Vertical Endeavors

I’ve been getting back into climbing after recovering from injuries I sustained when I was sideswiped by a beer truck on my bike last summer, and I find that climbing helps keep my back strong – and I enjoy it.
Unfortunately, this is the only choice in climbing gyms in the Twin Cities. If you’re over twelve, it’s pretty overpriced and underequipped compared to, as another reviewer says, other climbing gyms in other places. Other gyms in other cities offer some of the best yoga in their home cites and fully equipped, updated gyms (with crossfit classes available), along with luxurious locker room facilities with saunas for only about $ 75 per month. And there is so much more they could do to make the indoor climbing community more social. But ah… I forget: this is Minnesota. People are not social.
The auto belays are lame, especially if you’re climbing a long wall. You can’t stop and rest your hands and forearms or strategize your moves to get to the top.
What put me over the edge and inspired me to write this review is that while I was sharing this with one of the young guys at the front desk, he seemed inspired and curious about what I was saying. Then some other young dude came by and shot it all down, then implied I was old and not their target demographic anyway. Then the first guy got on board with the second one. When I said to the first one that the second one wasn’t very smart, he said «Oh, he knows more about climbing than I do.»
Kid, knowing something about one topic does not mean you’re intelligent. Being open-​minded, creative and open to possibilities does. I’ve worked in technology long enough to know that twenty-​something guys arrogantly assert they know everything — even when they don’t. It’s apparently the same in the climbing world. Sure, they’re pretty to look at, but narrow-​minded (like a bunch of old men) and not too bright.
I’ve spoken to many experienced climbers in the Twin Cities, and they also agree that VE is pretty lame. They all say they are going to open a competing gym. WHEN??? We need CHOICES here!

Recently had my son’s 7^th birthday party here. Staff was amazing with our busy bunch of boys! Kids loved every minute, party room was clean and the price was perfect. And, I’ll be back for some adult climbing for sure. Highly recommend!

Had my sons birthday party here and had a great time. The staff was really knowledgable, and taught the kids quite a bit about climbing. Definitely would recommend this to friends!

Not on par with gyms in other major cities like Planet Granite, Mesa Rim, Earth Treks, Stone Summit, etc. The B1 bouldering area has potential, but there could easily be 2 – 3 times as many routes set up there. The B2 area is nice. The weight room/​workout area could use some updating…

I am a Member at Vertical Endeavors, and due to this I have become a much better climber and a better person! Thanks to VE I have been able to give back to the amazing climbing community by volunteering for competitions and HopeKids® events.

I experienced this fun adventure… it was challenging, exciting and I will definitely go again! Talk about being super charged with a feeling of accomplishment. It was great!

I took my 11 year old son and his friends for his birthday party. I have nothing but good things to say about the experience.
Waiting for him at the front door was a sign that wished him a happy birthday. A small, but welcomed touch and I know it made him feel special. He was greeted warmly by the staff even though the place was PACKED that day. Apparently, there was a contest going on in Minneapolis and it was driving a lot of business to the Saint Paul location.
The guy who helped out my group was friendly and funny and gave my kid and his friends the best time possible. He helped them with the harnesses and gave them tips for the whole time they climbed. It was really great.
There are so many places and ways to climb it’s hard to put it all in one review. I’ll try to break it down by area.
Upstairs:
There is a bouldering area with springy floors. Not for climbing up, more for climbing sideways.
Main floor:
A mix of automated belay lines and normal belay lines with a huge range for all skill levels.
Bottom floor:
This is the scary area that I’m not ready for. You start in the basement, climb up the the main floor, and then climb across the ceiling. Looks like there are quite a few lines to follow down there too.
Party room:
Small. Clean. Maybe a little too clean as is smelled of bleach when we walked in. Better than the alternative, though.
Oh! And after the birthday party was over I was given a survey monkey to review the experience which I filled out. About two weeks later I was given a day of climbing as a thank you gift. Very cool.

Having had my fill of below zero weather, I was in search of some non conventional indoor exercise. Oh yeah, this is a mile from my house… and so I was there.
The staff did a nice job of getting me up to speed and showing me the ropes (har har har).
Love the auto belay so I can roll solo. Also really like that they have some cardio and free weights for warming up or just for some other exercise while you’re there.
I have a bit of a fear of heights so the first time dropping down on the auto belay was definitely gut checking. After that though, no sweat.
This is a great cross training workout or just something to break up the routine. Looking forward to visiting again and likely their other locations.

