First Ascent Uptown

This is a very unique gym. There are tons of windows. The walls are not super tall. There is tons of overhang. The routesetting is very creative and challenging. The grades are accurate. The front desk staff are very nice. The routesetting is very good, however, many of the holds are polished. They use good quality holds, but some are old. There is not much fiberglass in this gym. Many boulder problems are very chossy. There are not adequate brushes around the gym. Overall an amazing spot with tons of natural light and very unique overhang areas including roof climbs, which is very rare to find in bouldering gyms. Gym is 10/10 A+ and would definitely visit again next time in the area!

Excellent climbing gym with friendly staff. With multiple gyms in the Chicago area there will always be new routes to try. The gyms change their routes consistently and give a good variety of difficulty levels. All the gyms have a good variety of exercise equipment and multiple types of exercise and climbing classes to choose from. The gym also offers fun monthly activities! All the staff I have interacted with there have been very helpful and friendly. If you are looking for a gym that offers great climbing routes and has a friendly atmosphere this is the place for you!

I rotate first ascent locations every week. I go to block 37 one week, humbolt another and uptown on third week. I used to really like uptown but they don’t update their routes often at all. I went to uptown 4 weeks ago and I just visited a few days ago again and the routes were the same. Please change the routes.

One of the best bouldering gyms I've been to. Great people, helpful staff, always clean and setting changes frequently enough to have always something new to work on.

**** EDIT I have been coming here for over a year as a member now and my review stands. I can’t express how amazing the FA community is and how hard the team works to make a welcoming environment and host tons of cool events for meeting people. This is the bouldering gym to come to (all the other FA gyms are great too) and there are some really unique routes with how the gym is laid out. My respect to the hard worker setters for that ! One of the best bouldering gyms i have been to as someone who is more new / intermediate to bouldering. first, the staff is always so welcoming and kind when you walk in. the prices are pretty reasonable and they have lockers where you can keep your stuff. they have a weight gym, a bouldering gym and a yoga studio. the bouldering gym is a pretty good size and they seem to frequently change the routes. there is a wide range of routes and even the ones that are there for awhile, they are creative and fun to do again. they have classes that i have yet to try but they are available. also a bonus is the regulars are all pretty friendly and helpful too ! I always have a great experience at first ascent and definitely will keep coming here.