ABOUT US
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Welcome to Mount Palace, one of London's oldest, smallest and friendliest climbing centres
Dating back to 1991, the Crystal Palace climbing scene is one of London’s oldest, it's roots stemming from our proximity to the UK’s busiest outdoor climbing area, the Southern Sandstone crags of Kent
As London’s closest roped climbing gym to these iconic crags, Crystal Palace has been an integral part of the climbing community for years. The current gym was built in 2010 and since that time we’ve expanded the focus beyond just climbing, building a strong commitment to inclusivity and the wider community
Nestled within Crystal Palace’s iconic National Sports Centre, our not-for-profit organisation - run by team of Crystal Palace natives - stands apart from most other centres in London.
Instead of charging steep fees for entry, hire fees and supervision charges—costs that can create barriers to participation—we prioritise accessibility. We offer high-quality but affordable indoor climbing for climbers of all levels while partnering with several local charities and groups to create opportunities for people who might otherwise face barriers to accessing it
We truly believe that climbing is unique in its ability to push personal limits, foster a sense of achievement and growth, and build communities like no other activity. If you're already a climber, you'll know exactly what we mean. We don’t think climbing should be reserved for those of us who are lucky enough to afford it and we’re committed to making it accessible to individuals and communities who stand to benefit the most from the physical, mental, and social rewards it offers
Unlike most climbing centres, our team consists entirely of Mountain Training certified roped climbing instructors, all of whom are British Mountaineering Council members, ready to offer friendly guidance and expert advice. Our route setters are among the best in town, creating a diverse range of routes to challenge and inspire climbers of all skill levels. Plus, we're proud to be fully paid-up members of the Association of British Climbing Walls
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ABOUT CLIMBING
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Although most people now associate climbing with bright colours and dynos, it wasn’t always that way
Originally a component of mountaineering, rock climbing became a distinct discipline in the 19th century when European mountaineers began focusing on the technical challenges of the rock faces themselves. By the 1980s, advancements in climbing techniques led to indoor climbing, sparking the rise of climbing gyms for year-round training
Broadly speaking, indoor climbing can be divided into three main categories:
Bouldering - Climbing short walls (usually around 4 metres) without ropes, using crash pads for safety
Bottom Roping (aka Top Roping) - Climbing with a rope anchored at the top of the wall, providing a secure way to ascend while being belayed from below
Lead Climbing - Climbing while attaching the rope to fixed points (quickdraws) along the route, being belayed from below
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ABOUT OUR STUFF
Small but perfectly formed, we like to think of Mount Palace as the perfect micro climbing gym—compact but packed with everything you need to train hard and crush
Grading : We're all about getting people climbing outdoors so we prefer to use the Font grading system for Bouldering and there's a couple of reasons for this.
Firstly, it directly translates to the grades you'll encounter outside. The Fontainebleau forest, just outside Paris, is the birthplace of Bouldering and the Font grading system developed there has become the most widely used in the UK, Europe and beyond—both indoors and out.
Secondly, the Font system offers more granularity in the lower grades compared to the V grading system, allowing us to fine-tune route difficulty more precisely so you don't blow precious time and energy climbing something you're not ready for.
You might also find our grading a little stiffer than at other centres in London. We aim to align our grades more closely with outdoor climbing, helping you better prepare for your trips outside. We use just one coloured tag at the start of the route to denote both the highest starting hand hold and the difficulty of the climb
Bouldering : Our walls are packed with a wide range of bouldering lines with grades ranging from F3+ to F7A and all set by some of the best freelance setters in the business. We’ve got a couple of ungraded traverses to warm up on and will be reinstalling the popular but exhausting high-level full room traverse soon. New problems go up every week with regular sectional resets to keep things fresh.
We're also lucky to have a small section of textured feature wall here too. These are quite rare these days but we believe they’re a good way to practice climbing on real rock. Ours is designed to mimic the natural sandstone found at the nearby Southern Sandstone crags. We keep route-setting minimal on it to encourage the use of features, precise footwork, and thoughtful weight distribution—key skills for climbing outdoors.