Nice facility. Love the hydraulic auto belay device. The walls were pretty short. That was the only drawback. But, things are nicely laid out for many people to enjoy without having a person belayer. Loved the floor as well.

The best place to climb during the winter months. The staff is awesome, and helpful. The route setters are awesome, and keep things challenging. They take excellent care of their equipment.

VERTICAL ENDEAVORS!!!
My home away from home.
VE is a wonderful place to go for a climb, regardless of your skill level! I recommend it to all of my friends, because it has such a diverse set of options for a night of climbing. They have a ton of auto belays for newbies or folks climbing alone. But even more roped or sports lead routes available.
If you like to climb this is your place!

On the way home from work, which is good. Locker room is small and strange, and you have to walk through the climbers to get to there. Great bouldering room though.

Brand new to Vertical Endeavors and already impressed. (I intend to climb at the MPS location but had to go to STP in order to pick up some new gear).
The staff and facility in STP is impressive to say the least.
From a facility perspective, their auto belay system is something I had never been exposed to before… Thanks to that system, any person (beginner or advanced) can climb alone and still get a fantastic workout.
In regards to their staff, Eric was wonderfully patient with me as I went through the timely process of picking out some new shoes and a new harness. If he is a representation of the quality of team members there, I am confident from a customer standpoint, I will always be pleased with their service.
I would strongly advise going their before the end of the September in order to take advantage of their annual membership sale…

Auto belay anyone? That’s a stellar system of ropes and machines they have going there. Love to curl your knuckles into funny shapes, yet don’t know where to turn? Then look no further, for I’ve found the cure for the comparatively boring act of typing and handshaking.
Staff tour and intro to climbing are provided and they’ll have you up in a matter of minutes. The bouldering room has some sweet climbs. Last when I was there a V1 had you circumnavigate one of the inner rooms. Challenging and exciting to see what my body is capable of in all climbing areas of the building.

local climbing gym inside city limits, with an annual membership that beats any big-​box gym?
get outta town!
(thats pretty much what anyone who wants something better than this does — move to colorado or somesuch crazy mount’n man talk)
sometimes gets swamped with the kinderfolk for birthdays and whatnot, and if you are so inclined — that should be a good deal?
They have a sister-​site in Minneapolis for the cooler-​looking stuff.
go up!

We had a team outing here and we had a conference room for a few hours to discuss how we were going to tackle the next few years at Target HQ. Our team is pretty cool, so the team exercises helped us prove that we were pretty cohesive and were looking out for Target’s well being. Our team does the the reporting for the stores that says how they are doing operationally, and from what I saw at this visit, everyone is on the same page.
Our instructor said that we seemed like a real good team, from the two two team exercises we did. The instructors were awesome and patient with everyone.
We had a 2 hour session, but an hour of climbing between the exceptional team exercises was perfect. You really get tired after a few times up the wall.
I tried getting up the full wall but I have an extreme fear of heights, but after awhile I learned to trust the harness and the rope.
It really is a workout and a lot of people on our team had a great time reaching the top of the walls. After a few tries, I learned to trust the harness, but being a big guy, I started sweating and my hands slipped off the higher level handles.
I can’t say enough about the staff though, they were awesome. They worked in team corporate level management to the group, although I am sure they deal with a lot of high school kids.
It was fun seeing the high level rock climbers express their skills climbing above us on the ceiling, and they were in really good shape. They have tons of walls you can climb, and if you like boulder climbing, they even have that. Our trainer said he was 52 years old, but looked like he was a 30 year old, so I am guessing this is a good workout for health people. They made everything perfect for our outing. Even for nerds.
Overall a class act operation, and a good team level training session.

I don’t really have much to compare to, but I love VE & can’t wait for the new VE to open in Minneapolis. I started climbing about a year ago & have been outdoors only once & this is the only climbing gym I have been to & I love it.
Their routes change frequently enough & their staff are extremely friendly & helpful for first-​timers or frequent flyers. VE offers annual memberships & punch cards for discounted climbing deals — a great plus. They also feature a small selection of climbing shoes, harnesses, & gear. There is a small «gym» & bouldering cave upstairs, options for lead climbing, climbing competitions every so often, & auto-​belays if you are climbing by yourself.
There is also a climbing club for kids which is pretty neat. Kids are great climbers & what a fun activity for them to enjoy.
All in all, VE is a great place for people of all ages & experience. Check it out! :)

