Sender One Climbing and Sender City - Lakewood — Attraction in Lakewood

Came in on a Friday afternoon. As you walk in the door you are immediately greeted with new gym smell and a wide open floor plan. Kudos to the design team here. With LAX and SNA, you have to walk around a corner to get to the climbing area so it feels closed off. This is not the case here. The space is smaller than LAX but feels much larger and it pulls you into the climbing area. Once you check in you get to choose your own adventure.

Moving left to right as you walk in: To the left is gym space and the bouldering area while to the right is the ropes area and a hard right takes you into Sender City (interactive climbing fun zone for adults and kids to pretend they are Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, etc.). Bottom line, all the areas flow into each other.

This is THE most bouldering space among all the sites and you will not be lacking in routes. The best way to describe your options is if you had two spinners. One spinner has the grades V0-V9+ and the other has holds (pinches, crimps, slopers, jugs, dynos, pain). Spin both. Whatever combination you come up with, there will be at least 4 to 5 of those problems. The holds are still new and tacky so chalk up. I’d describe the pads as medium firm, not as fluffy as Westwood’s and maybe slightly firmer than LAX. You’ll still be fine. I did find myself searching for the down climb holds often so if you need them you might have to traverse the top to find the closest set.

As for the ropes, you’ll see a bunch of 30 foot climbs on the far right wall of various grades but then as you keep walking in you’ll see the highest wall and what I can best describe as the side of a glacier (because it’s high, sheer, and blue) or a scaled down version of El Cap…yeah yeah…that’s bold. But you know how you come out of the tunnel at Yosemite and it’s the first thing you see?...That’s what the initial thought went through my head when I saw it. The max height is 50 feet, so a smidge shorter than LAX. Like the bouldering area, you’ll have plenty of routes to choose from and at various grades. The space has an amphitheater vibe to it so everyone will hear your power grunts, Ondra-yells, or trucker talk. Not as many routes that are pitched or overhung like at LAX…more of a vertical feel but still plenty to choose from.

Plenty of cubicle space to stash your gear. The bathroom spaces are super bright and clean. Consistent with the inclusive focus, everyone has options with several all-gender bathrooms. Props to the front desk crew as every person I watched come in get a warm greeting and smile. All in all, I’d say this is the perfect ‘in-between’ location for SNA and LAX climbers not wanting to drive as far to get in more routes and problems. Thanks Sender Team! Another amazing...

I go to the sna one usually, and tried out lakewood today!

Parking -plenty of parking to the side of the gym

Climbs -good amount of top rope and lead climbs (slightly less than sna) alot of bouldering (more than sna)

Sauna -no sauna right now (although they expect to put it in early next year)

Towels -no towels right now (they are still waiting for a washer and dryer, so towels should be available in the coming months)

Showers -Showers are operational but individual showers in the women's room don't have a curtain or door. (not sure if that'll change)

*update-shower curtain are up, and body wash shampoo conditioner are available in shower! (hoping they will add more hooks or spots near or out side of the shower to put my bags!)

Air conditioning -there is air conditioning, although some parts of the gym can feel warmer than others.

*update-they plan to install fans like sna!

Fitness area (gym) -fitness area is small, and right by the front desk/entrance.

Location -across the street from the Lakewood mall, easy to get to from either the 405 or 605 freeway

-Cubbies Entrance has good sized cubbies, although around the gym the cubbies can only really fit shoes and a water bottle. Most people with larger bags just set them on the ground

*update-they are working on getting more...

If you’re a climber, go to another gym. Sender SNA & LAX are great. Lakewood leaves a lot to be desired.

Brand new construction and the gym is awful. The layout is incredibly wasteful of all the space they have. Flat walls with almost no variation. No boards after over a year. The fitness section has very little equipment. The bathrooms were designed by using puzzle pieces. The shower floors looked like a mud pit with hair everywhere. The mats they used are made of steel wool, so have fun sitting on those. Want to make suggestions to the staff? They didn’t seem to care much - one even argued why our suggestions were bad. And then to top it all off, the sauna took over a year to build, and for what? A door that doesn’t close properly, a towel to plug the air gap, and flood lights.

This location screams money grab to book more kids birthday parties. Like I said, if you’re a climber,...