Climbing in Atlanta: Stone Summit

This photo was taken from the second floor balcony,
 so those climbers behind us are super high up.

My friends rave about Stone Summit, a giant climbing gym in Atlanta. We brought a groupon and visited one Sunday.

You check in at the desk—they give you shoes and then you have to pass a belay test before you can climb anything.

So we bouldered for a while first. They have two big bouldering walls. Fun-ish. With enough easy paths for beginners. The experienced climbers were bouldering, resting, repeating, then going to climb.

But back to the belay test. You're on your own. There's no person to teach you. Unless you sign up for their hour-long class. You have to look at a chart on the wall or ask someone to show you. AND they don't use auto-belays. You actually have to thread your own rope. I looked at the wall chart and knew there was no way in the world I'd pass it. BUT I couldn't even climb on their auto-climb walls upstairs without passing the test. That royally pissed me off.

And then if you did want to take the test, you had to ring a bell and wait 20+ minutes for a staffer to come certify you.

This place is a huge gym, with lots of room to climb. There's even exercise equipment upstairs. But the belay-certication left a horrible taste in my mouth. This place isn't friendly to beginners at all. It's great if you're a climbing enthusiast and know exactly what you're doing.

Verdict: Not a fan of their belay test. If they make climbing more accessible, I'd look forward to going back.

Atmosphere: Casual. Not too judgey. It's lots of fun to watch the really good climbers.

Hazards: Dry, chapped hands and I always get bruises on my legs afterwards.

Intensity: Moderate. I can boulder for 60-90 minutes (with lots of breaks in between)

Price: $18 Groupon for two people. Pretty good.

What to wear: Capri's, a workout shirt. You will get sweaty. Bring socks.

Would I go back? There are other places to climb. I might go back, but I'm in no hurry.