RISE Fitness + Adventure — Local services in Rehoboth Beach

This review is from the perspective of a climber not a lifter. I also only bouldered while I was there.

The wall is about what you'd expect, varying amounts of overhang but no roof. Can't really expect a cave in a climbing spot that's secondary to a more traditional work out space. The mat was fine, only a few spots where it was pulling up extra cover near the wall which tends to happen at almost every gym. The walls were in suspiciously good shape, more on that in a moment. Just a quick mention that all of the roped climbing is on auto belay so there isn't any lead climbing here.

As far as the setting goes, I wouldn't say it quite hits the mark of the v0 to v10 mentioned on the website. I sent everything on the bouldering wall in a couple hours and don't think anything clocked in higher than maybe v6. Not that big of a deal, only coming for a day pass while on vacation anyway. The biggest issues with the climbing wall is that I could count on one hand the number of holds that had set screws in them. I understand not wanting to put holes in your wall with set screws, but I spun two holds during my visit. In their defense, the people at the front desk were more than willing to give me a hex key so I could tighten things up for them which doesn't bother me at all. The other issue is that the starts are not denoted in any way so I took the approach of starting as low as I could without some weird bat hang. I'm totally down for not having a rating system but letting people know what the intended start is might be nice. The setting style feels like it all comes from the same person, maybe two, which makes sense. The reason for that is the wall is reset twice a year by a couple people from Colorado. Finding short person beta might prove difficult on some boulders. I would say, and maybe this is by design given the location and intention of the wall, that it's a technique-light set. After climbing every boulder I don't recall using a single heel hook, toe hook, or having sequence much more involved than left/right/left/etc...

To make it a little more succinct, they could really makes some quality of life changes and have a decent climbing spot. If you are already a member at the gym it would be a fun intro to climbing but depending on how hard you climb, your mileage will definitely vary. If they could wrangle a few local climbers in to help they could have a nice local climbing gym but as it stands it's a fun sideshow to the main facility. Maybe the top rope wall is different, but from what I could see from the bouldering area it's pretty much the same deal. Inconsistent sets, maybe limited by hold selection, and definitely not enough set screws (less dangerous there than on the bouldering wall I suppose).

For what it's worth, the main training area was immaculate and equipment was in great shape. Never once did I see anybody waiting for a machine or even feel remotely cramped. The bathroom was clean and everybody was super friendly. I would absolutely train here if I needed a place to lift but would venture further to find a home climbing gym.

Edit after the owner's response: Alright, I have to give some ground to the owner here. I set at my home gym and until we had a serious sit down with our setters (who are almost all volunteers like the owner alluded to being open to) we could miss set screws on important holds or entire boulders sometimes. Not only does the owner of this facility care enough to explain their process to a random day pass climber but they did it in a timely manner. I feel confident given their response that the majority (I support ditching grades but ditching start markings, why?) of the issues I mentioned will be addressed. Quite frankly, after hearing the response I wish I was in town more to try and help them foster a home grown climbing community in Delaware. I can tell this place is truly a labor of love for you guys and I wish you all the best.

In the effort of transparency, I amended part of my comment on my setting to something that may prove more...

TL;DR - Yesterday my car keys were stolen from Rise and the management team refuses to be helpful.

Yesterday around 6:30 pm my car keys were stolen from a locker. Once the front desk was alerted they were helpful in assisting me for looking for my keys incase they just got misplaced. It was late so I was informed they would check the security cameras and call me. I went home and called them back an hour later when I was informed the manager, who was home, would not be checking tonight in spite of the fact that she is able to check remotely. After getting a ride back and looking again for more than an hour the manager “claimed” to check. Because there was no resolution the police had to be called to file a report incase my car was stolen later that night.

Fast forward the next day I come in and I am told that, “the manager see’s you walk in but doesn’t see you in the area you claimed to be in.” I responded by showing them where I went and informed them of what I was wearing during my workout. To which they said, “Oh im glad you told us what you were wearing because we didn’t know.”

Wouldn’t the manager know what I was wearing if they had checked the cameras twice as they had claimed?

While the front desk staff are very helpful and sympathetic. Due to these circumstances I am left feeling like the management team doesn’t want to help. Doesn’t want to help me find my keys or help find the person responsible that frequents this gym. The reason? I am not sure

I hope the theft of my car keys was accidental but due to the lack of empathy and concern from the RISE management team I fear I will never know.

Reply: My experience is that I have had zero communication from the rise management team, not a miscommunication. I had to come in and explain where I was because I was being told, “the manager doesn’t see you.” But I was only told that once I came in. And not once has anyone reached out to me to say they were having trouble locating me. Similarly, I had to leave a 1 star review in order to get someone to inform me that there was any update in the matter. My question is why was I never reached out to when there were questions or when there was updates?

These are two specific examples of how the rise management team has, in my eyes, failed to act in a professional manner.

If you would like to ask me questions or reach out to me with updates in the future that would be greatly appreciated. As I have given my contact info twice, that should not...

Climbers Perspective:

First and foremost: The gym is amazing. It has a wonderful atmosphere of an upscale gym, with very nice faculties and equipment. It felt lively with many people there and a nice open space plan with an elevated area. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could still climb on a beach vacation which is a rarity in my opinion.

Ropes: This gym succeeded in providing an atmosphere that was pleasant to climb ropes. Although the grades are very soft, there was enough variation in holds and grade difficulty that I was able to have a fun time on the walls, and I would definitely recommend to other climbers.

Bouldering: Here's where I would argue there is much room for improvement. The routes starts are not marked or graded which quite frankly isn't the best for climbers. It made the wall feel convoluted and messy even though it "looked" cleaner without tape to mark difficulty or starts. I would also argue that it helps with progression to know what level you climb at and allows you to be more focused in your growth as a climber. In addition the hardest problem that was present would probably have a grade of a V6 and the majority of the wall had much lower grades. Nothing presented a challenge but I don't necessarily mind this given that I was only in town visiting. However, the bouldering routes are very bland. The type of setting is consistent but there is no creativity and fun problems that you can solve in unique ways. I don't recall any heel hooks and the most I had to do was a dropknee. The variety of holds seems lacking for bouldering contrary to the ropes section, and it would be nice to see some large holds in the bouldering area of the gym.

Overall: I had a GREAT time and I was so happy to climb on vacation. However, boulder grades are a must and will greatly increase appeal for bouldering. I understand that the bouldering wall will not look as clean with tape but it would greatly improve useability for any climbers. In addition try to have a setter that can set a variety of boulder problems so the wall is less bland.

Edit: After reading the owners review I will add a star to my review. I totally must have missed the bouldering grade chart (I actually agree with color ranges a lot which is good to see it present). Even more understandable is the setting as I'm sure the climbing community is smaller there compared to out west and in...