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mazzystr
Jul 21, 2003, 4:18 PM
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Registered: Jan 8, 2003
Posts: 450
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This is a review for philadelphia pennsylvania branch of Go Veritcal.
http://www.govertical.com
Pros -
Propieter was very friendly and helpful and knowledgable in technique and lingo.
Thick floor padding.
Tons and Tons and Tons bouldering routes.
Tons of TR / Sport routes
190foot v2 traverse route
Lots of open space.
60foot ceilings
beatiful arch!
locker rooms
drinking fountain
one GD SICK bouldering route that was a foot and a half from the floor that was all heel hooking!
Cons -
no warmup/workout/stretch area
too many bouldering routes - routes of the same colour got confused with
other routes of the same colour because they were so close and
there was so many.
the traverse didnt continue over the exit door, hehe
all in all this place was a palace of a gym.
-chris
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texasclimber
Jul 21, 2003, 5:04 PM
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Registered: Jun 19, 2002
Posts: 821
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Looks like a good place to get the pump!
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crag
Jul 21, 2003, 5:11 PM
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Registered: Jan 29, 2003
Posts: 623
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Pros:
Add: Close to Delilah's Den & Steakhouse
Cons:
Add: 15.00 buckarooos for a pass.
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bustinmins
Jul 24, 2003, 12:46 PM
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Registered: Jul 16, 2003
Posts: 507
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I've been in many gyms as my career has taken me across this country. I must admit that Govertical in Philly is still my favorite. The people are great and the climbing opportunities are fantastic.
The owner has at least 30 years of climbing experience and has surrounded himself with great people with a varied amount of experience that makes for a very well rounded atmosphere for the experienced and newbies alike.
I, for one, wish I had the ability to play in that gym more often. I now live in Denver and have the rockies to play with but I do miss the place I cut my climbing teeth - GoVertical.
Good luck to Howard and his crew.
James Durden
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gblauer
Moderator
Jul 24, 2003, 12:56 PM
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Registered: Oct 4, 2002
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Cons: 1) routes are not particularly imaginative, typically feet track hands on all go vert routes
2) Very expensive
3) Rigid rules
Pros: 1) LONG lead routes
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leaverbiner
Jul 24, 2003, 1:40 PM
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Registered: Sep 18, 2002
Posts: 482
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Pros: LONG Lead routes
(2) location to center city
Cons (too many to list but I'll name a few): Bouldering wall is about 9 feet tall
(2) Route setting is sub-par, sloppily done, and unimaginative
(3) holds CONSTANTLY spin and are often left as spinners without being repaired
(4) texture of the walls still sheds after 3 years and tears the crap out of your shoes (oops, wall company messed up a bit here!)
(5) never enough lead ropes available and the ropes, both lead and TR are used way too long (the gym requires that you use their ropes for lead)
(6) absolutely impossible to follow your route - often 4 or more routes crossing each other marked with the same or similar tape.
(7) No gear shop
All in all GV has potential, but it isn't utilized. There is so much space (including vertical space) but it wasn't properly designed (poor forethought on the popularity of bouldering). Routesetting is a gyms' single biggest asset and GV is lacking.
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lemon_boy
Jul 24, 2003, 2:32 PM
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Registered: Mar 12, 2002
Posts: 287
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i haven't climbed there in over a year, but here is my 2 cents.
i was chatting with howard and looked over at the steep lead wall to see a girl sketching like hell at the 2nd clip. her belayer was standing about 20 feet out from the wall. i commented to howard that i hope she doesn't fall and drag her belayer inot the wall and groundfall. his response was "ah, she won't fall'. she barely clipped the 2nd bolt and called take. when she weighted the rope, it dragged the belayer towards the wall and they ran into each other.
another thing that was completely stupid - when you are top roping, instead of tying into the rope, they have pre-tied figure 8's and they want you to clip them into your harness with a locking biner. that is fckng idiotic. nothing like being midway through some tough moves, only to look down at your biner that has rotated and is completely cross-loaded on your harness. come on guys, get a clue.
pros: fairly large, tall ceilings, quite a few routes, when i was there a couple of the gals that worked there were really cool and pretty hot, some pretty nice looking clientelle also
cons: the routes are extremely lacking in imagination. they are extremely narrow and pretty much just like climbing a ladder. the more difficult routes are just steeper with smaller holds. left, right, left, right...
the holds are ALWAYS spinning. it is not uncommon to have 2 or 3 holds spin on a route. also, all of the walls are overhanging. it would be nice to have some good slabby stuff as well, not to mention some cracks. but, given that the nearest rock worth climbing is quite a ways a way, and most of the clientelle probably climb in the gym only.
all things considered, i was really glad it was there because i was out in philly for work quite a bit and it helped keep me in shape.
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xcaliclimber
Jul 24, 2003, 2:45 PM
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Registered: Jul 23, 2003
Posts: 67
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In reply to: I've been in many gyms as my career has taken me across this country. I must admit that Govertical in Philly is still my favorite.
Have you been to Pacific Edge in Santa Cruz? It is also a wonderful gym. Hope you get there sometime
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xanx
Jul 24, 2003, 3:37 PM
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Registered: Aug 6, 2002
Posts: 1002
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yo lets get a gym review of Vertical Reality... it's just like 15 minutes outside of Philadelphia.
(psst.... comp on saturday... psst...gonna be ill....)
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