Reviews of Great Western Power Company (Gym)

G Gordon Worley III

all the touchstone gyms are great, but this is my favorite. it's not the biggest or the newest or the fanciest, but it has a great community of climbers who really support each other. when i come here i feel like everyone is in it together to crush routes. i really like the setting, too. go to another touchstone gym for the coolest routes, come to this one too feel at home.

Max Hietpas

This is my home gym and its great for what it is: they rotate the routes frequently; holds are cleaned between uses; there is a sizable gym upstairs; and they have a variety of classes. However, GWPC feels like it caters more to getting people signed up than keeping its members happy. Give the workout area an overhaul and buy from more than 2 brands of climbing holds and this place turns into the best climbing secret in the bay!

Eric Swanson

My kind of place! Very laid back (but still safe) staff, awesome climbing routes that change regularly, and the coolest people. Hoping they can maintain that Oakland vibe when Uber moves in next door.

Brian Hopkins

A really great facility. Something for everyone, even if climbing isn't your jam, it's a great fitness center. Friendly atmosphere & staff. Def coming back next time im in oakland!

Jeff Chu

Good location, near the BART. Really neat building, with climbing walls constructed around an old smoke stack from a power plant. The bouldering walls are comparable to what Mission Cliffs has, but more spaced apart. Top-ropes here can get a little crowded and claustrophobic though.

Aleksandr Kharshan

I've been to most Bay Area and Sacramento Touchstone gyms and GWPC is my favorite. While it lacks a sauna that some of the others have, and the total wall space that Dogpatch Boulders can and certainly should take pride in, it makes up for it with awesome people that work there, amazing classes, and perhaps the most challenging and interesting bouldering problems among indoor climbing gyms. I am often climbing early weekday mornings when Kyle is the guy welcoming everyone at the front. He has been instrumental at times in advising me and others about how to solve a particular problem. And today without even slightest hesitation helped me fix my bike chain. It would have been a really stressful day otherwise. In addition, Marie Schwindler is an amazing Bootcamp instructor. Avram Pearlman, her no-longer-fiancee-cause-husband is a killer evening yoga instructor. Chaturanga, upward facing, chaturanga, downward facing. I have no reservations about GWPC and short of moving away from the Bay Area, I have no plans to stop coming here. Also Great Western Power Company has an amazing name, and that chimney can't be mistaken for anything else.

Justin Brinkmeyer

Full weight room on top of bouldering, top roping and classes makes for a great gym membership, even if you aren't into climbing.

Bob the KING

Went there last year with my school. I liked it so I paid for a week of training and real fun. Can't forget the experience of going in the roof. See the review in the bottom with the kid. THAT'S ME

Kevin Lo

The urban legend/rumor that Touchstone had thrown up holds into the big steam pipe atop the building totally got my hopes up. I don't know why I was so excited about hopping into a dirty tube and getting black lung, but still. Definitely much much smaller than Mission Cliffs and the bouldering area is essentially the left wall while the right wall is toproping. I did like the upstairs gym area though; spacious and empty. Just bouldered the last time I came. Fun and straight-forward V2s, and the kiddy wall had some ego-boosting routes on it too. Weird slope made me wonder about falling and face-sliding down the wall, but thankfully topped off without blood anywhere. Surrounding neighborhood seems like it's in a transitory period and JUST about to get gentrified, but not quite there.

Malcolm Greaves

Great staff. Wonderful facilities. And they always play the dopest music! They cultivate a spectacular community.

Sara Shonkwiler

Normally I go climbing at ironworks, but my climbing partner and I went to great western this morning at 6am. No one showed up or could be reached for a solid hour. At 7:10 I went home to get changed. No one from gwpc could be reached not even the manager for over an hour.

Iran Rodriguez Hernandez

Awesome place cool thanks Victor.

Laurence Miotto

Seems nice, but I wouldn't know, since the guy at the front desk was rude, dismissive, and answered questions different from what I asked. What I mean by that is I asked if they had a traditional gym area, including weights and a treadmill... No reason to think not but I was told "everything is included in the monthly dues" and then he started fiddling around under the desk. That didn't answer my question! And then I had to press him for info on events and get his attention for each question. This is seriously the first time I think I've ever been dismissed by a clerk like that. Oh, and my questions were how much, what do you have, and do you have an events calendar. And then I left. So not unreasonable I think. On the plus side, the facility looked clean and maintained and everyone seemed to having fun, and I'd love to climb inside that smoke stack.

Emma Rudié

Not as crowded as Ironworks, even though it's wayyyy smaller!

jeff boomstein

Great Climbing Gym lots of top rope routes a good bouldering area not a lot of stuff for beginners thou

Ashley Smith

Touchstone member just out touching other stones.... ALL Touchstone facilities have their own uniqueness. I like this one cuz of the ol skool ambience and "crossfit" area.

Perry Ko

Great climbing gym! Professional, clean, routes gets changed pretty often, and very good staff.

Wesley Ma

Not the biggest gym but definitely a good one, they don’t offer the same amount of classes but it’s a good place to go climbing if you are in the area. I really dig the CrossFit space too, kind of an old school gym feeling.

Kaori Freda

Friendly staff, great workout/warmup area, a ton of classes and workshops. Bit on the small side, and I wish there was a sauna.

