Edgeworks Climbing Bellevue — Attraction in Bellevue

I've been a member here for 3 yrs because the facility itself is solid but the overall quality of the gym has noticeably declined in several aspects.

Staff Attitude: I’ve encountered multiple staff members who communicate rules in a CONDESCENDING or DISMISSIVE tone. There was one time I was taking a controlled lead fall. I was above the last clip, on standard safe slack, with no large holds or volumes below me within or beyond the fall zone. A staff member approached my partner and told him he was giving too much slack. My partner is ~30lbs heavier than me, and with the last clip around my knee, any less slack would’ve resulted in a hard catch and likely an ankle injury. My partner calmly explained the reasoning, but the staff member didn’t listen and insisted we change what we were doing, even though it was both standard and safe. The interaction felt super dismissive and reflected a lack of understanding on the staff’s part.

Another example being I was told, “Hmm, so you're gonna come down, right?” while I was already on my descent after a wall closure announcement. It wasn’t said in a lighthearted or joking way, just with judgment.

On another occasion, I asked the front desk if they had a nail clipper, and the response I got was: “Welp, you heard me, we can’t do anything,” after being told they no longer provide it. There’s a pattern of this kind of delivery that doesn’t feel respectful or professional at all!

Policy Enforcement: Rules are enforced INCONSISTENTLY. At first, staff told some dog owners (including us) that dogs weren’t allowed, while allowing others to bring theirs in, even though none of the dogs were service animals. Later, they changed the policy and told me and my friends that dogs must be leashed to a person at all times. Yet I’ve frequently seen other non-service dogs tied to benches in the rope or workout areas without any human nearby. If the policy is that all dogs must be leashed to a person, why are some of us being singled out while others are not informed of this rule or are allowed to disregard it without consequence? The inconsistency is frustrating and unfair.

Same with kids. There are still children running around in potential fall zones with no parental supervision, and this has been a persistent issue for quite a while.

Route Setting: The bouldering problems have become increasingly inconsistent and frustrating. I’m fine with hard or challenging climbs, but many routes are simply not sustainable or projectable. A fair number of boulders have one or two disproportionately hard moves that feel completely out of place with the rest of the climb. It's not a matter of differing styles: some V4s feel completely inaccessible while certain V5s are oddly flashable. The grading is all over the place.

Some top rope routes are super bouldery with awkward clipping stances, and I’ve seen large volumes placed right in potential fall zones at cruxes, which...

I have never experienced this type of discrimination before and I hope by detailing our experience here, nobody else has to. Came with a child who wanted to meet her best friend to go climbing. At no point was a pathway to being able to attend this gym given. No solutions were provided as responses to our questions, and we were treated as if we didn’t belong there the entire time for reasons unclear to us.

From the moment we walked to the check-in desk, we asked how to check-in and rather than answer this or any of our questions as to how to access the facility, Beth was quick to announce we could not participate in just a one day pass (a question we hadn’t even known to ask). We asked how we could participate, to which she then voiced that one of our group adults needs to take a belay test. The father of the other child- a regular here for many years and already certified belayer- offered to do it but asked Beth first if she could look him up in their system as he has been here many times before. To this, Beth asked how recently and when he could not recall the specific date she said something to the effect that if he couldn’t remember, he will have to pass the test again. He asked one more time politely as it turns out the real rule is if a member passes a belay test within the year, and he was sure he did, it does not require repeat. She again denied him. Beth proceeded to administer the belay test while myself and my child signed waivers for the day at her suggestion. Not surprisingly, my friend was told he failed the test by Beth. My friend came to tell me this news on the other side of the gym where I was walking with both of our children by this point, and Beth chased us down to the other side to once again speak at us saying we cannot enter that area unless we signed waivers (without even attempting to verify we already did). I tried to voice my disappointment in feeling discriminated against as surely my friend who already paid for entry and has been here several times, someone whose first language is not English and is trying to follow all these confusing rules, and Beth just kept unapologetically talking at us without trying to help or ever making clear what we did wrong.

Ps. The gym charged my friend anyway after...

This gym has some great things going for it such as lots of routes, bouldering and rope. Nice workout area, nice bathrooms. Awesome kids spot. Here are the things I wasn't so impressed with. The setting wasn't all that fun to me, and I know this is totally opinion, but for me and my style I wasn't a huge fan. It does seem stiff for a gym, which I don't have a problem with. For the roped routes I felt I had to make a semi committing move before the first clip on a 10-, which I didn't agree with, again just opinion though. The main thing I thought was ridiculous about this gym was the over the top safety protocols they have. Don't expect to just show up and be rope climbing within the first 15 minutes of being there. First you have to fill out with waiver, same as any gym, then you watch a few minute video about how to Boulder/fall, and sign something that says you watched it. Then for rope climbing you have to do a top rope belay test, and the way they do it did not make any sense to me. It's not practical AND they make everyone use an ATC. Then to the lead climb test, this takes at lease 25 min. They treat everyone as if they just started climbing. The person "leading" is tied into a top rope as well as the rope to lead, the staff member giving the backup top rope belay, while she herself was also anchored to the floor, "just in case" because one time a girl weighed significantly less then the person climbing and got pulled up the wall a bit, so now they make everyone anchor into the floor. And to top it off, for the "lead fall" to make sure the belayer knows how to catch, they make you climb to the very top of the wall then you have to wait until they say you can fall, which doesn't really prove that you are a good lead belay. Every other gym I have been to you have to take two falls, one announced and one not. And then they make sure you know how to use the auto belay and make you get on it and come down once. Maybe I am being dramatic, but I feel like I appreciate safety, and this was just over the top. The staff is trained to follow a long checklist, not to be personable and use best judgement. I am feeling kinda bummed we payed for a month, it's...