The Front - SLC — Attraction in Salt Lake City

I've waited a few months to write this review, hoping that maybe I would dislike this place a little less. But I'm still not a fan.

I have a pass to Momentum so I'll admit that I probably am more biased than some of the reviewers, but this place just feels like a money grab to me.

I went with a couple of friends who have monthly passes because they wanted all 4 of us to go and they could get 2 in for free whereas I can only get one person in for free at a time. The gym seemed nice and big and the routes were interesting to climb. However, that's about as much as I can "like" this gym.

You have to pay to belay certify on a top rope. Quite honestly this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Belay certifying should be a safety concern, not a money grab. (Especially when you have people coming in for free on a guest pass.)

I decided to pay to belay certify while one of my friends did not since he doesn't have the extra funds at this point. While my partner was climbing for my certification, the staff member spent the ENTIRE time trying to get me to switch passes. Seriously, it's good I can multi-task and know how to belay because my partner could have ended up injured due to my distraction. My partner forgot to take an unannounced fall and the staff member didn't care, saying that he knew I was a good belayer and he checked me off. Seriously, if you know I'm a good belayer then why did I have to pay and certify?

Some points about what this staff member said the whole time I was certifying: -That Momentum isn't a good gym and I should switch passes. -That, although The Front is "better," Momentum does have crack climbing and it's the only thing going for it. -That I should still get a pass to The Front because it's a better climbing gym, even if it is more expensive and completely out of the way for me (I work in West Valley and live in Lehi so Momentum is right on the way home for me) Again, this whole conversation felt like a money grab and it was super unprofessional. Don't diss your competition. Let your gym speak for itself if it's so nice.

And finally, I hate that your staff did nothing for the entire 2 hours I was there. There were at least 4 staff members just hanging out around the desk doing nothing. (Remind me why we should pay to certify when they're all standing there without any work to do?) At all of the Momentum gyms—and even The Quarry in Provo—the staff walks around to make sure people are climbing correctly and safely. There was none of that here. Plenty of climbers were climbing "Lead Only" routes on a top rope which is dangerous since they can be pulled into another climber's route if they fall. There were also two instances where other climbers were using the wrong ropes for the routes they were on. The climbers seemed inconsiderate and the staff seemed inattentive.

Overall, I'm giving this gym 2 stars because the facility itself is nice. However, the staff does not help at all and the gym charges exorbitant prices. As for a monthly pass, I would take Momentum over The Front any day if only for the cheaper price ($68 vs $79) and the option to attend all three Momentum gyms. But the better staff at Momentum will win every time and will keep me coming back. Rock climbing is already an expensive sport—don't make it outrageous. And focus on keeping your customers...

I’ve climbed at many gyms across the U.S. and internationally, and I really wanted to like The Front. The facilities are modern and give a great first impression, but I’ve found the staff’s attitude and gym policies to be incredibly frustrating.

I previously lead climbed at my old gym (out of state) but never became confident with clipping and wanted to get a refresher, especially before climbing The Front’s 70 (ish?) foot walls. I took the intro to lead class during a summer special (it’s usually over $100 to take it otherwise- even as a member), and it wasn’t bad. I was then informed that to pass the lead test, I would have to climb a 5.10 lead route essentially twice (climb, announced fall, climb again, unannounced fall, climb to the finish). This is incredibly gate-keepy because it makes it impossible for newer or not as strong climbers to lead.They don't allow practice on top rope with a dummy rope (8ft), which my old gym allowed to build strength and stamina. The only way members can “practice” is by attending a “lead practice session” with the staff, which is only offered every other Saturday, or use the practice clips on the ground, which isn’t the same as actually climbing. The overhang wall is only set with V3-5 climbs and higher which makes it impossible for newer/weaker climbers to practice climbing steeps.

There’s no lockers available for members unless you pay an additional $8 a month, only cubbies which aren’t secure. The setting isn’t great and the staff have bad attitudes. I reached out to staff a few months ago to see if they would be interested in hosting a Stop the Bleed class (for free!) for their members or the community and they asked if I had a class that “relates to climbers more.” The cost of the gym is insane and they won’t allow you to pay a year in-full without losing benefits. The sauna seems to always be broken and the parking is a mess. They don’t allow gopros and have other weird rules about taking videos (even if they’re only for private use).

I was also excited for the Jiu-Jitsu classes but found them to be frustrating. The beginner classes are usually full of more experienced students which seems to make the class more advanced than it should be. I took a handful of the beginner classes and felt like I was being rushed into movements that should have been broken down more and practiced slowly. The women’s classes are offered at weird times, so nobody ever shows up for them (I was the only woman several times). The other classes are also full of 200lb+ men so it can be very intimidating as a woman, but with the women’s classes being offered at weird times there’s not many other options.

Overall, this gym is full of pretentious climbers and you’re not getting much for what you’re paying. If you're a new climber, avoid this place unless you want to plateau due to not being able to...

The good: Absolutely beautiful gym, very tall walls, very good routesetting, good vibe and generally friendly staff.

The bad: The bad side of my experience is most applicable to infrequent visitors, especially lead climbers like us. My wife and I normally come to the gym 2-3 times a year during our annual ski trip. For the first time, we found a way to bring our rope (SLC area gyms don't loan or provide ropes) and stay within the 50 pound airline luggage limit, so we were psyched to finally lead in SLC. We climb after skiing and the gym is incredibly crowded in the back" top-rope" part of the gym at that "after work" time. You have to jump to any open rope (and hope it's something you want to climb), or hover over the current climbers (annoying for both parties in my opinion). Meanwhile the front "lead" section is fairly open. You'd think they'd want to encourage lead climbing to spread people out, but they charge you 9 dollars for a lead test. I realize that this not a huge amount. But on principle it's annoying, since most gyms don't charge and the Front day pass is already more expensive than Momentum Millcreek (who also don't charge for lead tests). I'm sure if you live in SLC, you pay this once and forget about it. But, we already had high vacation costs so, for the first time, we climbed at the Front only once and climbed the rest at Momentum. Another part of our reason for not climbing the Front again was a very frustrating confrontation by a staff member. Because the gym was uber crowded, we jumped onto a autobelay to warm up. A staff member walked up, told us rudely that my wife had an "incorrect" configuration, and that we would have to take a auto belay certification course to continue. He could have just taken 10 seconds to educate us, but he walked away. So what was her "offense"? I asked other climbers. The front has two carabiners on each autobelay. Apparently, they intend for you to attach to one to your harness and leave the other attached to the autobelay flag on the ground. My wife attached both carabiners to her harness, a redundant and safer configuration. Our home gym requires two caribiners, but I've climbed over 15 gyms and I know this varies by gym. What irritates me is that some gyms think their rules are handed down from the hand of god, and any deviation is a serious offense. If gym the requirement is stricter and arguably safer (for instance, one gym I visited required a double fisherman's knot over the figure 8 knot), I respect and follow even if I don't agree. But, this was a safer set up and this guy wanted us to use our limited time for an auto belay course - not happening. If you have limited time in SLC, I recommend the less congested and more...