Nate Beam

This was a great gym to visit and seemed like an even better place to be a member. All around great gym, just a little less floor space than I'm used to. And, as always, expect the guys behind the counter to be climbers and not customer service professionals.

Jordan Brunel

Day was a rad belay instructor!

Nha Ha

Cool location, but can feel crowded at times.

Cory L

The climbing is fine, the main issue I have is the smell: You can smell weed, smokers, street smells from inside the building.

Cuong T.

GWPC is the most transit accessible climbing gym I've been to in the San Francisco Bay Area. Less than two blocks from the 19th Street Oakland station makes it a great spot to get your climb on before heading to/ from anywhere you please in the Bay. Ample bicycle parking available (indoors and on-street corral) for those who bring #bikesonboard. As for the routes/ setting, Touchstone crammed as much as reasonably possible in a very tall building with a small footprint. Route setting appears to be very consistent across different setters across the gym. The facility is smaller than most in floor space but they've made good use of a downtown location.

Joh W

Great Western Power Company is like the cool kid of the Touchstone gyms in the East Bay. Problems are tougher, the staff are the chillest and the community only cares about one thing - you got the beta on that? If you hear someone complaining about problems being soft or inflated - they're obviously a try-hard. What do we do with try-hards - ignore them. If you ask stupid questions, you'll get stupid answers. If you need to be coddled - go to 24 hour fitness where the people drink prozac spiked vitamin water. Otherwise, stop whining - GWPC is a climber's gym - not a fitness planet, not a la fitness, not a crossfit. You're expected to get callouses, you're supposed to bleed, the ropes smell like bum sweat because it's better that way and you know what, the adults who climb there like it.

Vera DeVera-Dalrymple

My home gym is Ironworks and GWPC is much smaller being situated in downtown Oakland. I came here for the Crossfit intro class. The locker is tiny and not as clean as Ironworks. I liked the different floors for working out -- seemed very spacious and airy on the upper most floor. If you're into rock climbing, the walls feel crowded.

Kerrick Staley

Awesome location, friendly staff, fun routes. Stick your head in the smokestack and look up. It's a little smaller than other Touchstone gyms, and I didn't like the thin, movable bouldering mats (used to places that have thick mats covering the entire floor).

Rik Joon

It was my first time ever climbing! By that I mean really really first time, and my instructor was amazingly amazing and the whole crew and people working there are amazing! Seriously felt like a pro. I did 5.10A and it was legit ! If you are ever planing to try new things and rock climbing happens to be that then this is the place!!! Parking might be everyone's complaining point but hey free parking right the other side by 21st and another block by 22nd street, so yepi Kia yey!

Alexander Krumland

Come here for ropes - less crowded than Ironworks and the lead wall has nice routes

Elizabeth Clarke

Good rock climbing gym with lots of different routes. It's a little pricey for day passes, other than that solid. Make sure to bring your own lock, also there is no communal chalk.

Niklas Lollo

Some good bouldering and top ropes...

Chelsea Ransom

I want to love my neighborhood climbing gym and it’s with sadness I’m giving this poor review. This gym has a leaky roof which causes a serious mold problem. I am asthmatic and the mold makes it difficult for me to breathe. Management clearly knows about the problem (they put buckets out to catch the rain - which is a tripping hazard) and when I complained last year I figured it was a new problem and they’d fix it. I don’t understand where our high membership fees are going if not to fix something as basic as the roof. The rain also makes holds slippery and causes such bad rope friction on their old ropes that some can’t even be used. I would not climb at this gym anymore if there were any other alternative.

David Jennions

The friendliest and generally best climbing gym in the Bay Area.

Jonathan Gabaut

Great climbing gym. Even though it's small, all the times I've been there it was never too crowded and we could get top rope routes easily. Some routes are challenging. People are nice. I highly recommend.

Aaron Lee

They have some easy kid friendly routes from 5.3 and up that are not too high and are slab, my 5 year old was able to complete the 5.3 and almost finished a 5.7 in the main climbing area that had a slight overhand near the top, which he really was stoked to get to. I liked that the holds are not too far apart for a toddler's reach, unlike a 5.7 route made for adults, such as what you would find at Ironworks or DRG. They also had almost brand new kids rock climbing shoe rentals, a big plus compared to the other touchstone gyms. I wished they had some bouldering for kids there because the V0's have holds that are too far apart and too high of a start for a toddler's reach. Dogpatch has an entire kids bouldering area, but I guess GWPC has limited space for bouldering. Friendly staff. Only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because there is no parking other than metered street parking @ $2/hr

Tim O'Brien

Great walls. Great classes. Fun times all around. If you're a member try Mission Cliffs or Berkley Ironworks for their sauna, makes climb recovery much better.

Eric Schles

Convienently located. great bouldering. Good for a first date or some interesting meet ups.

Romy Ilano

The bike racks and young crowd mean this place is full of people that take public transportation and cycle. That creates a cool vibe that contrasts with the atmospheres of other gyms I’ve been to with extensive parking lots. Being around healthy happy people makes you healthy and happy too! A big plus is that since it’s such a bikeable neighborhood people can walk to bars or restaraunts or concerts afterwards instead of jumping into huge SUVs to get back to their suburban homes. Always choose a gym close to s train ... the network effects will benefit you !