Armadillo Boulders - Downtown SA — Local services in San Antonio

Their staff, atmosphere, facilities, and prices are all fantastic so they've got some great foundations. For that I am giving them 5 stars but I think the setting has a ways to improve. Details below, mostly for the managers to see. General public can stop reading now.

-equitability between body sizes is clearly not a goal in their setting. I would highly encourage them to re-evaluate this part of their setting. As a taller person there were multiple occasions where vastly easier beta was unlocked simply due to height. I understand having different betas at different heights but they should more or less be the same difficulty. -waaaay too many routes with downpulling holds everywhere. It seems like most routes below V4 were simply ladders of varying difficulty. Once things hit V5 it gets a lot better as most routes had at least one or two nonstandard movements/ideas in them, but I still found that ladder type movement everywhere, especially near the tops of routes (maybe due to safety concerns). The prevalence of positive, downpulling holds only contributes to taller climbers finding breaks and skips, even if they have to huck a little bit they aren't paying their fair share of body dollars that a smaller climber who is forced to do a sequence has to pay. I ran into several annoying rock blocks where wrists, knees, and elbows knocked against larger holds that were placed way too close to the route I was on. This is usually a symptom of setters not communicating enough or not double checking movement on their own routes when other routes around them get changed. -whenever there was an arrangement of larger volumes, I would see the v2,v3,v4,v5,and v6 all basically do the same type of movement on these volumes with varying difficulty. Only when it hit v7 would the line and movement be shaken up. -the easier routes need to teach body positions much more. It seemed like the setting would fall back on laddery movement to keep the difficulty under control, where it should try and push movement and fall back on good holds. Less fluff! Every problem is asking a question that the climber must answer! Even at the lower grades. -the density could be lightened up a little bit. Would love to see 20% less routes but of higher quality and more interesting movement. Especially with the rainbow wall, the need for very easy jug ladders is minimal. You only need a few, then get the new climbers hooked on real climbing moves. And lower density means more time, energy, space, and hold resources for setting those killer cool moves...

Been here a few times and it’s nice SA finally has a decent sized, leaning on smaller gym. to start, the staff is friendly and quick with service. the gym has a good variety of routes, from some under-hangs, to angled, multi wall, etc. I will say, most of the walls are pretty slanted (nothing wrong with that, just an observation) and they do a great job at fitting a ton of routes in the space they do have, so there’s lots from beginners, up to experts (yes they have V7-11’s). I have been to other gyms and most of the setters at this gym make pretty difficult runs, as I would say even some of the ones borderline could be a grade up (ex. a V3 that could be a light V4). they also have a moonboard and a space dedicated to hang boards to train. there is also a gym but i did not see or use it. The community is great here, as people are friendly and just want to help others out. my only complaint is that this place uses free liquid chalk, rather than renting out chalk bags (hey it’s nice it’s free but i am not a fan of it, maybe you are) so i recommend bringing your own chalk if you are like me. there are also lockers but you have to bring your own locks if you want that. the price is pretty fair and standard ($18 for a adult day pass, not including shoes). oh lastly, the gym has limited parking but right across the street is a huge free lot, so you should have no trouble if you drive. i would come back...

I just learned, if not re-learned, today that, “bouldering is a form of rock climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls, known as boulders, without the use of ropes or harnesses” (Wikipedia), but it’s more than that. It’s a skill, an art, a way of life, zen if you will, where anyone can come meet the best part of themselves, or be re-introduced; that’s right, the best part of yourself that will come back to you like a faint childhood memory. When you enter you will see a wonderful escape of pure amazement and strength, a place where if you’re courageous, or even just curious, enough to climb to new hights and meet a side of yourself you haven’t nurtured since childhood. Which is why I now know my son took to it so well. Today was his birthday and he was the happiest I have ever seen it. Thanks to Armadillo Boulders I can take him to a place where he can further test his might and hone his skill. Likewise, we celebrated his birthday here where he played with all his friends and introduced them to the world he has fallen in love with. So thank you Armadillo Boulders for being a beacon of hope, strength, and discovery to all those looking to meet the best part of themselves, and share this happiness with their family and...