Minimum Bouldering Hall in Zurich

If your kids love climbing, the bouldering hall at Minimum is a good choice to practice their skills. They have dozens of climbing routes with a variety of difficulties, but none that require ropes and harnesses. Our kids (aged 8 to 13) loved trying out different routes, challenging each other, celebrating successes and puzzling out how to master difficult holds. They also enjoyed watching skilled climbers demo their skills.

Kids can have a lot of fun here, but remember, this is a climbing gym, not an indoor playground. So children can’t run around playing games and must be supervised by adults. With the right expectations, this is another great option for families on a rainy day in Zurich. 

Overview

This climbing gym is a large hall filled with climbing structures. All climbing is done without safety equipment like helmets or ropes, over large mats to break your fall. It does not have super tall climbing courses that require being roped in with harnesses and a belay. This means kids can freely walk around and easily try different courses without the hassle of roping in and out. However, this can be dangerous if your kids climb too high and fall. So it is important (and required) to supervise children at all times.

Climbing routes

Each climbing route is marked with a color tag. Yellow is the easiest and white the most difficult. My kids had no experience and could easily do most yellow and green routes.

This training wall at the back of the gym is recommended for beginners. The routes are easier and the wall not overhanging. My kids had fun here but quickly wanted to move to other areas.

Our kids were determined to make it to the top of this structure so they could sit in the chairs up there. I didn’t think they could do it but they love proving me wrong.

The gym is continually changing routes, so you’ll never get bored. They were changing a whole wall while we were there, unscrewing all the holds, which my kids found fascinating.

Climbing with children

Children are welcome here and we saw many children climbing with their parents, both clearly with experience. But Minimum has some strict rules for children using the gym. First, they stress that Minimum is not a playground. No jumping around on the mats, no games of tag, no hide and seek, etc.

They require one adult supervising a maximum of 2 children. My son’s group was turned away because they only had one adult for three 13 year olds. They request that you have the children you are supervising climb on the same wall, which is good practice. But I didn’t see anyone walking around enforcing the rules, so don’t stress if one of yours wanders for a bit.

There is a fitness area in one corner with weights and other fitness equipment. Children are asked not to use this area unless specifically training with an adult. It’s too tempting as a jungle gym for kids.

Climbing Classes

My kids liked that they didn’t have to do an intro course before using the facility, unlike most traditional rock climbing gyms. So they could start climbing right away. However, if your kids don’t know what they are doing, they might climb unsafely, take unnecessary risks and/or try courses that are too difficult and get frustrated early on.

Every Saturday at 12:30, they offer an intro class (aka “Schnupper”) for kids aged 5 to 10 years old. It costs CHF 30 and includes entrance and shoe rental. The course covers gym rules, climbing and safety techniques, No advanced registration required. More info here.

The gym offers intro and technique courses for children and adults, but advanced registration required. So the next time we go, I think I’ll arrange the intro course for my kids so we all feel more comfortable. The full list of courses for children is listed here. They also do courses in English.

What to wear

Climbers should wear flexible clothing that can get dirty, because there is chalk on everything. Our kids wore training pants and long sleeve shirts. You can rent climbing shoes for CHF 5, smallest size available was 30. Make sure you wear socks! There are changing stalls and lockers (CHF 2 coin) upstairs to hold your valuables.

Chilly inside!

The climbing gym is housed in an old brick building without heating or insulation, which it’s about the same temperature inside as it is outside. You are protected from the elements, which is good for rainy, windy days. But in winter, make sure to dress the kids in layers. Of course, our kids quickly got warm after a bit of climbing, but also quickly got cold when they took breaks. As a spectator who spent more time hovering than climbing, I was frozen, especially my feet. There are lots of cubbies around the gym to temporarily stash your jumpers while you are climbing.

Entrance Fee

This place is surprisingly affordable, especially if you go before 15:00 when you get a CHF 3 discount on the entry fee. This fee is not time limited and covers the whole day.

Prices as of 2018: Adults CHF 19, Youth under 24 CHF 15, Child under 12 CHF 8.

Cafe

There is a nice restaurant and bar attached to the gym, with windows looking into the gym. They offer a full service menu as well as snack items. They didn’t explicitly say “no picnics”, but I’m sure they don’t encourage it.

They have free tap water in a self-service jug near the gym entrance.

Video of trail

Video from our hike in Sept 2021.