GP81 — Attraction in New York

I was a member at GP81 for quite some time, and it’s where I first learned to boulder. I’m grateful for the foundation it gave me, but my overall experience was mixed and often discouraging. Since I haven’t been a long-term member elsewhere, I’m not sure how much of this was specific to GP81 or just bouldering culture in general.

The biggest challenge was the crowding. Weeknights can get overwhelmingly packed, sometimes it felt like a competitive scramble just to get on the wall, with everyone hovering like a cat stalking the same boulder problem all day. Some nights, it was hard enough just to find a place to stand. The locker and lounge areas were also far too small for the number of people using the gym. Changing often felt like squeezing into a rush hour subway car, I was in and out as fast as possible.

Socially, my experience fell short. I got into bouldering hoping to find community, but found it surprisingly hard to break into the local scene. Ironically, some of the friendliest people I met were out-of-towners, maybe that’s just New York. The regular crowd tends to be part of a tight-knit clique, and unless you’re already in it, an attractive woman, or casually sending V8s, it’s easy to feel like the new kid at school, looking for a lunch table that’s already full. This dynamic extended to the staff as well, they were friendly and helpful on the clock, but barely acknowledging me when off-duty and climbing. They’re not obligated to, of course, but the sharp contrast felt disingenuous and left me a bit disheartened and sad.

I did connect with a few members, but the relationships felt more surface-level than sincere. Some seemed more interested in social climbing (pun semi intended) than in forming real friendships, which added to the overall sense of disconnect.

The weightlifting area was tiny and usually overcrowded, which discouraged me from cross-training. That’s partly on me, but I definitely lost some general fitness during my time here. The bike rack outside also regularly hit capacity. Members frequently left bags, coats, or dog gear on the limited seating, I lost count of how often the benches were completely taken up by personal stuff.

That said, GP81 has its strengths. When it’s not packed, the vibe can be great. The music is consistently solid (I discovered a lot of great songs here) and the gym hosts fun events like jazz nights with drinks and extended climbing hours. The staff, while on duty, were kind and helpful. The problems are well set, regularly updated, and thoughtfully designed. The gym is in a great location, right next to the subway, near bars, restaurants, and good street parking. It’s always clean, and it’s clear the owners care and continue to invest in the space.

In the end, GP81 helped me realize that bouldering just isn’t for me, an important insight in itself. I’ve decided to move on to another hobby, but I’m still grateful for what I learned and for the few good people I met along the...

long and detailed review ahead. tl;dr - a small but great bouldering/training facility for adept climbers (climbing at a level of v4 or higher) but probably too difficult or inaccessible for newer climbers (although not impossible)

summary: this is a gem in a city where commercial climbing is booming. the climbing here is stiff but rewarding, and most importantly, fun. the community here is encouraging and supportive with many friendly people, even if their strength may be intimidating. this is a great place to go if you want to get stronger, but unfortunately probably inaccessible if you do not already have a fair amount of experience.

more detail: the space: there isn't that much climbing here compared to the larger facilities but definitely enough to keep you occupied. this place has 2 moon boards at the 40degree angle, currently both equipped with the newer hold set but was told that they have already ordered the newer hold set. to the right of that is another system board of miscellaneous holds. then you have a flat wall with a little bit of an odd warped angle wall on the side. on the other side of the gym, you have a 30, a 45, and a 60. there is a separate room with campus boards of different rung sizes, balls, hangboards, pulley systems, weight racks, benches, free weights, a tread mill, kettle bells, trx, some mats for floor exercises, and im probably missing some stuff. but pretty much almost any piece of equipment a climber would want for conditioning or training.

the setting/climbing: climbed today, which was their first day really open to the public. the setting is done by the who's who of the nyc setting scene, with sets done by almost anyone who's ever set anything worth climbing, and even some setting done by people who are fantastic setters but dont have as much time for it anymore. as one other climber commented to me: i forgot that gym bouldering can be so fun. the routes are great, and not a single awkward move to complain about. however, the routes here are definitely a bit stiffer than other gyms and a bit more comparable to outdoor climbing. grades range from v0 to v13, and the setting offers a great variety of movement and technique that demands the climber be well rounded in their strength and technique.

community: this place has a fantastic and very supportive community. many experienced climbers can be found here who are always willing to offer encouragement or beta, and more than once tonight would a crowd cheer on someone trying to finish a climb. this is a great place to go and send hard climbs together or fall and laugh trying.

i have included many photos of the space and a video tour. there are lockers. currently no changing room, but i believe one will be added. the parking is tricky, as i am told some of the no parking signs have gone missing. but there is plenty of parking on the other streets around it. ask a staff member if you have questions, as they are...

Review from an average climber (V4-5) visiting from Canada.

Staff: 5/5 - Incredibly friendly staff. They were always happy to answer any questions and were conversational.

Vibe: 5/5 - Just wow. Every other gym is crowded, noisy, and stressful. This gym was so quiet and calming! It felt that people kept their voices down to a minimum so as to not disturb other people’s focus. Other climbers were also friendly and not bro-y/elitist/egotistical etc (you get the gist). But, we did climb early that day (9-12) so maybe it’s different at night? Also, a plus for the community coffee there!

Facility: 5/5 - They have all the training equipment you need (multiple campus rungs and hangboards, rack setup, bands, insane pull up rig, etc). There are also multiple walls (mostly steep, overhung which are my favourite). I appreciate having the bleachers and chairs off the mats because in other gyms, there are always idiot climbers sitting on mats close to the wall…

Cleanliness: 5/5 - It’s clean, what more do you want?

Setting: 5/5 - This is my favourite part of the gym - it makes or break it for me. The setting is more traditional/outdoors style that requires hard down-pulling, which is the exactly what I prefer. Most gyms have only modern/comp style so it’s rare to find a gym that is traditional. I love climbing outdoors so this is the perfect gym to train for that during the winter. Only caveat is that there is no true slab, so if you are a huge slab fiend, there is only a small vert wall with some slab-like set climbs...