The Gravity Vault Radnor — Attraction in Radnor Township

Recently did a day pass here while checking out the various climbing gyms in the area. My one pro for this place is that other than summer campers, I was the only one climbing around the time they open on a weekday. So no need to wait for your turn climbing or worry about parking.

Now the places they could improve, let’s start with the fact that the day pass is very overpriced given what this facility offers. $28 with no yoga or fitness classes, and the gym equipment/room is very dated. I have climbed at gyms in climbing meccas like Colorado that don’t charge that much and give you way more for your money. When I was given my tour and we reached the bouldering area, the staff member said something along the lines of “we’re 7 years old and the mats show it, this is where most of our injuries occur due to people being too tense when falling so just be careful.” Yes climbing is inherently dangerous, but you shouldn’t be having enough injuries to be worth mentioning, that’s a problem, you need to invest in new mats. So I was definitely wary of falling when making some more dynamic moves and on the higher parts of the bouldering walls.

I actually liked the setting here and felt there was a decent amount of problems to choose from, although definitely less than I’m used to coming from bigger gyms, however it was immediately clear they don’t change the setting often because they had tags going back to late March on some of the routes (I was there in late June). Also, in looking into their membership, they are almost as expensive as Reach but with all those issues listed above which Reach isn’t suffering from, and they also require a 12 month contract to get that price whereas Reach is month to month and cancel anytime. Yeah you can buy 1 or 3 months here rather than signing up for the year, but it’s then more expensive than Reach and again, they don’t offer as much for the money.

All in all, maybe I would give them another shot if they get new mats, start offering classes, and offer monthly memberships, but for now I don’t think it’s...

Employees are exceptionally friendly, helpful and positive. If you come here regularly, you'll quickly feel right at home. They do a ton of business with small groups and kids and the staff really shines here. The gym is very tidy. GV shares the facility with Radnor Racquet Club, and the locker rooms, while straight out of the 60/70s, are clean (and they supply fresh towels). New routes seem to be going up all the time, and when the old ones come down the holds are cleaned. None of the scummy holds like you encounter at other gyms. Routes are by color of hold, and not tape, which is preferrable. Policies are reasonable. I know some climbers don't like mandatory use of Gri-Gris but it's a sound policy from a safety standpoint. "Regulars" are generally friendly and helpful.

Minor criticisms: the routes might be a tad easy? Hard to say for sure. Bouldering climbs only get even grades - no +/-. Routes 5.10 and above generally don't get letter grades. This is not an issue for me, but it might be for some.

There is a weights gym and some training tools (fingerboards, campus boards), but options are a bit limited compared to a few other gyms I have been to (though not in the Philadelphia area). The addition of a system wall would be welcome.

There's an informal Facebook women's group for GV Radnor, but other than just introducing yourself to other climbers and wearing the green tag on your harness that indicates you are looking for a belay partner (this has never actually worked for me, maybe I'm just smelly/ugly), you'll probably need to ask around if you need a belay partner. The addition of some kind of message board (virtual or otherwise) would be an...

Gravity Vault Radnor has consistently been welcoming of adaptive climbers (climbers with disabilities) and has a community of staff and members who are familiar with how we roll. I feel like an equal when I climb here and I don't feel unusual or like a spectacle. I find the routes at Gravity Vault to be more challenging than some other places. This helps to push me to try new things even though I feel that I'm more of a 5.6 person when most of the "easy" routes here are 5.8! The thing for me to remember is that taking breaks is fine and trying new things is cool.

If you're an adaptive climber and need accessible parking, use the SEPTA driveway instead of the main driveway. There is a small Gravity Vault lot with a single ADA space, an accessible entrance (locked), and a doorbell to request it to be unlocked. If the ADA space is taken, there are more ADA spaces at the SEPTA station further up the driveway.

Also, Gravity Vault has a SEPTA bus stop at the bottom of the same driveway in addition to the SEPTA NHSL Radnor Station at the top of the driveway. The driveway is on an incline. NHSL Radnor Station has a gap with no bridge plate for trains to 69th street, there are stairs for trains...