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How much is too much for your climbing gym?

ErikaNW · · Golden, CO · Joined Sep 2010 · Points: 410
Justin B wrote:

I meant per person. 

Ah - makes sense! Too bad.... :)

Buck Rogers · · USAF Academy, CO · Joined Nov 2018 · Points: 240

I wonder how the Olympics will influence the costs over the next two years?

Drive it up b/c they know the interest will be there or lower it/stay the same b/c more people will be interested in coming in.

Parker Wrozek · · Denver, CO · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 86

$79 for access to both ETs is worth it to me. Great setting at Golden, great lead training wall at Englewood (long and steep!).  Plus my insurance gives me $20 if I go 8 times a month.  Also I appreciate that they did a 3 month $0 freeze after a broke my collar bone, I thought I was going to be paying $10.  I really enjoy the atmosphere and people in Golden. I like that it allows me to cruise easy trad on the weekends and keep strong for sport climbing trips.

What is interesting about prices going up is how has planet fitness be $10/mo after 10 years? No increase at all. It makes no sense to me. Denver 1 bedroom rent went up 79% in the last decade by comparison.

Evan Jeffrey · · Kansas City, MO · Joined Nov 2017 · Points: 75

Mine's $75/month for access to both locations and they have pretty good route rotation so I don't really mind paying that much. Only thing I'd complain about is that they don't have any sort of family/couple plans or anything.

Tradiban · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2004 · Points: 11,610

Lol, it's close to $100/month for one person here in SoCal. Nice gyms though.

Anyone quit their gym recently because of price increase?

Fehim Hasecic · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 215
ErikaNW wrote:

That must be per person unless you have some kind of special discount or a billing error. That’s the single person student rate - we pay $122 for a couple and have the discount from being long-time members. 

ET is worth the cost to me. They have great yoga classes which would cost $15-20 for a drop in at a yoga studio. Even if I’m not climbing indoors, I use the yoga and it’s worth the cost. We get 12 guest passes/year. The setting is good and they rotate on a decent schedule. My only complaint is the crowds. It just seems to get busier all the time. 

This is what I don’t understand, why people pay this much for something you could do at home? So many yogis on YouTube you could follow.

62$ a month at BRC with AAC membership, you can freeze it any time, no cost to freeze or sign up. I think it’s worth it through the winter months, it keeps me in fighting shape.
J P · · Portland, OR · Joined Jan 2016 · Points: 465

Thankful for all the perspective in this thread. I’m not going to complain about anything in my gym now, considering I pay $400 for the year. 

Nathan G wrote: The Front in Ogden/SLC is $75/mo for individuals or $119/mo for couples. After a year my wife and I decided the cost is too much. If it's nice in the spring/summer/fall we climb outside anyway. In the winter we ski. I do miss climbing in the winter, but considering that I can keep myself busy with skiing, it's not a huge problem. My wife just signed up for a $20/mo membership to Vasa Fitness so she can do group classes. The $20 membership made me realize how outrageous climbing gyms have gotten. 

Are you back country skiing? Because $60 each for a gym you can go to after sunset doesn’t sound bad when you consider there aren’t too many mountains with lift passes under $60 a day. 

Parker Wrozek wrote:
What is interesting about prices going up is how has planet fitness be $10/mo after 10 years? No increase at all. It makes no sense to me. Denver 1 bedroom rent went up 79% in the last decade by comparison.
I’ve always heard their model is based on aspirational customers. By signing you up for a contract at such a low price, you don’t feel the pressure of the sunk cost fallacy so much - so you’re not likely to cancel your membership, and they continue to collect your money. And because we are talking about your health, you can justify the $10 in your mind by saying “hey, next month I’m on it! This gym membership is good to have even if I don’t use it as much as I hoped.” 
I mean we are talking about a gym known for giving out candy and pizza to its customers. They want you hooked on being complacent. 
Lena chita · · OH · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 1,667

This thread made me realize that I don't actually know how much the local gyms cost for monthly memberships. I set routes, so I have free climbing at couple gyms, and get punch cards for pre-paid multi-visit discount to some gyms that I visit regularly, but only occasionally, bc of the distance, etc.

So I looked them up, and determined that the monthly memberships range from $55 to $85 for individual, and $80-129/mo for couple around here.   We pay $12.5-$14.9/visit using prepaid punchcards, when we use them.

