FAQs

Founded in Pittsburgh, PA, ASCEND's mission is to foster an equitable, holistic, community-based, climbing, fitness, and yoga experience. We prioritize accessibility and think that movers of all types have a place in our community. We believe that climbing and an active and social lifestyle can truly be life changing.

Each ASCEND facility carries its own regular hours of operation, which may be found on the specific location pages. Please see below for known upcoming closures, and as always, refer to our Google Business pages the most up-to-date hours of operation.

Absolutely not! First-timers and experienced climbers coexist and learn from each other. Bouldering - which is one form of climbing we offer - has no pre-reqs and you can be climbing within minutes of arrival. For those looking to climb on taller walls, we have classes designed to teach you rope skills and climbing movement, and we also have plenty of auto-belays, which allow for quicker access to climbing. Our team will get you situated and climbing right away!

Athletic clothing is advised that allows for non-restrictive movement, but many climbers wear jeans! Really, you just want to feel comfortable, so go with your gut and wear what makes you happy.

The auto-belay is a device that slowly lowers the climber to the ground in the event of a fall. Auto-belays allow individuals who have not been through a belay check-off the opportunity to climb the rope walls in the facility. They are also a great option for climbers who are visiting the facility without a partner. No experience is necessary, but a brief tutorial is required to use the auto-belay.

We have multiple locations in the Pittsburgh and Erie areas. Learn more about each, including addresses, hours, parking, and so much more by visiting our location page.

As part of our commitment to make your visits totally hassle-free, we offer free, on-site parking at all of our locations. No fighting for a space on the streets! Just park out front and come on in. Also, we encourage you to take the bus or ride your bike! We have bike parking inside and out.

Absolutely! Head over to our Membership Management page to get started.

Each facility's terrain varies. Get all the details at our location page.

YES, everyone who enters an ASCEND climbing facility needs to do this, but only once every two years. Thank you for understanding and helping us remain compliant and uphold best practices for our wonderful industry. We recommend doing this before you arrive to save time during the check in process! Get started here.

It depends! Get all the information on our admission page.

• There are no age restrictions to climb, however, climbers 13 and under must be directly supervised by an adult.

• You must be 14 or older to be in the fitness and training areas or to take a regularly scheduled yoga class.

• All minors need an account and a valid waiver on file, which needs to be created by a legal guardian.

• All minors need to be accompanied by an adult during their first visit.

• Minors who are 13 and under need to be accompanied by an adult during all visits. In fact, they require DIRECT SUPERVISION, which we happen to have helpful guidelines for!

• If you are bringing a group of 5 or more kids, you must make a reservation, as ASCEND Coaches need to be present in many instances. Please call or email ahead to inquire!

Yes, ASCEND rents shoes, chalk, harnesses, and belay hardware. If it's your first time here, shoes are on us! Well, they'll technically be on you, but you get the point. Get all more information on our admission page.

Belaying is the act of safely managing the rope for the climber. The belayer is responsible for the climber’s safety as he or she ascends the wall. In the event of a fall, the belayer secures the climber by holding the rope. In order to belay in the facility, an ASCEND team member must verify your ability to belay correctly. We also teach classes to get you where you need to be.

Do we ever?! The climbing facility is suitable for all ages when handled with care and practice. We offer a wide array of programs, and other activities for children, including parties! For more information, visit our youth program page.

The first official step is to apply, but we encourage you to take some time to get to know us first! Get started here!

Generally, boulder problems and rope routes will be stripped and reset on an ongoing basis with the entire facility being reset over a 6-9 week period. There will always be something new for our members to be excited about!

You may use an ASCEND gift card to purchase anything at ASCEND, except for recurring membership dues, or more gift cards.

That's okay! You're more than welcome to stop in whenever suits you best. That being said, we'd love a heads up so that we are able to provide the best customer service possible. If you're up for it, please send us a message or give us a call to let us know your group's size and what day and time you'll be in. Also, please review this page to learn more about groups.

We sure do! Check out what we have to offer.

ASCEND strives to embrace industry practices, which in climbing, involves generational trends that change over time. One such change is rock climbing belay devices. While the history of climbing has experienced a variety of changes in belay techniques over time, the most recent transition has been one from unassisted braking devices to assisted braking devices. In the past, methods such as the Munter Hitch or tube-style belay devices were the standard, however, it is ASCEND's belief that the climbing industry and community would be best served by standard adoption of assisted braking belay devices in the vast majority of indoor climbing circumstances.

As such, ASCEND requires use of an assisted braking belay device in its roped climbing facilities and provides comprehensive instruction, sale, and rental of these devices.

Recommended assisted braking belay devices:

• Petzl GriGri Line

• Edelrid Jul Line

• Black Diamond Pilot

• Mammut Smart Line

You typically won't need to make a reservation or wait too long to do a test-out. It's our sincere goal to be able to administer a test out at any point throughout each and every day. That being said, there are some exceptions to this.

• Occasionally, the gym is just too busy or we're temporarily short-staffed for us to handle a request in the moment. Our staff may be pulled in different directions or there could be a large event occurring. Usually, they will just need some time to get back to you within the hour, but sometimes, they may not be able to while you're there. This is not the norm, but it does happen.

• Early in the morning and late and night, we pair down our staffing levels, so again, these times may not be ideal for test-outs, though, it's usually still possible, if you can be patient with us.

If you have limited availability and really want to ensure you get the opportunity to test out, you can always call or email us to work something out.

Climbers between the ages of 12-14 may be permitted to lead climb if:

• they have a legal parent or guardian present for the lead climbing test,

• pass the lead climbing test by showing proficiency in all aspects of our normal lead climbing requirements, including a special emphasis on helmet usage and managing weight differentials

Climbers between the age of 14 - 17 may be permitted to lead belay if:

• they have a legal parent or guardian present for the lead climbing test,

• pass the lead climbing test by showing proficiency in all aspects of our normal lead climbing requirements, including a special emphasis on helmet usage and managing weight differentials

Yes, absolutely, but if there is a known condition that may impede belaying or other safety practices to be fully implemented, ASCEND staff may require certain practices to be followed such as; the use of a specific belay device (i.e. Grigri), limiting climbing to certain terrain or styles (top-roping vs. lead vs autobelays vs bouldering), or requesting informed consent on the part of the climbing partners.