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Ground Zero Climbing Gym

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grannola
grannola
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
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1
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Ground Zero Climbing Gym

  • May 28, 2007
  • Rated 3 of 5 by grannola from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Ground Zero Climbing Gym

An indoor rock-climbing party at Ground Zero costs $100 for a non-private party, or $120 for a private party for up to 10 guests. You can add extra guests for 10 each. The parties last for two hours and are available on Saturday or Sunday at 10 or 6pm. They also allow for group bookings at other times for $10-12 per person (depending on the size of the group). Note: they do not accept credit/debit cards, only cash or cheques. The birthday parties are held when the place would otherwise be closed, so the sign says closed when you arrive. That's a bit disconcerting.

The parties are well-suited for children aged 8 and up, but all rock-climbers under 18 need to have a waiver signed by a parent. The waivers are available on the website: www.groundzeroclimbinggym.com or when you get there. It is important to remember to check that all the kids travelling together have their forms, or someone will end up making an extra trip to get it.

Ground Zero is located in an industrial park area. The shops are set up in a strip mall fashion, but with smaller window fronts and smaller signage than a strip mall. The buildings look quite similar as you drive up, making it hard to figure out which building, and where in the building you need to be. I was glad I had looked up a map on the website and figured out where to go. The building number is clear from Akerley Blvd, but the Ground Zero sign is not so obvious.

The kids had a great time, with nine kids and five adults (only one staff member - the rest were parents who stuck around), everyone had lots of turns climbing with the ropes and gear, so they could climb quite high. Of course, the first thing one of the 9-year-olds did was climb (without safety gear of course) up to the area that was restricted to climbers aged 14 and up. The boys are all fearless and had no problem climbing that high, but it really isn't safe, so that was the end of that game. The girls had a bit more problem getting to the top, but they were determined and made it. Many of the boys got up to the top of the wall three or four times.

During the down times, the kids had munchies, which was nice that they had something to do while waiting for their turns. It was very handy that the food could be close enough to the climbing area to make that possible.

Everyone had a great time, and my 9-year-old immediately asked if he could come back another time. Even the 5-year-old sibling had fun climbing.

From journal Birthday Parties in Halifax

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