Climb Nashville West — Local services in Nashville-Davidson

My wife and I have been members for 7 years now, with a 1 year hiatus while we were out west. Generally speaking the gyms are decent, but there has been a very noticeable decline in overall quality in recent years. The somewhat recent addition of the more modern Murfreesboro and Kraft gyms has been nice. When we initially became members, costs were reasonable, staff friendly (and generally retained), setting was good with quality holds and it was not overly crowded. I have sadly seen all of these aspects deteriorate however.

Membership costs have become completely unreasonable. At $90 plus taxes, plus an absolutely ridiculous money grab initiation fee of another $90, I had to seriously think twice about even re-initiating my membership when we returned from out of town last fall. I contacted Climb and asked if I could at least get the initiation fee waived, as we had been continuous members from 2017-2022, including donating fees for months through the Covid closures. The answer was an immediate, resounding no, without even acknowledgement of anything in my request. We waited until the January sale to start our membership to avoid the fee, while being lucky enough to have plenty friends with guest passes in the remaining months of '23. Today I requested to add my brother who lives with us to join our family membership, which I have been told by at least 3 different staff members would not be a problem. Apparently a "family membership" actually means 2 adults and dependent children only, thus requiring an additional 90+90 fee for him, resulting in $275/mo for us not including fees. We will just use our guest passes.

It would be really nice if staff retention could be a little higher, perhaps something about minimum wage pay... Having a completely new set of faces every few months is unfortunate. Generally speaking, I have had more rude/unfriendly/unpleasant interactions with staff members than positive (except Chase, give that man a raise). A more stable and motivated team would undoubtedly contribute to a more positive atmosphere.

Recently there seems to be a heavy push towards "aesthetic" looking climbs; routes with volumes and colors that coordinate or make patterns, or interesting shapes. Perhaps this is to attract new members, or entertain children, but a focus on quality climbing movement instead of how to make all the red and purple rectangles overlap nicely would be much appreciated. Additionally, having a dyno finish on half or more of the lead climbs is unpleasant at best. Also please clean the holds, many many of them are dirty and greasy.

Lastly, the gym is basically unusable between the hours of 6-8pm. Though this is obviously not easy to fix, there is insufficient parking and severe overcrowding at west. Staying open until 11pm would be a good start.

Overall it is really too bad that the monopolization of climbing in Nashville is leading to a drastic reduction in quality. What once was a friendly local gym is now a chain that seems more focused on profits than the well-being and satisfaction of its long time members. It's disheartening to see a lack of flexibility or recognition for loyal, long-term members.

[EDIT:] After speaking to the GM at Kraft (who was very understanding and friendly), the family membership issues have...

I've been a member of this gym for over 3 years now and the gym has gotten progressively dirtier, more unsafe, and generally worse overall. It's been so frustrating because there are a lot of people in the community that care and have given feedback. And there are staff who deeply care. However, actions for years show the owners don't care about the climbing community or paying members at all and are simply in it for the profits this gym makes. If there was a competitor gym closer to me, I would cancel my membership in a heartbeat.

They pay the staff terribly ($10/hr), which leads to poor retention and badly trained staff who don't monitor safety or care. I've had staff members step on or under my rope while lead belaying and give me and other people grief for asking the super loud music to be turned down so I could actually communicate with my climber among sooo many other examples. There are definitely awesome staff who care, but it's not the majority.

Another example is the fact that the gym has turned into a daycare over the last couple of years, which has significantly contributed to safety issues. They recently started allowing children of all ages at the bouldering gyms despite repeated and consistent feedback from members disliking what a free for all the gyms already were for kids. We've been asking for some regulation and fairness for other paying members, but nothing has changed. They simply don't care in disguise of a "welcoming and inclusive community" aka more profits and they covered their tracks with "insurance" and "waivers". Now there are literal toddlers at the previously all/mostly adult bouldering gyms during peak hours. Do average parents watch them and teach them proper climbing etiquette? No. Do the staff? No. So it's just a disaster waiting to happen.

The holds are NEVER cleaned between settings. The bathroom showers and workout area are unsanitary. I had to tell a staff member that one of their shower curtains was completely covered in black mold, which would have been very easily noticed if they cleaned regularly. There are dried blood spots on the walls that have been there for years at this point. I've never seen anyone deep clean anything here and it shows. The walls used to be more grey than brown, but not anymore. There are not enough air filters either, so when the gym is crowded it is hazy with chalk.

Sadly, for close to $100 a month this gym is not worth it and it's been such a bummer to see the experience degrade over the years. The amenities are subpar compared to competitors in the region and across the country. All this is really sad considering how many awesome people come to this gym, work at this gym, and care, but since the owners don't this gym continues to degrade in value and community. Special shout out to the amazing setters that work here and keep making me come back.

If the owners are open to feedback and make changes to improve the situation, I think the gyms would be a lot more successful and a happier place to be overall. I really hope that happens, but I am not getting...

TLDR the Climb gym in Murfreesboro is excellent (if you’re down for the drive) while The Crag is a closer and better option than this gym.

A couple problems with this gym. Overall, when the gym gets busy (which is fairly often), it becomes borderline unsafe and just uncomfortable. The routes for top rope cross with nearby routes too often and it creates problems when people don’t want to wait and force you to let them pass mid working on a project.

I also understand climbing is fun and social but the main top rope area is like an alcove without much space. People will sit around the area which crowds up the space for belayers and creates an unsafe environment for people climbing.

The bouldering is decent with a second smaller section up stairs. But my problem with this is the severely unmonitored kids that run across the mat. I’ve been to several gyms and this is either a problem or it’s not depending on the gym culture but it’s worth noting.

One of the saddest parts about the gym is that the largest section of the gym is solely reserved for lead climbing. A few of those routes are only lead climbable sure but about 75% of them can be done with top rope. I would agree with this IF they didn’t allow lead in the rest of the gym but that’s not the case. So the largest open area in the gym is not accessible for the vast majority of climbers AND lead climbing will still take up some of the few routes available.

Originally the prices were not too bad and if you are an avid climber and own your own gear you could save a good chunk of money bringing down the cost for a day pass. Unfortunately, they now raised their day pass prices and gear is included; which sounds great on paper but it’s not inclusive to people who climb more often then a birthday party or friends weekend day. Paying the same as someone who has to rent gear is borderline a scam to those who invest in the sport and is not a good business practice.

Finally, the staff are friendly but they aren’t in comparison to most other climbing gyms outside of the “Climb” company. The Crag for example is incredibly welcoming and brings a more “apart of the family” vibe than just people who work there.

If you can make it to The Crag I’d highly suggest just going there. Better prices, people, and routes. If you are down to drive to Murfreesboro, go to the Climb gym out there. The gym is more spacious, better layout, A LOT of bouldering and the routes are no where near...