Hidden Peak - Chicago, IL

After leaving Oldtown Fitplex I drove just South a mile to Hidden Peak located right in downtown Chicago. I made sure to check it out and see if it was something I would be into and luckily it was. The bouldering gym is located in the back of a tumbling/gymnastic complex. I was directed to the unisex bathroom to change into my climbing attire which was a little strange when 7 year old girls are standing in the same line to use the same bathroom. NOT AT THE SAME TIME OF COURSE!!! My point is that the bathroom is also the changing room.

The gym offers no climbing routes, but several different walls with varying angles on a plywood surface. The holds seemed a little old and didn't appear to have been cleaned in a long time. The boulder problems were very good, a little sandbagged, but cluttered. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the problems before I even got on the problems because of the multitude of tape. This gym is one of the smallest gyms I've ever been to, but it packs a serious punch. In short don't judge a gym by its size.

My favorite features about the gym was the following:
1) The price was right at $10 for a day pass.
2) The climbers are very friendly and guick to offer a spot and encouragement.
3) They had an awesome adjustable system board and campus board.
4) The boulder problems are well thought out and therefore very good.

In short this gym will build you up for a lot of bouldering power. It's a gym I recommend for the boulderer, but not so much for the route climber. The upside to that is the system board which can be used to build endurance given the right training.

Gym Overall: 6.4
Quality of bouldering: 7 (Great quality of bouldering problems)
Quality of routes: 0 (Virtually no route climbing, or potential)
Attitudes of owners/workers: 8 (Pretty friendly staff)
Attitudes of climbers: 8 (Gotta love those Chicago climbers. Very nice folks.)
Cost: 9 ($10 day pass. Can't beat it.)