Upper Limits West County

Best Time ever. We spend three days a week here. I highly recommend Upper Limits!

I love rock climbing. But this place is about herding in the masses to make the most money. They limit their hours so that they don’t have to pay their college student workers to work a couple of extra hours. They open at 11 am on the weekends and late during the week. Imagine paying 60 bucks a month only to have to wait to come in and find every single wall packed. You have to wait 15 mins practically per wall. You have children running under foot because the programs are not organized enough and they are running birthday parties at the busiest times. They shut off an entire area for kids’ parties and you are limited on walls. I don’t know how many times I have injured myself b/​c I have limited time and have to climb the only wall that is open b/​c I don’t have time to wait for 5 people to scale a wall before I can attempt it. What work out room does not open until late morning? You pay a membership and can’t even get in to use that? I suggest they take some of the money they are making, b/​c they must be making big money to bring in so many people and open up extended hours so that their faithful adult customers can also get in some time to climb.

The service was decent. The rocks were decent. They weren’t top notch rocks but «they will do «as my friend said. There was a mean worker there but she just seemed to be doing her job to the fullest. They are strict but if you follow the rules you will have a blast. I was slightly disappointed that The slim Jims were not full sized, but I managed to survive off of 4 small slim Jims. Overall I had a good experience climbing rocks and devouring mini Slim Jims. Let’s just put it this way … I won’t remember the rock climbing as much as the mini rods of beef. Although there rocks were colorful, my mind could only focus on the Slim Jims

This place is awesome! My child is learning how to climb competition style and he absolutely loves it. I see safety and dedication and professionalism with all the staff I give this a very high rating.

This is a good facility to learn the basics and meet people interested in climbing as well as getting a decent workout. It is also a great place to train for outdoor trips. Getting up on the walls helps you forget about everything else when your going towards the top. Also the top out bouldering wall is fun for practicing techniques. The atmosphere; however, is more of a go at your own pace which tends to be geared towards the beginners and advanced climbers. Class schedules are extremely limited for adults; especially for intermediates and therefore learning can become extremely time consuming. Also, the outdoor trips w/​upper limits climbers tend to not be sponsored by the gym. If your interested on eventually climbing outdoors it’s worth mentioning that most outdoor locations are 4 – 8 hours away which makes this hobby a large commitment. However, if your just looking for a fun, different kind of workout it’s worth checking out next groupon to see if it’s something for you.

Great staff. Great setting. Always a great experience. One of the best gyms in the USA.

5 star bouldering. Facilities, amenities, staff, and patrons are all great. The pro shop has all the stuff you will need.

SOOO HAPPY! that i finally checked this gym out! It is suuuuuper close to where I live and therefore is SUUUUPER CONVENIENT!
Punch Card or membership is the best way to go. Buying a pass per visit is a complete rip-​off as it is expensive for those without gear to rent it. wah wah!
Either way this gym is wonderful. So much wall space I never feel like I’m waiting for someone else to finish a route. This includes beginner routes as I was with a beginner.
The top-​out boulder in the back is insane. Fantastic & challenging routes to climb to the top are just what the doctor ordered.
The staff is very friendly and helpful. I recommend this place for anyone wanting to get vertical since there isn’t a lot of outdoor climbing close to St. Louis.

i was introduced to this place by a friend, had never climbed before, with that being said i had a milion questions about gear, knots, saftey, and techniques… the staff was awesome they answered all my questions with a smile on thier faces and even came out the wall and showed me a few things in the way of climbing

Glad that there is finally a climbing gym closer to the county. Admittedly it has been a while since I’ve climbed in a gym and I was pleasantly surprised by the size and amenities as you walk in the door. It was very crowded.
When you walk in you are greeted by the registration table, if you are a first timer they direct you to a few computers where you check in and sign a waiver. We then told them our shoe sizes and paid for our visit. Since it had been several years we decided to enroll in a refresher course on climbing. The instructors were very helpful and knowledgable. Not overbearing like some climbing gyms that we have seen. Once we flew through the course they let you climb. They have numerous routes, including several «auto belayers». They also have a bouldering area which was nice.
Overall the feel was like a typical gym, sweaty smell included but a wonderful way to workout and try something exciting at the same time.

