First Ascent Arlington Heights hosted USA Climbing Youth National Championships from July 25-31 2022. Read on for a recap of the competition, some highlights from the FA Climbing Team, and […] The post USA Climbing Youth Nationals Recap: Grit & Greatness appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

We’re hosting USA Climbing Youth National Championships at First Ascent Arlington Heights from July 25-31, and 21 of our very own FA Climbing Team kids will be competing at this […] The post Meet the FA Climbing Team kids competing at Nationals appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

First Ascent Arlington Heights is hosting the 2022 USA Climbing Youth National Championship July 25-31.  So we thought we’d give you a rundown of competitive climbing, how it began, and […] The post 8 Things To Know About USA Climbing Youth Nationals appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

In August, we had the privilege of hosting Patrick Leddin, Vanderbilt Professor and leadership expert, on tour for his recent book, The 5 Week Leadership Challenge. He was joined by Lucy Westlake, a 17 year old Naperville resident who claimed the record as the youngest female to climb all 50 state highpoints in the US […] The post The 5 Week Leadership Challenge: Adventure Inspires Leadership appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

Meet FA members (left to right) Manasi Deshpande, Paige Trotter, and Meaghan Cusack . They’re training at First Ascent for the Paraclimbing World Cup in LA in October, and we’re psyched to sponsor and support their training through the FA Foundation!     We asked these three teammates about themselves so we could introduce them […] The post 3 Paraclimbing World Cup Athletes Training At First Ascent appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

The First Ascent team is beyond stoked to announce that we’re expanding FA Block 37!  If you’ve been to our Block 37 location recently, you’ve probably noticed the adjacent space to the left once you walk past our front desk. The expanded space brings more amenities, more climbing features, and more spaces for you to […] The post FA Block 37 Expansion Project appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

Sport Climbing Makes It’s Olympic Debut After a year of uncertainly due to the Covid pandemic, the Olympics are finally underway in Tokyo! This week, 40 of the world’s top sport climbers (20 women and 20 men) will take the stage at the new Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo to compete in the first […] The post Sport Climbing in the Olympics: Everything You Need To Know appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

If you’ve binged all the Netflix and Amazon series and are looking for something fresh to watch for inspiration, fear not: here are 5 climbing films we recommend that will help you take in some climbing history, enjoy some laughs, and catch a fresh wind of motivation. Most of us have probably seen the big […] The post 5 Climbing Films to Watch appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

This is a bit of a different post from our usual here at First Ascent. We’re in the middle of a shelter-in-place order to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, and people, as well as small businesses, are hurting. For that reason, it’s important that we all pull together to help each other how we can. […] The post Why climbers should support local foods appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more

Meet Dustin Sammarco, a longtime member who frequents FA Humboldt Park! Editor’s note: All answers and photos below are from the pre-COVID era. How did you get into climbing?  Growing up in the flat state of Louisiana, I had no idea what rock climbing was. Shortly after moving to Chicago in 2003, a friend of […] The post Member Spotlight: Dustin Sammarco appeared first on First Ascent Climbing and Fitness ..read more