going through their old devices.
After getting a «belay test» I hooked up my ATC and was told I can only use it for lead climbing. I expressed my disinterest in using an extremely old and beat up gri gri but did so as «it’s the policy»
I can understand using GriGri’s in the name of safety, but I think climbers should at least have to load it themselves and tie their own figure 8 knot. The current set up is to clip the loaded grigri to your harness and the climber traces the pre-​tied figure 8.
While we were there, we saw a girl deck from about 10 feet. Luckily she didn’t seem injured but wow. I don’t know what happened but I thought it was interesting having just voiced my safety concerns about their old gear and their policies.

Hung out in here today :) it wasn’t pretentious, genuine people and staff. Route difficulty was great!
Ropes are okay, some far better than others.
Gear is in good shape (we had our own but our friend rented)
Ratings are challenging, there are more difficult routes than in my gym in LA.
More conditioning equipment or space would be nice.
It was fantastic to see the slack line set up and a fair few athletes attempting things I haven’t seen before!
It’s 4 stars not five, because I prefer holds that have a bit of grip to help build up calluses. It does make for a bit of challenge though… I wonder if they could simply re-​coat the holds as the reset routes or something. That would be nice!
All in all, a good and challenging place :)

I think this place has a more local feel than Basecamp. I like it for that reason. It’s a bit cheaper than Basecamp, but it’s also a bit older. I like the amount of top rope options they have and they are all indoors.

If you know anything about me, you know I HATE going to a regular gym. Many people might not know why though. See everyone who goes to the gym is after one thing, RESULTS, and in my experience, those take a LONG time to come and require a huge amount of self motivation and discipline to achieve. Couple that with the fact that going to the gym can get incredibly boring, and you have a recipe for disaster in my world. So I needed to find something that would keep me going.
I tried climbing as a birthday activity one year and immediately was hooked! Ok, immediately I was terrified, but once I got over that, I was hooked, and then started going to Rocksport regularly with some friends. Climbing has got to be the best full body workout in the world. It requires upper and lower body strength, flexibility, an engaged core, and best of all, an engaged mind.
And best of all motivation, the hardest part of traditional workouts, is built right into the sport itself. Climbing gyms are setup with a number of difficulty rated routes or problems to solve (V.7-V.12 in climbing and V-​0 and up in bouldering). Progressing through the difficulty levels is apparent as you climb more often, and what what challenging on your last visit, will become easier the next time you attempt it. One could argue that this is no different from adding weight at the gym and successfully completing the exercise, but for me, adding a measly 5−10lbs to the bar doesn’t even come close to the feeling you get bumping up from a 5.9 to a 5.10 on the wall, or figuring out the right sequence or body position to reach the top.
After a good session of «getting some strong», I leave hungry, tired, and motivated, and when I wake up the next morning I feel alive, alert, and sore in places I had no idea there were muscles. For me, this is more about fun, but it certainly doesn’t hurt that the workout is well worth it!
To prepare you for your first visit to Rocksport, let me drop some climbing jargon on ya:
Getting some strong — Engaging in a climbing session
Routes/​Problems — the designated way to the top in sport climbing or bouldering
Pumped — the fatigue you feel in your muscles midway through a route or at the end of a great session
Flash — climbing a route/​problem clean on the first try
Dyno — leaping «dynamic» movement from one hold to the next, typically skipping large sections of the route
Bouldering — short technical climbing routes that don’t require a harness or belay
So who’s ready to get some strong with me? We’ll start with some 5.7 and 5.8 routes and maybe a V-​0 or V-​1 problem, learn how to belay using a gri-​gri, and by the end you’ll be flashing those easier routes like pros and leave totally pumped out on something tougher that you won’t be able to wait to come back and nail the next time.

3.5 rounded up to 4.
Kid has recently taken an interest in rock climbing, so we have visited Rocksport often in the last few months, including her birthday party last week. First I should say that she loves it here, and the kids had an amazing time at her party… it was a big hit! From an adult’s perspective, however, I find their customer service incredibly frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, the young people who work here are really friendly, and a couple of them are great with kids, but beyond that the business is incredibly disorganized.
The week of the party, I called on three different occasions (as I was requested to do when I made the reservation) to confirm how many kids would be climbing and how many adults were willing to volunteer on belay and what time we would be there, etc. I was assured on the phone that messages had been left and that the staff would be kept informed. When we showed up an hour before the party (to train the volunteers on belay… as scheduled), the staff looked at us blankly and commented: «Oh, you’re so early.» It was only at this point that they began to clean the party room and prepare for the belay lesson. Things didn’t improve much from there, and I was left to keep everything running smoothly, as the staff pretty much checked out after the party began.
My point is this… it’s worth the hassle when the result is a a lot of deliriously happy kids, but it WILL be a hassle, because at Rocksport there is little to no coordination between staff members, and in my experience, management seems completely nonexistent. As long as you are prepared for that, then this is a great place to hang out. Literally.

