Pacific Edge Climbing Gym - Santa Cruz, California

Tom

Bouldering review: In Europe I boulder at about comfortably 6a-b which I think is a V3-4 grade, but I found this gym to be humbling. The routes are very technical and physically demanding.

Even the V0-2 range routes are demanding and not really beginner friendly. For this reason I would not recommend this gym for novices. There's not enough easy routes for a casual boulderer to enjoy their time there.

I think to make the most out of your entry fee, you should be intermediate (v3-4) or a beginner who is keen to improve. Otherwise the gym is nice, well equipped (great training area) and the staff are very nice. I totally recommend it for people who are up for a challenge.

Jackson L.

Great quality of climbing at this gym. Much more old-school, and translates more to outdoor climbing than some other locations. It's a little bit grungy but if you can look past that, it's an incredible spot.

sullivan G.

Fantastic climbing gym! All the employees made an effort to learn my name by the first week. It’s a big enough gym to always keep you busy, but small enough to feel at home.

The T. T.

Im from the South Bay, but this gym is worth the commute any day. Pleasant and friendly staff, great routes for all levels. I only wish they had more space to expand their gym. That being said, they are still not don't get as crazy as the overrated major gyms

Wil M.

A great gym for learning how to climb. The best in Santa Cruz the classes here are amazing the instructors are top notch.

Tomas D.

I really loved my experience here. The staff is super chill and friendly. Belay cert was a breeze. They have a new bouldering section with a kilter board and a crack climbing section. Interesting and challenging boulder problems. They also have an area to lift as well. Really my only complaint is that the holds are really greasy and could use some cleaning. I had some scary foot pops and I wouldn't want to lose a kneecap just to a slippery hold.

Mason M.

We’re from across the country on a surfing and climbing trip. We popped in and talked to someone for about 5 minutes while walking around, turns out it’s the GM Cedrick. They took care of us. In a couple hours we didn’t make it through all the bouldering up to v5 v6. Coming back for the massive lead climbing 50’ walls.
It’s like if a sick homey gym and modern sport climbing spot had a baby lol. Thanks for the surf beta too, Ben.

Greg F.

5/5 stars for staff - super friendly and helpful.

2/5 stars for boulder area - lacked down climb holds or super deep jugs on overlapping easier climbs. Not nearly enough padding on the floor (most other gyms I go to in reasonably populated areas have at least 2 times as much soft foam). Didn’t feel comfortable pulling hard moves. Dropping from more than a few feet up is VERY hard on your knees, let alone dropping right after a hard top-out. Grades were also not very beginner friendly, there was one small area with a kid friendly set up but everywhere else the lowest grade was a reasonably stiff V0. They should consider adding some VBs for first timers, this would help with down climbing too.

4/5 top rope - nice tall climbs, but kind of awkwardly cramped in with other people in the dihedral and chimney area. Was happy to see some cracks, should have brought my gloves. Could maybe use a few auto belays for beginners or folks without regular partners.

Other comments: The whole interior felt kind of dirty and scuffed. Could use a power wash or something. Holds could use a scrub between resets too. Air quality was good though, thanks to a couple chalk eaters.

Overall decent gym but I definitely wouldn’t want to boulder here regularly.

Edit: changed 3 stars to 4 stars because I read they had a sauna.