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September 2024 by Sara Abed
Great place for bouldering and climbing
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August 2024 by Jackie French
I've only been in the kids section so far, but it was great for my 8 year old! He was scared to go to the top at first, but then he wouldn't leave until he had done it.
The one day pass is pretty pricey, a 5 day stamp pass is a much better deal. Everyone working here was super nice and helpful and the facility was really clean.
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August 2024 by Cathy Chang
Review scope limited to the Intro to Lead Climbing class only.
tldr: On 6/12th and 6/19th, my friend and I took the Intro to Lead Climbing class offered at the Santa Ana Sender One (SO) and found the instructional quality lacking and the learning environment distracting & unsafe. Most importantly, we felt ill-prepared for the lead certification test and didn't see a path forward. So we reached out to the SO management with our concerns. As a remedy, we were offered supplemental private instructional opportunity, at no additional cost. The instructor (Czar Goss, Training & Development Manager), who normally doesn't teach lead instruction, turned out to be a fantastic lead instructor. As a result, we became lead certified on 7/12th and feel much better prepared to lead climb/belay.
However, I'm steering my friends to take the Intro to Lead Climbing offered by my other gym (another local chain climbing gym with a much cheaper membership). Why? Cuz it's cheaper, offers 4 additional instructional/practice hours compared to SO, and you're certified by the end of 9 hours of lead instruction. Afterwards, go to SO and test out for free for lead cert. No brainer.
Here's the reason for the 3.5 stars (an average of the following):
2 stars - Disappointing initial experience with the Intro to Lead class
5 stars - Remedy provided by SO management
*In case you're still reading and interested in further details:
The class instruction (two 2.5 hr sessions) did not cover the verbal commands (except for "tension" and "falling") though communication is such an important aspect of lead climbing. (Our supplemental private instruction covered "clipping", "clipped", "slack", "watch me", "got you", "falling", "watch your leg"...)
There was very limited practice time on the wall, totaling @ 3 mock lead climbs/belays and 3 falls/3 catches. During the fall & catch practice, key instructions were not provided to some participants and/or not in a timely manner.
No initial vetting of participants to ensure that everyone met the prerequisites, which resulted in the participation of a climber with only 1 month of climbing experience, w/o fundamental knowledge of tying a figure 8 knot, properly load and operate the gri gri, take in slack in a timely manner, and being lowered safely by leaning back on the harness and letting go of the holds. Not only did this result in delaying the class significantly, but it put all the participants at risk. When being lowered, this person started downclimbing rather than letting go, and when the instructor told them to let go, they did so after much hesitation. With some rope slack introduced from the downclimbing, which confused the belayer, when they finally let go, they experienced a free fall of 10 to 15 feet before the fall was arrested by the belayer on a gri gri.
Also, the location where the mock lead was practiced (near the pillar) was very distracting and unsafe because we were constantly dodging lead climbers being lowered around us and their ropes falling over our heads. Often we would miss a portion of the instruction because we were frequently looking over our heads when someone shouted.
One participant in our group of 4 was taking the class for the second time (told at full price). He was unable to get lead certified because he couldn't find a partner to get sufficient practice after the initial set of instructions was completed, and over time, felt unconfident so signed up for a refresher. Ideally, the classes should have been set up such that all participants would get certified by the end of the instruction, like at my other gym.
In an email, SNA SO management indicated that they will be meeting with the instructors to figure out the best way to screen students
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July 2024 by David Acosta
Know before you go. If you want to bring your kids to climb kids walls you must pay for “Sender City” ($$$ hourly admission) and then you must pay a separate fee if you want to climb anywhere else in the gym. Ridiculous.
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June 2024 by Angelica L.
Super fun!
I'm terribly afraid of heights but the ropes gave me more confidence and the worker was extremely kind and reassuring.
I didn't get her name but it was awesome and really enjoyable even though I felt like I was dizzy and scared as a beginner.
I would definitely come again, they had a deal that was 5 entries / $59?, we didn't get it but that's definitely a great deal!
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June 2024 by Khal Khal
This place has one of the Safetiest Lead Test I've ever done before,
Dylan was so great and helpful, he walked us throughout all the processes and safety protocols,
Also Clayton, he's a cool lad.
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May 2024 by Bell Sarian
This gym is lovely. The staff is very nice, faculty is great with lots of boulder and rope options. Highly recommend coming here :)
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May 2024 by Veronica Garcia
I’d like to address the comments below about Sender One being antisemitic because an employee was wearing a keffiyeh, which is a traditional headdress from the Middle East. There is nothing antisemitic about a piece of traditional clothing, and I am disappointed by people in the climbing community being more offended by a scarf than by Islamophobia and violence against Palestinians.
Personally, I love seeing people at Sender One wearing keffiyehs because it shows me that people in the climbing community are aware of issues that affect marginalized climbers! I love the solidarity it represents, and related, I love the Sender One affinity nights that create safe community spaces for people from different backgrounds.
It’s unfortunate that some people are offended by attire from other cultures, whose meaning has become subverted. I assure you the people wearing the keffiyehs did not mean any harm to Jewish climbers! They just want to express their solidarity with a community experiencing violence, and there should not be anything wrong with that. What happened to freedom of expression?
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May 2024 by Tom Berger
Absolutely appalling experience. Despite being loyal customers for nearly two years, the blatant display of anti-Semitism at Sender One Santa Ana has left us feeling unwelcome and deeply uncomfortable. Since the Middle East conflict erupted, one of the workers has been wearing a scarf that promotes anti-Semitic views, creating an atmosphere of fear and exclusion for Jewish patrons like us. We raised our concerns with the manager, expressing our distress and disappointment, yet nothing has been done. The fact that this worker continues to wear the offensive scarf speaks volumes about the company's tolerance of hate speech and discrimination. We will not be returning, and we urge others to reconsider supporting a business that condones such behavior.
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May 2024 by Anita Borafker
As an Hindi woman I feel so disappointed with this place they are so unprofessional and I felt very uncomfortable with a bunch of kids that are hanging there with a pro Palestine flags and shirts. This place supposed to be a neutral place for all children.
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May 2024 by Michelle Bar
Extremely disappointed with Sender One Santa Ana. As regular climbers, we expect a safe and welcoming environment to enjoy our time. However, the recent sighting of a worker wearing offensive attire promoting hate and terror is beyond unacceptable. Not only does it ruin the experience for everyone, but it's also deeply saddening, especially for the Jewish community. As a Christian who believes in spreading love and acceptance, seeing such behavior from a staff member is distressing. Management needs to take immediate action to ensure that hate has no place in their establishment.
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May 2024 by T. N.
Been here a few times. Great venue and staff.
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April 2024 by Naveen Mathew
Alan and Jess were super friendly and understanding, helping us get a refund for an aspect we miscommunicated on. The facility is high quality, huge, and filled with options!
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April 2024 by Susie Tan
Loved this place! Had my first intro to climbing lesson with Kim, she’s awesome!!
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April 2024 by cheng dalila
Great experience for our kids to spend one hour in Sender city! Work staffs there are professional and friendly! All the equipment there are in very good condition and easy handling. Will keep on coming back and try camps.
