ATL gets America's largest climbing gym

Some things meant for outside are still great when brought indoors, like plants, pools, and voices, especially when you really want to piss off the substitute. Unless it's Tom Berenger, that would just be crazy. Letting Atlantans rock climb their faces off while simultaneously enjoying air conditioning, Stone Summit

Just opened near Spaghetti Junction, Stone's ATL's newest (and the whole damn nation's biggest) indoor climbing facility: a 45k-sqft open setup with separate areas for different levels of difficulty and changing-weekly clambering routes on a 60-foot-high setup of faux-rock, which makes one wonder where they found that much Creed. If it's your first time, either sign up for the beginner class or schedule a one-hour base climb with a private instructor; you'll also be tested on your knowledge of safety requirements and rope-handling, meaning you'll need to either take a class for "belayers" (the guy on the ground holding your rope) to get familiarized with things like giving commands, tying Figure 8 knots, and lowering, or learn how it's done from "an experienced partner", which is especially helpful if you, yourself, have never been belaid. There're also two sections for rope-free bouldering (climbing up to 15 feet over a padded floor), while upstairs features a silver-tabled/-chaired balcony for viewing higher climbers at eye level, plus a workout area w/ a plethora of dumbbells and machines like treadmills, chest presses, seated leg presses, bikes, and an abdominal oblique crunch made by Hammer Strength, the immenseness of which is why he's asked nicely not to hurt 'em

They've also got a counter where you can purchase smoothies, Cobb salads, chili dogs, and more, plus there's a full service resto coming soon. You can also hit their shop to get running/climbing shoes from La Sportiva along with sleeping bags and tents, reminding you of another activity that's great fun both indoors and out: pitching them.