Love this place. It can be crowded sometimes but it’s always a good atmosphere and the staff is very friendly. Clean facility, and the routes are challenging but fun. I’ve been coming here for about a year now and have nothing but positive things to say. Great place for all skill levels. SMAC is the bomb!

I think Taylor Murdock did an outstanding job here. He is a very Professional young man who takes the time to make sure the customer is happy! I recommend these guys to everyone simply because they have a happy and positive worker like Mr. Taylor!

Been taking my oldest daughter here for a couple years off and on. Today I brought my wife and both our girls. My oldest daughter and I were excited to show them how cool it is there! Then…. masks. My wife and I are fully vaxxed. But our girls (both under 10) would need to wear masks. Nope. We followed the science. Our girls hate the masks; we won’t be part of the grooming to accept to do what your told- that feels too close to saying, “Boys will be boys.”.We were polite, the staff is great- but our money and support are not with businesses that push the masks.Riveter is a longer drive, but the atmosphere is perfect. We’ll be back when the masks are gone.

Extremely limited bouldering. The space they’ve dedicated to it feels like an afterthought. The setting is extremely inconsistent. Anything V0-V2 is a ladder with progressively smaller holds, and anything V4+ feels like it would go that grade outdoors. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, a stiff set is ok, but only when there are options for people who don’t necessarily want to practice outdoor style climbing, inside. I should mention that some of the problems are great, but it’s really only like 25% of them.The taping. Oh my god the taping. You can’t set two different problems of the same color that intersect each other. I’ve worked in a smaller gym than this one, I know it’s not rocket science. Go for quality setting, not quantity.

Absolutely amazing time with Rick! I cannot wait to come back. Highly recommend him as a guide- so knowledgeable and patient with us as our first time trad climbing.

Inconsistent closing times. Website says 9:30. Google says 9. Answering machine says 10. I almost drove and hour and a half to squeeze in some climb time. Called again to verify. Staff said they close at 6:30 for non members. Gym is very small and quality is poor. The region deserves a quality climbing gym. Come to the West for indoor climbing gyms or stick to your stellar outdoor crag Asheville. Not worth it. Enjoy your monopoly while it last Climbmax.

Here we are post COVID gym denial and SMAC is killing it. Cant emphasize enough how pumped I am to be back to SMAC.

Had a blast bouldering, here. $10 for a day pass is super reasonable. Its not the fanciest or the most polished gym, but the problems are fun, engaging, and challenging at all levels. They have a 45-degree wall upstairs, plenty of vertical wall (you can technically boulder on the top-rope and lead areas up to where the color of the wall changes), and a sizeable 15-degree (I assume its a 15) wall.NOTE: Problems are marked by tape, so the holds arent monochromatic, and that takes a while to get used to, if youre a noob like me. Just plan on investing a few extra brain cells in your beta. Mega kudos to the route setters and the friendly staff. I look forward to checking out the downtown area, but if Im ever in the River Arts District again, Im definitely coming back!

Fun. Nice and helpful staff.

Had amazing beginner instruction! Learned climber knot, belaying, bouldering and equipment. Highly recommend it!

I am a huge fan of SMAC! As someone who was new to climbing, their staff made me feel so welcome and handled my jitters with grace. I’ve since invited plenty of other friends to have their first climbing experience there and they have continued to come back as repeat costumers. I highly recommend them as an energy and social outlet for climbers both seasoned and new!

This climbing gym is great! It has lots of different routes at different difficulties for a lot of skill levels. Ive been going regularly for a few months now and the employees are nice as well as other climbers. I took the basic climbing class and it was very informative. Although, I knew some of it, the class covered all the basics and it was still worth going to learn some techniques as well as the proper way to do things.

I took a CPR certification with Nathan, and was so impressed at how efficient, objective, and honestly enjoyable it was. The blended learning format made a lot of sense. Super glad to have places like Climbmax offer this service!

Absolutely by far the worst indoor gym Ive been to. There is so much about this place that I could rant about.Climbing is a fun and relaxing sport for most people who do it often. Its a community where people meet and have fun together. The staff is a horrible example of what it means to be a climber. They are rude and they are on a horrible power trip. They offer recommendations where they are not wanted and are horribly judgmental about things they didnt need to bring up. Just because you working a gym doesnt mean you know everything.The route setting is a joke. I climbed a V5 that felt like a ladder, but was unable to complete a V2 for a warm up. I went back a dozen times and there was no way I could top it. I was next to two route setters at the time and they were making fun of bigger gyms that needed professional route setters when they were just as good. Obviously they were not. It annoyed me greatly.The gym was very small, which is totally fine. What was not fine was how much the gym costs for the size and the quality of routes. They are not a large gym so they should not charge large gym prices. With only 70+ routes total, I would expect them to be significantly less.All in all, it was awful. We are frustrated that this is the only gym around for the winter months. I dislike this gym greatly and I dont understand how they have such a high rating.

