Advice on gyms in the South Bay

I'm interning in Palo Alto for two months this summer, and looking for a gym to climb at during the week! It seems like my options are Planet Granite in either Belmont or Sunnyvale, or Stanford's gym. I'll most likely be working 9-5 and will be relying on public transport, so commute time is a decent factor. From what I can gather it seems like PG Sunnyvale is the way to go, but the ~1 hour commute has me strongly considering Stanford. On the other hand, Stanford's gym doesn't open for another week and I'm not sure how active it is over the summer. I don't want to be stuck without partners or a community! If someone could shed some light on this for me I'd appreciate it, thanks!

I can't speak to the Stanford gym, but PG is really nice especially if you have any interest in crack climbing.  I've never had much trouble finding people to climb with at PG; unfortunately the the commute without a car will be a pain (not that having a car would improve things much due to traffic).  I'd recommend getting a bike; that will help you all summer.

Nick Adeyi wrote: I'm interning in Palo Alto for two months this summer, and looking for a gym to climb at during the week! It seems like my options are Planet Granite in either Belmont or Sunnyvale, or Stanford's gym. I'll most likely be working 9-5 and will be relying on public transport, so commute time is a decent factor. From what I can gather it seems like PG Sunnyvale is the way to go, but the ~1 hour commute has me strongly considering Stanford. On the other hand, Stanford's gym doesn't open for another week and I'm not sure how active it is over the summer. I don't want to be stuck without partners or a community! If someone could shed some light on this for me I'd appreciate it, thanks!

stanford gym route setting? eh, harder usually means smaller and/or more distant holds but the gyms (2!) are super nice. The roped climbing isnt extensive. Summer hours are shit.

PG route setting is ok, not great, all the PG gyms are super nice though. I havent been to the new touchstone gym in San Jose (I think thats the city its in) but I imagine since its new its also nice. Touchstone routesetting is comparable in quality to PG. Both are soft as hell for ratings (usually, sometimes theres a reasonably rated one snuck in)

rafael wrote:

stanford gym route setting? eh, harder usually means smaller and/or more distant holds but the gyms (2!) are super nice. The roped climbing isnt extensive. Summer hours are shit.

PG route setting is ok, not great, all the PG gyms are super nice though. I havent been to the new touchstone gym in San Jose (I think thats the city its in) but I imagine since its new its also nice. Touchstone routesetting is comparable in quality to PG. Both are soft as hell for ratings (usually, sometimes theres a reasonably rated one snuck in)

If rafael is talking about the studio touchstone gym, then it’s pretty nice, but smaller than PG Sunnyvale (especially when it comes to bouldering and gym equipment). The routes are definitely soft at both gyms. I’m also starting an internship in a few weeks so if you’re looking for a late evening partner at PG, let me know!

Thanks for the advice, guys! I'm going to check out PG Sunnyvale this afternoon. Based on your replies, I may just accept commute-especially if Stanford's roped climbing isn't too extensive. Rafael, could you elaborate on that at all? I would just go check it out myself but it's closed for the next week.

I once called Uber (maybe Uber Pool) for a partner whose bicycle broke down on his way to PGSV (from Palo Alto), and the fare (to get him and his bike down) was $12.  It was fast. I have no doubt that PGSV has more routes than any other gym around South Bay. Unless you climb 5.14 and above, there will for sure be routes that can challenge you. 

Nick Adeyi wrote: Thanks for the advice, guys! I'm going to check out PG Sunnyvale this afternoon. Based on your replies, I may just accept commute-especially if Stanford's roped climbing isn't too extensive. Rafael, could you elaborate on that at all? I would just go check it out myself but it's closed for the next week.

I'm sure you could find the square footage somewhere, and its significantly less than the commercial gyms in the area. beyond that I dunno, I dont count the routes at the gyms I go to

I actually think Stanford’s 2 gyms have more bouldering square footage than PG Sunnyvale, but it’s hard to tell. The bouldering-only gym (ACSR) has long hours (6am - 10pm), never any crowds, and they just got a Tension Board. If you’re into semi-masochistic training with a hangboard or bouldering, I think ACSR is pretty good.