Peak Experiences - Richmond — Attraction in Richmond

** Keep in mind while reading this review that Peak RVA is currently just open to members and in the stages of opening to the public on April 27th, so some of these problems may resolve in the coming week. But I wanted to express my current concerns with the gym as a local climber who has visited various rock gyms in the D.C. and Richmond area.

Poor parking. Because Peak RVA shares a facility with SCOR Sports Center of Richmond, the parking lot is often completely packed, forcing you to park off street and as far away as Hardywood (or you can risk being towed while parking in a closer spot that is associated with one of the many nearby businesses or warehouses).

Limited bathrooms/no locker rooms. Currently, the only restrooms/changing areas you can use are three private locking bathrooms in the back of the SCOR building. They are not well stocked and rather difficult to find because they are a decent walk through the building and away from the climbing area. This also means that there is no immediate area to wash and scrub chalky hands post-climb.

It can get very hot in the climbing area. Unlike some other climbing gyms in the area, Peak RVA does not have fans or an efficient way to cool the climbing area. It was only a 60 degree day when we were there but we needed chalk before we were even on the first wall because it was so hot and humid in the building.

The facility itself is large, but space is not efficiently used in terms of storage or seating. There is not nearly enough storage for bags and gear. The storage cubbies filled up fast and many climbers had to just lay out gear on the floor along the wall. The only real place to sit and relax is up a flight of stairs and on top of the boulder problems. We wish there was more seating near the climbing walls themselves. The placement of speakers in the gym also means that the music gets jumbled and you can't actually hear it well or jam out while in the top-rope area.

Auto belays are few and far between. There are only four auto belays, each with only one route apiece. The routes on those auto belays are also towards the lower end of the Yosemite Decimal System, mostly 5.6's, making it challenging for harder-difficulty climbers who visit the gym to practice routes alone.

There is also some criticism for the top rope routes themselves. For whatever reason (I assume being short on time) none of the routes are named. Normally, route setters will name the routes to give them a personal and unique touch, but for Peak RVA's routes all that is listed on the tag is the route's grade and the initials of the route setter. Unfortunately the grades also seem to be weighted unevenly, with a 5.10- feeling more like a 5.8 and a 5.6 wall feeling more like a party wall. It was also disappointing to see no volumes on any of the top route walls. Adding further dimension to the walls would increase how interesting some of the routes are.

Some benefits of this location are the sheer number of routes - close to 60 top rope and 120 boulder problems. It is also exciting to see competition boulder walls that are not only visually interesting, but hold the possibility of future competitions.

And as I said above, some of the the issues above may resolve in the coming weeks. It just feels like in Peak's hurry to open this new location, certain features were overlooked and the facility is not entirely ready to be filled...

Large gym, but overall disappointed in what I've gotten for the price here.

Pros: Lots of surface, tall walls, both bouldering and rope sections, nice weights area, hangboard/campus setup, gymnastic setting (not a pro for me but I know some people differ)

Cons: Very infrequent setting. Also no order to the setting. They do half the boulders at once after 2 months instead of a section at a time more frequently. Means half the gym is always packed too. The setting isn't very good, at least orange (V4-V6) and below. Also, very very soft grading but that's common without good outdoor stuff nearby. It's 100% gym climbs and each set tends to have several problems with similar moves (I.e. a mantle on half the problems). My biggest factor, this gym IS NOT a good training area to climb outside. It's all muscle and gymnastics with no technique required. The spray wall isn't big enough or nice enough to make up for this. I think adding a systems board may satisfy me but surprisingly they don't have one. No wood holds at all and many of the holds are pretty rough on skin, especially since they haven't really set crimpy problems below V6 since I've been here. The community is pretty unfriendly too. I've watched so many people brush climbs and then get cut off as they chalk up so someone else gets the fresh holds. About half the people are respectful and half are in their own world with no regard for others. How many people walk under climbers before the gym gets better at teaching newbies? Is it really going to take someone getting hurt?

I've found ways to get value out of it and it's not all bad but for what I'm paying this ain't it. Haven't been to triangle rock club, maybe Peak is just...

I've been a Peak member for roughly 6 years now and the cost is well worth it. They have two locations - one within SCOR and another in Midlothian. I go to both but usually go to the RVA gym for its location. The gym definitely has collected quite the climbing community in Richmond. It's great to go and run into someone I know almost every time. The staff is great - very friendly and always willing to assist a fellow climber. With a membership you can bring a guest once a month for free. Without a membership I could see the cost getting fairly expensive, especially if you have to rent gear. However, they do have punch passes which I've heard are economical. Without a membership it only costs $5 for their drop-in fitness classes which are an added bonus to the climbing gym. The classes are fantastic and I don't feel like they get enough shout outs for the great quality they are. I try to go every Tuesday to TRX and tabata. The layout of the gym is spacious, but the RVA location is probably best designed for their bouldering vs the Midlothian gym. The bouldering at RVA is higher than the Midlo one but has more room and problems. The top rope routes are set up fairly close to each other with some options for auto-belay, and there's a lead-only section of the gym with an overhang. Apart from climbing, there's also a section for free weights and other equipment next to the fitness room. If you don't feel like climbing or other activities, you can always buy a beer from the "snack bar" and watch climbers in the observation deck overlooking the gym. Great gym, great people, great climbing....