Not beginner friendly on weekends, every beginner route is constantly taken (as in roped off and you are not allowed to climb in that ¼ of the building) by unsupervised (I would like to stress unsupervised here, neither staff nor parents were watching) young children ages 6 – 12 in birthday parties almost every weekend, so unless your are a lead climber or can do 5.8s consistently, your money may be better spent in one of the two other gyms in this area.
The noise from said unsupervised children in these parties (who almost unraveled a top lead before I ran out and grabbed a staff member, who after left the children unsupervised again) are so loud that I had to shout several times for my belay to hear me. This should never be the case, the staff should have kept that at a reasonable level. Yes, children can be loud, but with how dangerous climbing can be, I don’t want something so easily preventable increasing my risk for injury if I can’t be heard saying «Take» unless I scream.
While children’s teams and birthday parties may bring in good sales, it makes the gym feel more like Chuck E Cheese decided to have a merger with a rock climbing gym. The only reason it doesn’t get a single star is that I can imagine some advanced climbers who don’t mind the constant throng of screaming children would have a good time, since the routes are interesting.

Love Upper Limits! The West County gym is huge and offers a variety of routes for all levels.
However, I prefer the downtown gym since they manage parties and classes better (the staff also seems to enforce safety rules better). West County tends to have a lot of unsupervised children running around and they overbook parties, blocking off large sections of the gym. The problem seems to be getting worse as the year progresses (I’ve been a member since January).
I understand that everyone wants to make a profit, but I think the owners should also realize that it’s a huge inconvenience for everyone else (especially since it’s so frequent). Also, just a suggestion, there should be a limit to the number of children one adult is allowed to bring in (maybe there is, but I’m not aware of it).

This is the third Upper limits location (second in Saint Louis). Chris (the owner) knows how to run a good climbing gym. This location is much larger than the downtown wall. The routes and boulder problems are changed pretty frequently so you don’t get too bored. The boulder area is quite unique where you can actually top out.
There is a shop on site that sells the necessities as well as some of the finer amenities. This past month they even added a sandwich/​snack fridge (by popular demand) for that quick bite after work before doing work on the wall.
Monday and Wednesday evenings are dominated by the youth climbing league. There is still wall space, but the traffic is high. Wednesdays also include yoga instruction and there are aerial fitness classes (you will have to call for times). The gym hosts lots of special events like boy scout nights, birthday parties, and Thursdays are ladies night. If you want to climb on the weekend I recommend an early start before the gym is packed.
I learned how to climb at this gym. There is a section of the wall with easy routes and then there are shorter routes that go up in difficulty. There are levels anywhere from 5.4 to 5.14. The boulder included V0 through V5 or higher, usually with some fun dyno problems and others that are challenging and fun.
Like any gym, this can become crowded, but I have never been unable to find a problem or route to work on. The staff and clientele are both friendly.

Definitely the best climbing gym in St. Louis. Great routes, clean holds, tall walls. Staff is generally pretty friendly. As with any gym, it would be nice if things got reset a bit more often but if you know what the climbing scene was like in St. Louis before this new gym, you’d know this is a drastic improvement.

For a first time climber, this place was a good place to take a class. I took the rock climbing 101 class and the instructors were extremely helpful in the class. When I was having a few «blonde» moments about how to tie the different styles of knots, they were very nice about it and gave positive encouragement. We tested out the instructor area wall and all the people in the class did great. Then, we were let out into the climbing world to test out some of the routes. I would have to say they make the beginner wall look so easy and the real routes did not seem like an intermediate level. There was one 5.6 that there was no getting to the top. I was able to make it to the top of one of the 5.6’s but it was not smooth sailing. I think the class is worth it but I wish their was more for someone just starting out.

This location is much better than the downtown location. It’s much larger, nicer and there is a lot more room to climb. The staff is really friendly and helpful. I took the Rock Climbing 101 class and our instructor was awesome. I wish I could remember his name but the class was really worth it. I definitely would recommend this spot for all levels and you can rent all the equipment you need there too. It gets really busy so I’d plan on going on a weekday or early in the morning on the weekend.

