UKC

As per the title, my 16 year old niece who is decent at VS outdoors wants to try indoors. Which wall should we head for?

It may have got a recent slating on here, but currently spending a week behind the Leeds Climbing Wall resitting my rope access ticket.

A few years since I climbed here, mostly due to various walls in Manchester opening up. Good to see Leeds hasn't changed too much for leading / top-topping, good selection of grades through different terrains. Not climbed so can't comment on the route setting, but looks not bad from below. Bouldering looks limited.

There is only Leeds wall for routes (unless you count the Leeds Uni one/ Guiseley - which I don’t)

Leeds just needs a kick up the arse. It’s run down but still offering things that nothing else in the area does. Guess I just have a soft spot for it.

They seem to have completely given up on bouldering though, which is a shame as I much preferred over depot and city bloc even though it was far more limited.

Take your pick for bouldering. They all offer something to say for them.

i'd probably say harrogate, leeds is bigger, and taller but HCC feels warmer and friendlier somehow, better lighting etc, better first time experience and bouldering is better than at Leeds wall. 

Depends on priorities doesn't it? For me it's all about the climbing, and Leeds Wall is far better IMO.

And if you want to train on the cheap, bouldering and using the training facilities upstairs costs £3.

Leeds every time came the answer from my eldest 

As Lithos says,  the best wall in Leeds is Harrogate. (OK, I do know that is 16 miles from Leeds but it's an easy drive or the wall has a  railway station at Hornbeam Park which is on the Leeds line and only a few mins walk away).

The Leeds Wall, IMO deserves every syllable of the criticism it has had. Filthy and under-heated. I used to go there but got sick of the feeling that nobody really gave a stuff anymore. It was a godsend in its day but now feels like a museumpiece it is so far behind the game.

yeah but it aint about you (or me) is it? 

it's about the OP asking for a newbie, and much as i think climbing at leeds is great I think HCC is a  better match for first time indoor experience as per OP

I have to say I don't think the climbing is even that good at Leeds wall.

I mean they don't have the same mad penchant for making every single finishing move a boulder problem on slopers that you get at HCC (think about it, it's true), but the routes feel equally as contrived, the holds are stinking and the routes have barely been reset since I used to live in Leeds two years ago.

Coffee is better, staff are nicer, centre is warmer, crowd is friendlier etc

Was at Leeds last week and really can't see what the fuss on this and the other thread is about.  Yes, it could do with sprucing up, yes it can be a bit baltic but it remains an effective, well set wall. (All the routes had changed since last Autumn) Harrogate is classier but less effective and more limited and  as for bouldering the other Leeds venues provide more than enough choice. 

As someone that moaned like f**k about The Leeds Wall recently, it wasn't the climbing that I thought was bad, actually the wall and routes are great IMO.

It was the general run down nature of the place, bad facilities (especially the cafe), poor heating, and filthy toilets (as they've been for years).

Just needs some effort and care and think it could be amazing again. Just seems like the current owners/managers are not the ones that are going to do that.

That's why I offered an opinion on the climbing, which is surely worth mentioning. Since you didn't bother. Then the OP can balance warmth and friendliness against the climbing.

other than mentioning the bouldering is better at HCC but .. whatever

It's hard for routes at hcc not to be bouldery given the height of the wall! However if there are particular routes with this feeling, please leave a feedback note at the desk. Setters will read them and take it on board  

There are routes that haven't been reset for 2 years?

Yeah, sorry but that's simply not true. I'll wager there are no routes older than a few months tops in there.

All other criticisms are valid. Just depends how you feel about those things. Personally I don't care too much that it's cold and that the panels don't look new.

Might be nice if the holds got a good scrub a bit more often and it would certainly be nice if the toilets didn't flood as regularly as they did and you could get better coffee but I couldn't care less about swanky seating and the like which seems to be the norm for newer centres.

The routes have been reset and for route training for the more difficult crags in North York’s it’s great. The grading on the main steep wall is nails though - hard on the ego. It’s a good route wall due to its size. It does look a bit scruffy and fairly baltic. 

Praise indeed!

The cold is actually welcome most of the time, apart from the coldest days. And they've got a new coffee machine from a few weeks ago, I like it but I'm not that fussy.

I got shut down by my 6b warm-up recently, and fell of the 6b+ twice. But the 6c I thought was okay got upgraded to 7a. Anything harder mostly feels impossible. So a bit variable, but generally somewhere between solid and sandbag.

But generally the quality of routes is good, if you don't mind comp style, which I don't.

For easy bouldering - the Lab. Lots and lots  of easy stuff. Great atmosphere, clean, though can feel a little busy in the evenings.

Leeds Wall is tatty and feels a bit rundown, but lets face it, and I know the main wall isn't what the OP was asking about but there is no other lead wall around which is as good for training hard sport....

cheers

mark

Does anyone really train for hard sport climbing on the lead wall any more? All of the accomplished sport climbers I know do circuits and 4x4's etc at the Depot.

I've seen quite a few of the Malham/Kilnsey regulars down LW this winter. Although I see more down the Depot, but mostly on the problems and the fixed hold boards, not so much the circuit board.