I end up spending ~$65-90/month during indoor climbing season with my combination of free climbing and punchcards, on par with a monthly membership at the more expensive gym, and definitely more per month than the monthly couples membership would be for my husband and myself together... but it gives us the flexibility to go to half a dozen gyms, and it comes with no hassle of setup fees, bullshit rules about suspending the membership, etc.  Right now we want this flexibility and are willing to pay for it, because there is no gym closer than 45-50 min to us that we would be wiling to pick as our primary gym. But there is one coming soon, and I'm feeling cautiously optimistic... This was a good exercise for me to go over the numbers.

khoa · · Tacomarado · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 53

wow these prices are crazy. ive only been paying 80/year for my pass since i started climbing and it's accepted in all 50 states

Robert S · · Driftwood, TX · Joined Sep 2018 · Points: 654
Tim Stich wrote: It's funny, but even bouldering gyms are not cheap these days. I have one a block from my apartment and it's $13 for a day pass. I just can't get that interested in bouldering to pay that. But I have to do something. The performance hit for not doing gym is severe over the years. I can barely do routes I used to have wired now. Ha ha. It's pathetic.

I assume you know of ABP in Austin. Monthly memberships are going up to as much as $99. Some thought I was an ass for suggesting it was a ripoff to spend that much on a place with no ropes. It's actually more expensive than the popular gym that does have ropes.

Edited to correct a bad grammatical error.
Eric Carlos · · Soddy Daisy, TN · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 121

I remember being a part of GVC and around the time rates went up, they gave you the benefit of having more time to work your proj.......sometimes upwards of 6 months, but 3-4 was the minimum.  

Tapawingo Markey · · Reno? · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 75

Currently paying $74 for Mesa Rim Reno, which with how packed it gets during the times I can make it I question whether it's worth it. Thinking about switching to the local bouldering gym which is $45/mo.

Edit: Kids under 11 are free at Mesa Rim which is nice for families though.

J P · · Portland, OR · Joined Jan 2016 · Points: 465
Robert S wrote:

I assume you know of ABP in Austin. Monthly memberships are going up to as much as $99. Some thought I was an ass for suggesting it was a ripoff to spend that much on a pace with more ropes. It's actually more expensive than the popular gym that does have ropes.


ABP is also crowded as fuck compared to the $70/month days. Wouldn’t be surprised if the increase is planned to drop attendance but keep revenue up. 

Kaner · · Eagle · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 2,280

Eagle Climbing + Fitness is the newest gym in the country (maybe still? opened in November, probably not).  Brand new, climbing specific gym.  Weight room and fitness class schedule (yoga, HIIT, etc.) included, $79/mo I think, could have been a New Years deal.  $175/10 punch card.  Sweet gym.

Sam D · · CA · Joined Apr 2017 · Points: 150

My frequent gym is only bouldering.  It's $68 a month or $57 for students.  Even if it went up to $100 a month I'd still fork it over without hesitation... It's just a really good gym.  I'd say the upper upper limit of my tolerance would be somewhere around 200-250 a month.  That'd be outrageous and I'd have to cancel my membership and save up to build a Moonboard or some other training setup.

j sittler · · Carbondale, CO · Joined Oct 2013 · Points: 0

$100/month or $270/ 3 months in Carbondale, CO...for bouldering only, no weights, etc. But everyone is so excited to finally have a gym (previous closest was 1.5hours to Grand Junction) so its always packed. At least with those prices I can now be both a dumpster-diving dirtbag and a gym climber!

master gumby · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2016 · Points: 262
Tradiban wrote: Lol, it's close to $100/month for one person here in SoCal. Nice gyms though.

Anyone quit their gym recently because of price increase?

Didn't cancel my membership, instead I sold my rack and all my climbing gear so i could keep pulling on plastic.

Nawamean?!
Eric Carlos · · Soddy Daisy, TN · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 121
j sittler wrote: $100/month or $270/ 3 months in Carbondale, CO...for bouldering only, no weights, etc. But everyone is so excited to finally have a gym (previous closest was 1.5hours to Grand Junction) so its always packed. At least with those prices I can now be both a dumpster-diving dirtbag and a gym climber!

Yeah and about that GJ gym.........

mkclimb · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 416

$75/month where I'm at. 

Gail Blauer · · Gardiner, NY · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 1,051

$66.66 per month for access to all Gravity Vault gyms.  

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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