First Visit — Greater Heights Climbing

What to Expect

All visitors, including spectators, are required to fill out a Visitor Agreement.
- You must be 18 years or older to fill out a waiver. Legal Guardians must fill out waivers for children and teens under 18.
All individuals upon their first visit will receive an facility orientation.
Before using auto-belays, you must pass an auto-belay test.
You must pass a top rope test in order to belay.
- If you know how to top rope, visit the front desk to get certified.
- If you do not know how to belay and want to learn, we will be offering belay classes in the near future.
- You must be 14 years or older to top rope belay.
Only facility provided lead ropes are allowed.
You must pass both the climbing and belaying portions of the lead test to get certified in lead climbing.
- If you know how to lead climb and lead belay, visit the front desk to get certified.
- Lead climbers and belayers must be 16 years of age or older.

Climbing shoes are a specialized type of footwear designed specifically for rock climbing. Climbing shoes typically have a tight fit, and a sticky rubber bottom. The purpose of these shoes is to give the climber a sticky, precise edge to improve the ability to stand on small feet. We require all participants to wear climbing shoes while on the wall. Why we require climbing shoes.
A climbing harness is an important piece of equipment that allows a climber to tie into the safety of a rope. It is a necessary piece of equipment which is absolutely mandatory at Greater Heights when climbing auto-belays and all forms of rope climbing (top-rope and lead).
Climbing chalk is a substance that rock climbers use to dry their hands and increase the friction of their skin to rock. Put simply, chalk helps with a climbers grip, and is an essential tool to improve your overall climbing ability, akin to skiing with waxed and sharped skis. Chalk is commonly made of an magnesium carbonate composite. While chalk is an important tool in a climbers tool belt, it is not required at Greater Heights.

If you fall in love with the sport, like we did, and want to pick up your own climbing equipment, we have gear for sale to get you properly outfitted. Connect with one of our educated staff members to discuss our retail offerings!