Cool place, good routes, mostly rope stuff but some bouldering. Friendly staff.

My fiance and I booked a private guide to Rumbling Bald. Rick was by far the most knowledgeable climber we have had the pleasure to meet. He was smart, fast, efficient, safe, and patient. We could not have had a better time with him and are so happy we made the investment to learn from him!

Good vibes and good routes all around! The entire staff are friendly and informative, the class I took was phenomenal, just an amazing community to be a part of. We love SMAC!

Very friendly staff! For us newbies, this place feel huge and like there are plenty of climbing options for our beginner level as well as tons to grow into. Weve only done bouldering here with no ropes but theyve got a few self-belay devices that seem popular as well as options for top-roping and lead climbing. Rental gear is available and is very decent.

This gym is amazing! The instructor was very good with demonstrating the rules and procedures for newcomers like myself.

Im new to climbing so I bought an instructional course about a month ago. I had a great instructor who went out of his way to make sure I was using good technique and was always safe.I went back today today to climb and I was greeted by very friendly staff who got me quickly outfitted to climb. I noticed one staff member by the boulder wall and asked how I should start. He also went out of his way to show me technique, proper foot placement, and a great number of other things to help me on my way. After I tackled a couple of V0s he came back and checked on me.Id been nervous about starting a new hobby and almost didnt go today. Im glad I made the decision to drive over. I felt very welcomed at this gym and I most certainly will be back.

Great gym!! We visited the Asheville area with some friends, and brought some new friends here to try climbing for the first time. They loved it! Lots of variety in the difficulty of the routes, but they were set harder than the climbs of the same rating at our home gym.The staff was very friendly! We forgot a pair of shoes here, and they went out of their way to return them to us! Top notch service!

Super friendly staff. This location has a lot more top rope and lead climbing than the downtown location. Good intermediate and up routes

The lead climbing is alright, but the bouldering and toprope routes are severely lacking as far as route setting goes. It would be nice to have a more technical style of setting rather than having a lot of the routes use awkward holds. The grading also seems to very inconsistent across routes. I can send one v4 no problem but have a hard time on a v2 elsewhere. Overall I dont think the experience is worth the $16 entry fee, as you can find better gyms elsewhere.

I’ve been to a lot of climbing gyms all over the US and I will never be returning to this one.The staff acts as though they know more about climbing and safety than anyone else, including manufacturers of the climbing gear you are using.A terrible place to teach beginners. This is the first gym I’ve seen where the top roping isn’t double looped at the top, making it extremely difficult and unsafe for beginners. As for people with experience, it’s difficult to shoot up on a drop when the gym is so small and there’s just not the space for it.This gym is way too small for the prices they charge. I’d rather spend the extra money driving to Charlotte for a climbing gym than spend money here.

This was my first time going to a indoor rock gym. It was a great experience. Pretty good prices, and nice staff.

Great gym-top rope, lead & bouldering up & downstairs. Theres also a yoga studio with a variety of yoga & exercise classes that it hosts. And it wouldnt be Asheville ready without a beer. Drink some beer after climbing, the wrap around patio is lovely on a beautiful day, over looking the French Broad River & Carrier Park.

This gym is well kept, has a great atmosphere, and very helpful staff. I recommend climbing here. Also, its the only full service (or near full service) climbing gym in Asheville. The prices seem average compared to other cities. They lack locker rooms. They always have several good routes, but some of the route setting is lacking. Ive noticed that some of the route setters more often only reduce hold sizes instead of adding technical moves to achieve a higher grade. By no means am I saying there shouldnt be small holds in a gym, its just that some of the setters set the same frontal route over and over and just change hold size to get their range of grades. Some setters are excellent, taking in to account technical moves. So keep a track of the setters names and stick with your favorites. They do not do customer rating here. Their isometric and plyometric area is sufficient, but nothing special. It was recently enlarged with the removal of the upstairs bar. Free weights and exercise machines are ok but wanting. There is rumor that they will be expanding soon, so keep your fingers crossed!Updated, 05/2021 - The routes were awesome, and they do customer rating now (I think they have done it for a while and I have delayed in updating my review). The staff was awesome, as always! They are easing restrictions on covid, reservations no longer needed. Still no locker rooms, that I could see, but the floor is new and everything was very clean with lots of fresh paint. I am so thankful that this gym survived covid!

The best and only place for rope climbing indoors in Asheville. The staff is very friendly and the climbs have a good variety of skill levels needed. It does get very busy during peak hours so I would try and ship those times if you can. They have top roping, lead clubbing and bouldering, as well as a restaurant and a smoothie shop.

