UKC

Great lead climbing, well set technical and imaginative routes especially on the auto-belays which are excellent for training, eg 4x4's. Nice coffee and good service too.

So why is the bouldering so crap? Often empty whilst the Works is over flowing. Poor route setting, basic hold selection and rubbish, often uniteligible topos.

Some suggestions: Use some better setters, use some more interesting holds, tag the grades on the first holds and bin the topos. Set up some good endurance circuits (20-30 moves).

Get it right and people will come.

In reply to kevin stephens:

There's already a thread covering a lot of this, think it's in the new Sheffield wall one. I've spoken to some of the upper management there and I'm assured things are changing. As for the topo, a couple of laminated bits of A5 with colour and grade by the first hold would take half an hour but it seems their still waiting for some almost invisible numbered wooden tags, think it's been a good 4 months now.

I think they are missing out the beginner market, green and blue are always the most busy at the Works but AW only has 2 problems where Works has 80ish... But then I like it quiet, don't want to spend most of my lunch hour queuing.

In reply to kevin stephens:

I agree with all that. The lead wall is particularly good, the big roof is quite spectacular.

I've asked about the bouldering before. As I understand it they don't have enough holds.

It seems a shame and shortsighted not invest in this, particularly as the bouldering wall itself is pretty good. When I've bouldered there you can pretty much run out of stuff to do after one session. It means they don't really have much to attract the lone climber, or someone who just wants to boulder. The Foundry is much better in this respect having both excellent lead climbing and bouldering.

Awesome Walls however is signed up to the MoveGB scheme which I hear the Foundry is quitting at the end of the year. The lunch special is also an excellent deal particularly with the decent free hot drinks (something the Foundry has also stopped doing).

In reply to kevin stephens:
AW bouldering does have that reassuring quality of being unbelievably soft tho. Which makes a nice antidote to getting repeatly and brutally sandbagged on a 6b at the works. Where it turns out you need to be able to tickle your ear with your toe to stand a chance. And it is pretty close to the OMG which I gather is a brothel. Pint at the broady or a blow job at the OMG. Apres climb choices have never been so good in Sheffield.

In reply to nancybrown:

Hummm... I think you need to read that again, unless its regularly "British Team Selection Day".

In reply to nancybrown:
Sorry Nancy but I’m a very regular visitor; it’s always like that

In reply to nancybrown:
Likewise, I've tried three visits as a solo boulderer staggered over many months; and each time the bouldering has been rubbish (shame since, as others have said, the rest of the facility is really pretty good).

Please use the feedback provided by others above constructively rather than seeking to immediately dismiss it, when there clearly is a reason..!

In reply to kevin stephens:

Hi Kevin and All

Firstly, We have no idea who Nancy Brown is who commented on our behalf earlier!

Here's Liam's (a real staff member) reply to your comment yesterday on the Facebook thread-

We appreciate the feedback.
In regards to the bouldering, we try to do a good job with the available facilities and often utilise world class setters such as Yann Genoux, Nathan Philips and David Mason.
The hold selection we use are the same as the holds throughout the centre, unfortunately we do not have any bouldering specific holds but do the best we can as we are primarily a lead centre.
The problem with the topos and starting tags is one we have previously identified and should be solved in the near future.
We are currently reviewing the bouldering facilities and are hoping to introduce more circuits soon.
Thanks again.

Here's what's happening at the moment
-New holds have been ordered and are due to be delivered in the next week or two.
-Lattice board to be fitted (ordered and awaiting delivery).
-Carpet top for bouldering areas (new year)
-Easier circuits to be added
-Leah Crane is booked in for the next reset in Jan 2018

Thanks for the positive comments regarding our leading areas.

All the best

Dave Douglas
Awesome Walls Climbing Centres.

In reply to Dave Douglas - Awesome Walls:

Judging by nancybrown's comment history she's not a real user.

In reply to Dave Douglas - Awesome Walls:

Thanks Dave, great response
It was really good to see the new day-glo orange holds on the auto-belay area - very fingery indeed

In reply to kevin stephens:

No problem Kevin.

There's nothing like a little bit of publicity to speed things up though

All the best

Dave D.

In reply to Dave Douglas - Awesome Walls:

There was a comment about lower grades being absent for bouldering.
Might be worth getting some set be less elite climbers?
It’s part of the appeal of the Works for me, as I’m fat and old and usually injured.
I like the thrill of the proper top-out at AW, but unless there is a juggy ladder there’s no way I’m managing the steep sections

In reply to stp:

Hi STP, as on other threads, totally agree about the bouldering, it really is pants.
We’ve been doing 4x4s and other circuits on the lead walls at AW, but took a trip to the Foundry today. Simultaneously we both commented on how good the route setting is. The good thing about AW is that it’s big, has big walls, big overhangs, can cope with lots of people (and really nice staff, and lots of Black Sabbath being played). However the lead routes are also pretty grim imho.
Maybe hire Ste Mac and the other setters from The Foundry? I watched the Wave being reset today and the attention to detail was really amazing to see (as you prob know already)
Paul

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

I think you're being a little hard... Its getting a lot better than when it first opened. The lead routes that have been set by the AW staff are actually rather good (and an awful lot better than some of those set by their professional setters). But I do agree with you about the staff - they really are a terrific bunch.

In reply to kevin stephens:

I must agree with Paul on the lead routes in AW. the routes are too much like ladders and as the routes get harder the holds slope and crimp more rather than the placements being set harder. The setting just feels a bit too left right, left right, left right. The setters at the Foundry are fantastic and the style of the climbing feels similar to the bouldering at the Works. On a similar note, we popped over to the Leeds climbing wall and although the staff were wonderful, the routes there were shocking.