Taking into consideration that I have never gone to any other indoor climbing center, this place, well, Rocks! It is so fun and a great alternative to an everyday workout. If heights don’t terrify you, this is a great way to gain strength in your upper body, legs and core while also gaining a little flexibility as well, as you struggle to get into the positions necessary to climb the wall. If you are terrified of heights, this is great way to safely overcome your fears!
The employees do seem bored, like they’re live cash registers more than anything else. Yet the fact that they aren’t breathing down your neck, means you’re left alone to climb in peace as well. Rocksport is set up like a gym really, you walk in and swipe your membership card, or pay, and go climb. The employees at the gym aren’t trying to interact with you and bother you, they realize that people come here to do their own thing and they respect that. If you’ve never climbed before, you’ll need to go with someone who has so they can handle your cords. An employee WILL teach you how to handle the cords if you don’t know how, yet a second person is still required on some of the pulley systems. There are automatic pulley systems which do not require a second person, however these pulleys are usually on the easy walls and there is usually a line of sorts, a waiting time for the auto pulley walls.
They provide harnesses and rock climbing shoes for rental fees, and they also offer various discounts, including a student discount for UNR and TMCC and all other students, which I take advantage of being a TMCC student currently!
All in all this place is great and the walls are fun, but If you’re looking for an interactive birthday party for your children, take them to Chuckee Cheese, this place isn’t going to have all the bells and whistles, it is what it is, a rock climbing facility, there is only so much the employees can do for a birthday party full of kids expecting cake, ice cream and people in giant animal costumes.

We went here on a Sunday afternoon for the first time and, although we had fun, this place is only okay. Not great, but not terrible.
First, the place feels dirty. The carpets looked clean but the bathrooms felt dingy and there were no paper towels.
The supervision of smaller kids/​groups is lacking and kids were running all over the place. Also, while I respect that serious climbers may go to Rocksport to train, they were kind if a buzz kill and pretentious.
Finally, although there were four auto-​Belay courses, I felt that the website was not clear that it was $ 10 extra to learn to belay and use the other courses. At $ 20 per person, I felt like we should be able to use the entire facility. Too pricy in my opinion. The place did have a slack line though, so that was cool.
All-​in-​all I probably won’t go again, but it wasn’t a bad time.

Going climbin’ inside, pullin’ on plastic, and bs’ing with friends — expectations are low considering that it is indoor climbing.
And of course, if your expectations are low you’re gonna hit ‘em every time, right? May as well be the Rocksport way.
Routes here stay up as long as six months which is a complete joke. Many climbing gyms in other areas make you pay less, give you a lot more, and are far more friendly and sanitary than this place. With no actual workout equipment (most climbing gyms at least have a stairmaster or two), auto-​belays that the staff just throw children on to avoid having to do their job, nasty bathrooms and common areas, and a condescending staff — this place is lame.
The management has been changed over a few times in the last few years, but the pervasive mentality has remained the same. When you come to a place of business, most places are responsive to their customers and you feel more like a customer rather than a nuisance (sorry yer too busy surfin’ mountainproj, brah)
At least the taco shop next door is good…

I enjoyed the variety of climbing, from bouldering to top roping and even slacklining. The feel of the gym is warm and friendly with nothing distracting from the climbing. One of the best thing about Rocksport is the community feel, a great place to go to just hang out and make friends as well.

3 stars mainly for customer service. Visited while in town for business. Not very impressed with the staff. A bunch of high school kids that thought they were the shit and didn’t understand customer service. (I’m 26 years old for reference, not some high maintenance family man). I called a few days before I went and the kid on the phone was a douche and not very helpful. If you have a potential customer on the phone you think they’d supply the basic information you requested and not speak down to you like you were an inconvenience to them.
I visited CommRow BaseCamp two times before hitting Rocksport. I noticed some Rocksport flyers at CommRow so I asked the kid at the desk at Rocksport if they were affiliated. Apparently there is some kind of bad blood between the gyms but he proceeded to talk shit about BaseCamp all while talking to me like I was an idiot for asking about it.
I don’t care if your employees climb 5.15d, if they’re dipshits you’re going to lose business. I don’t know what the beef is between the two gyms but I don’t care and I personally enjoyed my time at BaseCamp more than at Rocksport. Much better atmosphere, employees, and much more well kept.
I only bouldered and enjoyed some of the routes. The grading was pretty sporadic. Flashed a V7 but got spit off a V3… BaseCamp’s ratings were pretty sporadic too, possibly using the same setters? Need to apply a quality factor to their routes. Test them once they are placed to double check grading and quality.
Overall the gym was good for what I wanted. When I come back to the Reno area I will most definitely visit Commrow Basecamp because of the much better pricing, superior climbing walls (routes still need help), more friendly staff, newer facility that is well maintained. Seems like Rocksport was like an old neglected car that got used but never taken care of.
Hope the review helps. Go check out both gyms and voice your opinion because you may have a better overall experience at this gym than I did.
Apologies for any typos, I drafted this from my phone.
Crush on.

Staff was very friendly, and helpful! We took the beginners class (I had not rockclimbed in 10 years, and my partner in 7… We were rusty!) even though there were 6 of us in the class the teacher took time to help everyone! Once he felt we were comfortable enough to be on our own, he paired us up, and let us play. But he emwas always close by to give a quick tip, or lend a hand. Granted we were not totally green at the sport, but it was nice to have a little backup if needed! He also gave each of us a pass for 3 free climbs. (we would still have to rent gear… 5 dollars for shoes and a harness) the place had bouldering, top roping and the kind where you clip in on your way up (forge that name. Never tried it) we bouldered and top roped, both walls had multiple levels of difficulty so one can work their way up. It was a very enjoyable evening! And we will be coming back very soon!!!

In the past 18 months there has been a significant improvement in the way the business is operated. (yeah Kate!!)
The staff is now very conscientious about paying attention to what is going on in the gym. There’s been a huge improvement in safety awareness, ropes are replaced before they’re dangerous (was a time when I wouldn’t lead climb on the gym ropes, they were wicked dangerous and no one cared to do anything about it.)
As the review by Mishka mentions, they’re good at helping people get started. They’re also continuing to be better about putting up new routes.
They’re also now carrying gear at really good rates.
Keep up the good work …