Me and my brother came in for a day of fun, after snowboarding. What a great place. Cant say enough good things about the staff and climbers there. A+++++ facilitys and personal.

Really the only option for a climbing gym in the area. The pads in the bouldering area are about as plush as the carpet in my living room. The problems are reset infrequently which is nice if you like projecting but I would not risk a fall on the poorly protected floor. Seriously tho I’ve had better protected landings outside. Space is a serious issue the unused “bar” takes up more space then entire bouldering area. There is no space to use aged fitnesses equipment. You end up doing push-ups and abs in/on the bouldering area pads. There is not even a pull-up bar, yes they have hangboards which are crusted in chalk but no straight pull-up bar. On a positive note they have a Moon Board on a good night a group gathers and you can get a solid session in.

Awesome place to climb. Routes for everyone from V-fun to V-hard and some nice lead and auto-belay routes.

I cant say enough about this place. The Staff is great, the routes are fun, the workout area has just what I am looking for, The Yoga classes are great, the Turbokick class will rock your world, AND THEY HAVE A BAR!!!! That isnt even half of what makes this place great.

Has both top rope and bouldering area, but definitely geared toward rope climbing. Clean with good lines.

The best and only climbing gym in town for rope climbing. The gym can be a bit crowded at peak hours. The staff is friendly and helpful. The facilities are clean.

This place is awesome! Just gets a little crowded in the winter at nights. But where else can you climb in the gym then walk upstairs and get a beer!?

Sweet little spot with a bar on top too. Great for workout AND hangout.

Awesome climbing gym. Lots of great routes and super smoothie bar.

Nothing but positive experiences at SMAC. From the fun, creative and challenging routes and problems to the communal enviroment!

Really your only option in town except the location downtown. A few things on SMAC(New Location), Its small, crowding becomes an issue quickly, I honestly feel bad for the single employee who has to work at peak hour, there is no way to make sure everyone is being safe. Falling on someone is a risk since the walls are so close to each other. For anyone dedicated to training for climbing hard it can be a challenge. ARCing is not easy in this place. I find myself coming in an hour or two before closing to do my training since the crowd is manageable at that point. Morning training is out of the question since they do not open before 8am. The route setters do a good job, they contain interesting problems and fun movements. I take my hat of to those guys for sure. I dont believe I have ever seen the Hang Out open. Typically it is covered in chalk dust. Seems like that area could have been used to build a larger training area upstairs. The workout equipment seems like it was thrown together from stuff that was laying around peoples houses and is piled up in a corner. Often I am having to share the hangboards and campus boards with 4-5 other people while doing planks crammed in with the same 4-5 people all trying to do planks in the little space provided. Heating and cooling of this building seem to not be adequate, I do not mind training in a hot or cold area but I find it odd that the units were not sized for the space and potential occupancy. Unfortunately it is my only option since I cant climb 5 days a week outside like I wish I could. I am also confused by their $55 activation fee, surely their burden % isnt that high, hell I work for an international company and our burden for shuffling paperwork is only 5%. I cant remember the last time I had to pay an activation fee to join a gym, it feels like a way to just squeeze more money out of you. Asheville could benefit from a larger more dedicated climbing gym and some competition. The other reviews done really explain the situation well.

Good place to train, just wish it wasnt so small!

Staff- the friendliest group of people in Asheville! I always felt at home and super comfortable when talking to any of them - great group of people!Owner- Stuart is the exact embodiment of the Asheville climbing scene. For the past 25 years, he has poured his life and soul into creating a wonderful climbing community, and it shows. A fantastic human being inside and out, he is a true friend, and very hectic (read:fun) person to be around!Facility- with outdoor climbing, top notch Walltopia lead walls set monochromatically, great top rope terrain, 2 crack simulators, a training area with 3 hangboards, a dedicated campusing area for everyone, free weights, and a moonboard, to the best bouldering terrain in all of western NC, this gym has it all! It even has a smoothie bar, showers, and an outdoor area where you can rent bikes and river tubes in the summer! Overall, a world class training facility.

Only down side is that sometimes its too full and you cant park. The staff is great and Ive met so many nive people there.

Best climbing gym in area. Friendly staff and vary good routes.

Very fun, looking forward to its continued growth

Great people! Everyone is awesome!

Best gym for a crimptastic workout!

Great gym! Friendly staff.

Good time white water rafting

I climb here all 2 to 3 days a week. :)

Amazing people and atmosphere :)

Has every thing a climber wants for a indoor gym there even a lead wall.

Great climbing, staff, and atmosphere.

Great place to climb!

Lasts lasts