I came here for the discounted Friday’s Ladies Night (half off) and was thrown in for a loop. I’m used to climbing indoors at some Bay Area (California) gyms like Mission Cliffs and Ironworks and I must say… I’ve been spoiled. Vertical Endeavors does have its perks though!
Here’s what’s cool:
— Automatic belaying device with sensors and everything!
— Cool tire chips make up the entire floor
— REAL rock wall on the far corner of the gym
— A cool kid area for the itty bitty ones to play while their babysitter works out
— Competent and helpful staff
Here’s what bugs/​scares me:
— Belaying safety: You get to belay if you DO NOT have that purple wrist band. If I tear mine off, does that mean that I suddenly know how? And why won’t you teach it? Isn’t it better to teach people how to climb and belay safely instead of enabling people to risk and attempt to do so without proper knowledge?
— They charge you $$$ to borrow an ATC and carabiner. Seems like they really do not want people to belay.
This place has its perks. But once the novelty of the automatic belaying system wears off, I’ll head back to the Bay.
OH! The routes are ridiculously hard to follow. Unless you want me to dyno my way up the flat wall label and put up more holds!

So I love climbing and I hadn’t been climbing for a while basically because I had none to go with, but I recently discovered that one of my friends is in the exact same situation so we teamed up, enlisted a third friend that never climbed before and went to Vertical Endeavors.
Now the thing is expensive if you do the day pass and you have to rent gear as well, but with the punch card and the gear it becomes more than manageable, almost cheap, cheaper than the gym. And climbing is good exercise! You need upper body strength and iron abs for overhanging routes, butt and lower body strength to go from a squatting position (usually with only one leg on a solid hold and your arms somewhere is either a cross position or up far over your head) to a standing position, and you need to be a quick thinker to plan the best next step. I mean when I get to the top I am usually sweaty and tired, and the day after there is always some muscle, that I didn’t know existed hurting. You might wonder why I do it, and the answer is because it is actually fun!
Anyway a part from the «loving climbing» part you might wander how the place actually is. There are a decent number of routes, actually there are a lot of routes, ranging from 5.6 to 5.11 d and possibly more in the expert area I did not dare to venture in because I am not even able to think about doing a roof, let alone try it. There is a pretty big bouldering area, even if I think their strong point is the walls. There are also treadmills, bikes and steppers, and I think free weights for warming up or general exercise.
Of you can use auto-​belay, which allows you to go alone and have some fun anyway, you can go with a friend and top rope on various routes or you can lead climb. For every part you have to pass an (easy) test to show you can auto belay — top rope or lead climb.
One of the bad things is that there is basically no changing room. you can change in the bathrooms, but is not great. I’d suggest you come already wearing your climbing clothes. Also you have to bring your lock for lockers.
The other is that it can get a bit crowded, but there are usually enough routes for everyone.
Anyway, great place! Good for beginners and experts alike. Should come for exercising or for fun or possibly for both!

I wouldn’t recommend for a child’s b-​day party. It was kind of like survival of the fittest. I thought we would have our own rock, or at least our own area. i mean after all, we are paying more to climb… It is ok for maybe b-​day parties for children over 14 or 15, but for a ten and eleven year old, complete chaos.
We were mixed in with just the everyday climbers, they didn’t understand why they couldn’t climb when they wanted to, 20something year olds were everywhere, and just butting in front and saying our turn… Which isn’t their fault – they paid to be there too, but i think for a birthday party, especially for kids that young – they should reserve an area for them to climb.

Some went to senior prom, others, rock climbing.
(And yes, by «others» I am referring to myself. Seriously, I was so over the perma-​smile!)
I ended up getting more of a workout learning to rock climb than I would have on the dance floor too because, holy crap, it’s so much harder than it looks! Vertical Endeavors is a great place though — the instructors give newbies a tutorial and it’s one of those rare activities that the whole family can do. I suggest you give it a whirl.

I saw cute boys here and my guy friend said he saw cute girls so there’s something for everyone here!
Being a newbie, I had the privilege of going thru their orientation which ended up being very informative! The staff are very friendly and didn’t rush thru anything.
I mainly stuck to the auto belay courses and there are quite a few to choose from :-) My friend is pretty much an «expert» climber so I tried a couple of their regular courses too.
This place is huge! It’s pretty much the place to come if you want to do some decent indoor rock climbing in MN.