Ready to climb the walls? Well, now you can, in Chesterfield, at the third area Upper Limits Rock Gym (pictured above). These ain’t El Capitan or those other imposing rock faces in Yosemite, folks, and rocks can be, like, dull. They also can reach hundreds or thousands of feet toward the sky, as in scary.

But not here. Upper Limits features colorful Wacky Walls, a 30-foot continuous climbing wall, a sunken ‘bouldering’ pit (no snakes), climbing training areas … all in all, about 10,000 square feet of climbing space with footholds and handholds of various shapes and colors. Themed walls include a beanstalk, brick- faced building and spider web. Black lights and disco lights are installed throughout for after-hours, glow-in-the-dark public and private events. There’s a party room and a pro shop. Upper Limits offers a range of climbing classes for beginners, advanced climbers and families, as well as private lessons, outdoor climbing opportunities and a portable climbing wall for off-site events. And if rock climbing isn’t enough of a workout itself, there’s also a dedicated workout area.

This novel attraction has three locales: Chesterfield, Maryland Heights and downtown. The Chesterfield climbing center celebrated its grand opening over Veterans Day weekend. Climbing is gaining in popularity. Says who? The International Olympic Committee (IOC), that’s who. The sport is slated for the 2020 games. If you’re curious about what competitive climbing looks like, Upper Limits in Maryland Heights will host more than 150 climbers for the USA Climbing Midwest Region competition Dec. 10!

Town and Style © November 2016