Rocks & Ropes of Tucson, Inc — Attraction in Tucson

First impression was not a positive one. $30 for a day pass when you have your own gear and just have to test out on belay/boulder fall technique was too much, especially for the size of the gym and height of the walls. It was the most expensive day pass I have ever come across compared to multiple gyms across the country and some of those gyms were hands down better in all the ways they could be.

All first time visitors (and people who haven’t been there for a year) MUST pay the $30 “The Works” pass. This covers gym entry, rental gear, and instruction on how to boulder fall, use the autobelays (4 total, only 3 usable when we went), how to tie in to the rope, and how to top rope belay. If you are an experienced climber with your own gear, you still have to pay for the first time day pass. The staff said it was to compensate their time spent and extra staffing (two staff members), but that they don’t actually get the $10. To clarify, your first visit and/or your first time back if it’s been a year or more is $30 regardless of your experience level and needs; a day pass after your first visit/within a year is $20. (A day pass for a comparable gym in Phoenix is $25, which was still a lot for the size of the gym, but the facility was newer.) Of note, if you sign up for a membership with them that same day, they will credit your day pass fee, which is pretty standard for most gyms. However, for people just passing through the area the pricing is a deterrent. We brought a friend who was brand new to climbing and she was charged the $30 despite being told they could not accommodate her instruction for the day (sign up for an on the hour slot). For experienced climbers, the fee policy makes no sense other than to squeeze extra money out of people passing through the area because there are no other rope gyms in the area as competition. We literally would have left and not climbed there if there was another gym with more appropriate policies. This gym is unlikely an affordable option for larger families and people with lower incomes, which leads to a lack of accessibility.

The lead only climbing terrain looked good, but we chose to not test out on lead because our reason for being there was to give our friend a fun introduction to climbing.

Most of the staff was polite. The gym got really really busy around 4:30, which is to be expected, but can be overstimulating.

The saving grace for our experience here is the 5 star routesetting. As a former setter myself, I really appreciated the interesting movements and flow. Thank...

I love this place so much! I’ve been climbing here at least once a week for two years, and have a weekly training/coaching session with Coach Kristina. She is AMAZING! Best coach and trainer I have ever worked with — the amount of time, effort, energy and information she provides during our sessions is exceptional! Her positivity and love the sport is infectious. I cannot begin to underscore the value in which she provides!

The staff is also incredible — I have brought five newbies to climbing into R&R and they were all taught so well! They do such a great job at showing how to tie knots and belay and are extremely conscientious of new climbers throughout the entire time that they are at the facility, keeping an eye on them well beyond the initial training session. They are all helpful and friendly and just wonderful folks. People new to the sport feel welcome here thanks to them :)

And the route setters… WOW! They all work SO hard to put up creative and well thought out routes that are fun to climb! I love watching them at work, you can tell that they are all so invested in this sport and doing a good job for the climbing community.

The facility itself is impressive — five autobelays, a large overhanging toprope/lead area, huge lead cave with very challenging routes, and so many toprope climbing routes in the vertical and slab areas that you will never be bored. On top of that, there is a big area dedicated to bouldering, several spray walls, a place to do hang board training and a fully equipped gym area! There is SO much that R&R offers.

You all have garnered every ounce of love and respect I have to give. Thank you all so much for...

EDIT: Original review is written below.

My original rating of 5 stars was prior to being a member. The new review of three stars is a fair rating considering my mixed interaction with members. Members who are experienced climbers, more so than me (and I can climb an 11.b indoors ~10.c outdoors), have shown on four separate occasions that for them it is socially acceptable to break social distancing rules. On each of the four occasions members have climbed adjacent to me, sometimes within 20 inches of me even though there is tape on the ground marking not to climb on adjacent routes. This review is of the poor practice and selfish nature climbers seem to adhere to when the gym reaches near or at capacity. If you purchase a membership, please avoid busy times of 6-9 pm as members have continually shown willful ignorance and operate selfishly with their space. Interested in climbing and being safe? You can do better than Rocks & Ropes. Go to the Bloc and you will have a better climbing experience or go to Rock Solid Climbing & Fitness. Most of the climbers are nice at any of the climbing gyms here and unfortunately neither the selfish members nor the staff have fixed the issue I kept facing.

Regardless, stay safe everyone and climb on.

Original (July 2020) I wanted to share my affinity for the gym and request if possible, a ballpark estimate of when the...