The worst "climbing" experience of all…
The worst "climbing" experience of all time! I drove my sister (a very experienced climber) to the gym wall at De Uithof in The Hague to surprise her when she was visiting the Netherlands for Christmas. The lady at the entrance charged us (42 euros) and told us later that she had to test us to see if we could climb safely. So far, ok.
My sister had her Petzel Grigri, which is a cam-assisted locking device, for belaying me. But the lady seemed to have never seen one before. She did not understand that a Grigri works differently from an ATC device. She did not give us any choice and told us that she was too busy and that we were not allowed to climb. She said this in front of everyone, in an extremely humiliating and demeaning way. When I asked for my money back, she offered us vouchers for drinks ....😩
I was adamant that if we were not allowed to do the climb, we would like a refund! She told us that she was not allowed to give refunds and that we would have to write an e-mail to ask for one.
Yes... I have written 2 e-mails and have never received a reply!!! Or my money.
Lost 42€, had a very unpleasant experience and lost half a day of my sister's holiday. Joy! So, if you want to have a good time climbing, be warned, this is NOT what you will find at the Klimmur De Uithof.