The West County location is a giant upgrade in terms of number of routes, more lockers, taller walls, etc. And just like the downtown location, the staff is super friendly.
My only complaint is that they don’t really enforce the rules regarding children. The waiver you sign when you come in states that you’ll supervise any minors who come with you. Many parents don’t do that at all.
This seems like a safety problem to me – not only for the kids’ safety, but for nearby climbers as well. Unsupervised, new-​to-​climbing kids can be dangerous to other climbers.
Examples I’ve seen recently:
–Kids on autobelays not paying attention to routes, so they move over to another route as they climb the wall, thereby finding themselves directly above or below another climber.
–Kids on autobelays not paying any attention to who is near them when they kick off the wall to come down. (Combined with the above point, this is a real problem.)
–Kids running around on the ground without paying attention to what’s going on around them. (For example, a few days ago, a young girl running away from a friend ran smack into me while I was belaying another climber.)
Not blaming the kids here. This is just how kids are. But a little more enforcement of the supervision rules would be appreciated.
In any event, the place is wonderful overall. But I do hope this one aspect is improved.

This is a good gym if you’re a decent climber.
But if you’re new to climbing, it is much less impressive.
The gym itself is quite large in terms of square footage. It isn’t as tall as some gyms, but it’s fine.
There are a decent number of routes set, but the distribution of ratings is biased in the 5.10a and up region. I was with my girlfriend who is very new to climbing and should be on 5.6s. There was one «5.6» available (will explain the quotes later). (apparently there were one or two others in an area that had been roped off for a birthday party). Even still — three 5.6 routes for a gym this size? That’s ridiculous.
What’s more, I tried the one «5.6» that was around, and it was not a 5.6 (hence the quotes). Sure, some sections were 5.6ish, but some were not. My undrestanding was that the rating for a route should reflect the hardest sections, not the easiest. We then did the two 5.7s nearby. Again, they weren’t 5.7s. I commented on it to a employee and she looked and noticed that somebody had taken out some large holds that had been in the nastiest area of the 5.7 climbs. Even with that hold missing, those 5.7s were easier than the «5.6». Come on guys. Seriously? That’s ridiculous.
The bouldering area was pretty solid. It was pretty sparse in terms of routes — and some of the routes were just… awkward. But overall a decent area.
OK — so this place has potential. They have tons of space (so much more than their downtown brethren). But they need to double the number of routes set in the top roping areas, improve at rating the routes, set more bouldering routes, and set more easy routes for beginners.

This is a great rock climbing gym! There is something there for all skill level climbers and an awesome bouldering section. My only complaint is the lack of parking on weeknights.

Amazing. This is by far the nicest rock gym in Saint Louis, probable the region. Only thing close is Ibex in blue springs mo.
Getting here is a bit of a pain. You need to get off page by the schnucks corporate headquarters and go find it in an office park. The signage is limited to some vinyl on the ground with nothing lit up on the building itself. I drove past it 3 times. Finally I saw a food truck outside. Call them if you get lost, your not the first one, I doubt I was either. If the parking lot was full as it was the night I went, there is a lower lot just below that seemed OK, I didn’t see anyone get ticketed.
When you enter, you see a pretty cavernous space. The gym is split up into a few different areas, Top Roping/​Sport climbing, Bouldering and exercise areas. The routes are varied and challenge the beginners and experts alike. The place in new and clean, and I hope it stays this nice. They have an area to chill in at the front of the building with comfy couches, although I wonder how well this will hold up to the typical climbers who will sit in them. They have a small proshop with some pretty solid stuff, most items you would want for a gym are here. They also have a small workout room with some basic stuff.
The Lockers rooms left a bit to be desired, The lockers are small, if they were only a few inches bigger I would have found them to be much more useful, Being that I have a big foot, it was hard to fit boots in the locker itself. Other than that, the shower, bathroom and locker space are all welcome upgrades from the downtown upper Limits.
The thing that sets this space apart is the walls and how they are configured. Explaining the beta on Unilocal would not do it justice. You need to see it to understand. Their is plenty to climb and more than enough projects to keep you busy for a few months. And everyone I have met has been very helpful at pointing out the best way to get it done, I have been climbing for 16 years, and I still learn about new stuff all the time. I highly recommend you check out the new upper limits. I will post more as i become more experienced with the gym over time.