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:
There are several routes at AW at the moment that have been set by Steve Mac.
I'll agree that the route setting is different at the Foundry, but that only makes it better or worse for a particular climber or style.
We're lucky in Sheffield to have the choice of two of the best walls in the country, realistically if you prefer one, then don't bother going to the other!

Edit: When I say 'two of the best' I am referring to lead walls.
The Works is obviously the best bouldering wall in the country.

In reply to olddirtydoggy:

I find just the opposite. The routes in the foundry are mostly geared towards muscle climbing, they are not changed often enough and are often quite greasy. At one point I went in regularly, twice a week for a while, and the staff never recognised me even after a couple of months, as I was not one of the 'crowd'. The staff at Awesome quickly recognise their customers, even after two or three visits. They can remember what your projects are. If you think their routes are like ladders you have not done many of them, there are currently several routes that wander across numerous panels. Yann Genoux, Pete Whittaker, Alex Fry, Steve Mac, etc are great route setters and they are given quite a free hand at Awesome.
I can't comment on the bouldering as it is not something I do much as I prefer the challenge of endurance on the lead walls as it relates much more to my outdoor climbing.
I get the feeling that some of the input on here could have a bias! Same as me. I am biased towards getting what I want and what suits me!

In reply to Removed Usergilesf:


Its really is inst it, we're (thankfully) spoilt by The Works, AW bouldering is probably fine as it is but The works is so far ahead that in Sheffield anything less gets pulled up for it.

I imagine that having a team of setters all regularly working together is one of the thing that works well for them, many a Thursday I've seen them fine tuning each others work so that its just right. If you leave a room to one setter then you're running a bit of a risk that they can set for everyone or everyone will like their work.

In reply to johncook:

I'd second those comments about the Foundry staff. I had a yearly membership and even entering at the 12 month mark the desk staff still asked a variation of "Are you a member here?".

In reply to turtlespit:

thousands of people go through climbing walls, especially the foundry- are you really that memorable?

In reply to thepodge:

The Works was the only full-sized bouldering wall in the country for a while there. (Hard to believe it now, but when it first opened there were many who doubted a climbing wall with no routes would be viable, even in Sheff.)
It was certainly the best in the country for a good while after that, no question.

Now? Nah, you can't take that for granted any more. The Manchester Depot makes the Works look very small, crowded and tatty. (None of which really matters that much, but crucially the Manc Depot have equally brilliant setting.)

See also The Valley in Newcastle. Already a very impressive wall (again with excellent setting), and they still have acres of space for further development down in the basement.


Nah, sorry. AW bouldering is pants. Not just compared to the Works, but Foundry, Matrix and many other places too. (Including AW Stockport.)

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

For the most part I think the setting at AW is really good. The grades are currently a bit off at the moment because the whole wall was reset quickly after a comp and there was no voting on the suggested grades as per usual. But quality wise I think they're mostly pretty good. (They've changed some grades recently: a 7a became a 7b and a 7b+ became a 7a).

The one problem that comes up occasionally is when the crux of a route is clipping a bolt, annoying if the route is at your limit. (this happened on one of Steve's routes too though). The setters are so strong though it's hard for them to notice such things.

I particularly like Yann's setting. His powerful and shouldery style highlights my own weaknesses so is really good for me. JG and AF's routes always seem good too though.

The roof is really good now. A lot more volumes have been added over the years which provides interesting routes sometimes utilising weird 3D techniques. Steve's 6c+ roof route is a classic jug haul.

I agree with gilesf. Variety of routesetters is a good thing, as long as it's a variety of setting style not quality.

In reply to deepsoup:



Good setting but really different in style to the Works. The Depot's more basic and powerful style is good for getting strong. The Works is great for technique and making you think.

In reply to deepsoup:

I like the tatty feel of a climbing wall, reminds me of my early days at the (old) Beacon climbing wall in North Wales. It makes it feel like a 'proper climbers' wall. But very happy to accept that is probably the rose tint from approaching middle age influencing my opinion. These days I climb at the excellent Birmingham Depot. Whilst it is still early days, the problems are good, as are the facilities (if a little to clean and shiny for my liking)

In reply to mhawk:

I'm with you there, definitely wouldn't want a wall to be too fancy.

In reply to tom84:

If you have ever met me you will know that I am that memorable (Sometimes in a good way sometimes not!)

Maybe these could be of some use

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1773998069279392&id=3762055...

I think one of the most obvious flaws in the bouldering at Awesome Walls is the complete waste of the available space. The rooms could have easily accommodated walls on both sides which would have *literally* doubled the amount of bouldering. It's aesthetics over function.

In reply to Caroline_Schofield:

Nice idea but it sounds like they don't have enough holds for the walls they already have. Since only about 4 people seem to use it you'd easily fit more on what they've got without bumping into anyone.

In reply to thepodge:
I suppose that's the point. If it's being considered an attraction in itself, which i'd argue it is as they offer a bouldering only rate (£6.50) then it needs investment both in proper holds (not those knackered from routes) and more problems to even begin to bring it up to standard.

As it is, it's little more that a fun aside for route climbers to occasionally play around on.

In reply to tom84:

If you met John Cook once you'd never forget him !

In reply to kevin stephens:

All that is needed to make a visit to Awesome Sheffield the complete and fulfilling experience would to have bacon/cheese toasties and sausage/cheese toasties on the menu!

In reply to johncook:

I thought that being charged £70 for a turkey, stuffing and cheese toastie was challenging my Christmas spirit today. If you did them for £50 then you'd get more customers- just saying like!