Edgeworks Climbing Tacoma — Attraction in Tacoma

My boyfriend and I have been wanting to climb for a while, we decided to check out Edgeworks Climbing. I am an experienced climber and have taken multiple classes. I’ve climbed outside and at different gym and locations. I am top rope certified at my home climbing gym. Although at this gym you have to get certified on an ATC, nothing wrong with that. But they DO NOT offer grigris to test on nor any other belay devices. I am experienced with a grigri not an ATC. I was willing to give this a try though, on the down side the staff sternly said I was not allowed to teach or even give a brief overview of how to climb to my boyfriend. They said they were not allowed to teach out or give info either. Weird.

So either way I taught myself, tried the test. The staff guys instructions were very unclear and I’m hard of understanding some things. He used a certain tone when I double checked what he said and it made me feel belittled. He also was very disengaged during the test, he would tell me to do something and then walk away to talk with his coworkers. Once the test test started he continued to use unclear instructions and would yank the rope very hard without telling me his was going to, I know the were trying to make it realistic but I pinched my finger badly because of his terrible actions. Then it was time to do the take and lowering. He said take and I didn’t hear so I asked if he was ready, I never said you’re good or i’m lowering now, I started to pulling the slack and then the test was over. He then failed me because I was too slow and didn’t break fast enough and then said I was nervous and that I was freaking out. I was simply standing there keeping my composure. He said I jumbled the rope too much, the rope was in my hand the whole time just the way I was taught to hold it. He treated me like I didn’t know what I was doing. If i didn’t know what I was doing, my friends I belayed outside would be dead right now from the fall or terrible job I would’ve hypothetically done.

I would also like to say that at any job there is a rule in the handbook of professionalism, that means that you will wear body odor repellers or at least try to mask the smell. The odor was very unpleasant for me to smell on my first time at a so called nice gym. That all being said we will NOT be coming back an the Edgeworks gym is not worth the money if you are wanting a fun day climbing. Treat your customers...

2025 update: still an amazing gym. Still a regular member. Covid restrictions are over obviously and operation is back to normal. The variety and quality of the setting is great.

2025 Shower Review: I have visited and reviewed a lot of showers and plan to continue this as we travel. As a vanlifer it helps me keep track of which showers are nice and which ones are not. I can only speak to the women’s showers but the showers at this Edgeworks are pretty nice. The changing room and shower share a stall and there is a door that locks! There are 2 shower/changing stalls, one accessible stall and one that does not have specific accessibility features. As I said the door to the stall locks, and there is a curtain on the shower to contain the water. I used the one without accessibility features so that is the one I will describe. There is a stool in the changing part of the stall and 2 hooks to hang your towel, clothes, whatever. The shower has 2 small shelves and feels like an apartment shower unit (it might be a shower unit intended for an apartment). The water gets hot quickly and has good pressure. Honestly, it is a 5 star shower experience. Especially compared to the shower setups common at a popular purple gym. The only downside is the showers are in the same room as the bathroom stalls, which is usually fine but could pose a problem if someone is having a bad digestion day at the same time as your shower. There also are no gender neutral showers… there are gender neutral bathrooms but not showers. 10/10 would shower again.

2020ish review: Variety of climbs and walls to meet whatever climbing goals you have. (Bouldering, Top Rope, Lead, Auto Belay, 30ft and 45ft walls, clacks, slabs, and overhangs) They also have a small section of cardio and weight equipment, friendly staff, and an electronic bouldering board. Currently you need a reservation due to COVID and must wear a mask. Employees clean frequently to keep...

I enjoy rock climbing as I want to get better at it and enjoy the complexity and art behind the sport. Coming to a rock climbing gym, at least I thought, would be a good way to meet people as I have recently moved to the area a few months ago. The feeling at Edgeworks Climbing is that of unfriendliness, aloofness, judgmental and very cliche. Some employees are nicer than others but there are a very small handful that ruin the experience enough to motivate a person to write a negative review. In general the employees are not friendly, unless they personally know an individual as I witnessed an employee say that one of their friends did not have to pay to climb for a daily pass, and the snobby clicks creates an environment that is not conducive for single individuals that want to get into the sport of rock climbing. Due to the unfriendly environment that is hanging over Edgeworks Climbing, if there was another gym that not only provided a bouldering section along with the auto relays and belays I gladly would take my business else where. The fact remains that Edgeworks Climbing is the only rock climbing gym that offers the variety as there is another gym in Tacoma but it only offers bouldering. The combination of the unfriendly environment created by several employees and some customers, I guess I will continue to climb at Edgeworks Climbing until my pass run out and evaluate if Edgeworks Climbing is a place I would still like to continue to bring my business too. Not impressed by the poor...