We provide topos of established routes, which you can find next to the wall. Plus, we welcome customer-suggested routes—if you come up with a new line, you can name it and we'll put it up on a new Topo
Training Board : You dont have to climb above F7A to enjoy yourself but to satisfy those that do we have a beast of a training board. Set by none other than Jo Neame, a team GB climber and one of the strongest on the planet, it's built on an overhanging stepped wall with an average angle of about 45 degrees. It's a sustained 5.5mtr test of endurance. We'll be tweaking this and adding / removing holds over the next couple of months before uploading it to the Stokt app so stay tuned...
Roped Walls : Although relatively low by roped wall standards, our four top rope bays are still plenty challenging. We've designed them to be accessible for beginners while still offering enough difficulty to keep stronger climbers engaged.
To encourage the kind of route reading essential for outdoor climbing, we’ve set the walls in a spray wall-style layout. This allows climbers to create their own routes, making them as easy or as hard as they like. We’ll be adding holds and refining this setup over the next couple of months before uploading it to the Stokt app—so stay tuned!
Lastly, like our bouldering walls, part of our roped section mimics the rock formations of the nearby Southern Sandstone crags. It’s minimally set, making it ideal for precise footwork practice and route reading and we'll be running abseiling sessions from it's belay ledge in the future too.
Gym : While calling it a 'gym' might be a bit of a stretch, our training area is well-equipped with pretty much everything you need. It features a 4-meter-high campus board, Beastmaker, strap trainer, dumbbells, kettlebell, balance board and resistance bands.
Showers & Lockers : The National Sports Centre offers plenty of gender-neutral showers and changing rooms. While you're welcome to leave your bags and coats in the climbing centre, there are also lockers available out in the sports centres corridors—just bring your own padlock.
ABOUT THE FUTURE
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Since the Mayor of London’s 2018 announcement of a major refurbishment for the National Sports Centre, Mount Palace has been actively advocating for climbing to remain a central part of the Crystal Palace NSC
As key stakeholders dedicated to preserving Palace's long-standing tradition as a hub for climbing, we fully engaged in the Mayor's community engagement process—attending every town hall meeting to ensure the climbing community’s voice was heard and that the sport remains a key feature in the redevelopment plans.
In 2019, our efforts paid off. Through surveys and petitioning, our climbing community made sure that expanded climbing facilities was one of the most requested improvements—second only to improved athletics and swimming facilities. As a result, the GLA pledged to build a purpose-built bouldering centre as part of the redevelopment.
Unfortunately, since the pandemic, we’ve struggled to regain access to the sports centre to reopen the climbing centre. Unfortunately, during this time, climbing has been completely removed from the latest redevelopment plans with the current climbing facilities slated for removal and no replacement detailed in the most recent plans released by the GLA
We need your help. Unlike many other successful climbing nations, the UK lacks a modern, world-class, Olympic-standard facility to climb and train in—and we believe the redevelopment of National Sports Centre is the perfect place for it. This wouldn’t just benefit climbers and athletes across London and the UK; it would also provide meaningful opportunities for the wider community, especially those who need them most
When Mount Palace shuts its doors in 2026 as the National Sports Centre closes for redevelopment, the only remaining options will be limited to expensive centres that provide no community outreach and prioritise profits over people.
Help us to ensure the GLA and the Mayor of London recognise the potential for an international climbing facility at Crystal Palace—one run by an organisation that truly values climbing and the good it can do for the community, rather than a profit-driven company that puts profits before people.
Over the next few months, we’ll be petitioning the Mayor’s office, the GLA, and our local MPs to ensure the 2019 commitment to climbing at Crystal Palace is upheld. But we can’t do it alone. Sign up for our mailing list below so we can take action together and send a clear message!
