Vertical Endeavors–Twin Cities Bouldering - TCB — Attraction in Saint Paul

VE was on a roll when this opened before COVID. Bloomington was great and Twin Cities Bouldering was awesome too. I lived in a nearby neighborhood when this place opened and it was great. Routes back then went all the way to the top of walls and have now been reduced by a few feet in some cases, probably due to falling injuries.

I've occasionally been back and the old warehouse vibe is still unique, but a lot of the wall surface coatings they use, especially at the start of routes, has eroded or been dusted off. Also, the overall vibe has shifted here. Their competitor, the Bouldering Project feels like the hot place or the place to be. I'm not sure if it's the size of the walls, the routes, or culture but it's noticeable to me.

Also, speaking with some bias, I've seen some mid-grade routes where it feels like the crux is at the very top of the route, which felt sketchy, but this may only be a reflection of my most recent visit.

Regardless of my criticism, if I lived closer, I'd be a more frequent customer. I enjoyed using the main workout area of TCB and the auxiliary workout area near the...

Took my seven year old grandson to the Saint Paul location for bouldering. He has climbed and Bouldered several times before including this location and at home in Milwaukee. He is like a monkey on the walls! The check-in guy was very nice and helpful. But if I had known the upstairs, bouldering area was turned into a playground for a large group of young girls, &1 boy, screaming hollering running amok, throwing and kicking playground balls around, playing some game where they blindfolded one, calling out Marco Polo, I never would have went there. There was even a young mom downstairs who kept hollering up to tell them to quit screaming. The young lady in charge of these girls just sat there, oblivious, never saying a word. After 45 minutes of climbing various different walls , my grandson said he was bored and wanted to leave. I was more than happy to, as I was getting a headache from all the noise. We will not be back. Should I have went downstairs to complain? Didn’t seem to bother him so...

-the facility is not finished (there are exposed pipes, construction still in progress with the sawtooth, the upstairs is full of storage objects, no lockers have been installed) -only offering one fitness (yoga, one time a week) -orientation only takes you about 15 feet into the facility; not quite a"tour" of the space since you are not even walked through the place -not enough holds that help climbers get down from route, which makes it intimidating for new climbers -fitness area with weights is not well structured (for example, there is no place to put the barbell as lifters are loading up the bar, making it difficult, and somewhat dangerous to load the bar because it is unstable) -there's not a firm system of how visitors will be marked as 18+ for more difficult/dangerous routes

In other words, why would you open up a facility that is...