Wall climbing at The Upper Deck (TUD) | Edge Climb Gym

Doing this was not on my bucket list but was definitely a goal to experience and conquer. I had many thoughts and first impressions about this activity before but most of them unexpectedly changed after our actual experience. Well, let's find out more about those below.

wall climbing

We did this wall climbing at The Upper Deck in Pasig City. We usually play badminton here on the roof deck but accidentally discovered that they have this sports attraction too on the ground floor while buying some snacks before a game night.

The funny thing here was we always park on the top (7th) floor of the Ortigas Techopoint One building  (where The Upper Deck or commonly called "TUD" is located) but it was our first time recognizing that the peak of the wall actually still reaches to that part making us feel nervous moments before the actual climb. Haha! #thisisit

By the way, we booked using the link provided on their Instagram account and you at the same time can check the rates HERE.

the wall

So before any climb happens, you need to have those climbing shoes first. It is a specialized shoe for climbing but don't worry as it is already packaged with what you are going to pay for. Our facilitator that time, coach Jake, got us our pairs plus some harnesses before orienting us.

climbing shoes

The orientation included some basic climbing communications/commands such as "climbing" if you are going to climb, "tension" if you want to rest a bit while hanging, and "falling" if you decide to end your climb. That time, we also needed a belayer (the one who controls the safety rope) because Patrick will be climbing with me at the same time. Thanks kuya Toti!

And not that long, we started wall climbing.

climbing

One of my first impressions about this sport is that when your upper body is strong, this should be an easy task. Yes, it helps but the other factor that is as important is endurance. The arms will support most of the bodyweight and will work the whole time which I did not expect.

I also thought that the legs will play a big role where I can distribute the weight but it was not exactly the case. Here in wall climbing, as much as possible, you have to use your legs to push yourself up and assist it with your arms holding the climbing holds or can also be called "jugs". Don't try to pull yourself up using your arms (unless needed) if possible because it will tire you up easily which happened to me here.

climbing with Patrick

belaying by coach Jake

You need to shake your arms from time to time to rest those pressured muscles, but the right form to do it might sound so simple but it is not that easy to execute in person. You need to straighten your other arm, lean back, then shake that tired arm. It's easy to say but difficult to do especially if you are already in your 2nd to 3rd climb attempts already.

To be honest, it's harder than I thought it would be. It was really challenging in a good way forcing us to do better attempts after attempts. It was something different and makes you test yourself every time to do faster and higher.

climbing!

Tip: Each wall has its own characteristics so familiarizing yourself with every jug matters. And, each jug also comes in different shapes and sizes and I am pretty sure you'll remember your favorite jugs the minute you hold them again. You'll have your favorites, especially the ones that are easy and comfortable to get a grip on.

climbing holds or jugs

This was really a different but nice experience. Patrick and I were discussing that it hits some of the muscles we were not expecting to use because when we played badminton right after climbing, our arms had a hard time smashing. Maybe because it was too tired that when we try to make our arms firm to make a smash, it automatically eases itself to relax. So what we had that time were jelly arms. Haha! 

numbing arms

But for what it's worth, it is satisfying to think that wall climbing is now ticked off in my invisible goals list. Lol! So if you want to tick this off on your list too, try it here on the Edge Climb Gym (Facebook name) as their buddy pass will definitely save you some bucks. 

the climbing gang

Feel free to watch some of our clips below and a special shoutout to Gab who accompanied us also on this trip and covered some pictures and videos for this blog.

clips inside The Upper Deck wall climbing

If you cannot see the video above, click HERE for it

Address: Ground floor Ortigas Technopoint Parking Building, #1 Julia Vargas Avenue, Ugong, Pasig 

Operating hours: 8:00AM to 8:00PM

Contact nos.: 0919-0834143

Email: [email protected]

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/TheUpperDeckPh

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