Ascend Climbing Gym (Mexico)
Los Mochis, Sinaloa
Specs: Mexico-based Ascend Climbing Gym opened in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, in October 2025 and is owned by Kevin Ramírez, Arturo Escobedo, Allan Rodríguez, Israel Granados and Fredy Lizárraga. Ramírez grew up in Los Mochis, before studying in Guadalajara, Jalisco, for 12 years, where he started climbing. He then got married and moved back to Los Mochis in February 2024, building a 2017 MoonBoard in his backyard in March 2024 because he needed a place to climb. “I invited one friend, and that friend invited another friend,” Ramírez recalled. “We kind of created the climbing community in the city, because there was nothing of the sort in the city.” The backyard wall then became open for anybody else who wanted to come, free of charge, where they gathered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Ramírez started teaching new climbers.
Soon after the wall was gaining traction, Ramírez began dreaming of a bigger vision and started researching what it would take to open a commercial gym. “It was much more expensive than I expected,” he said. “I didn’t have the funds or the pool from a community to actually open it.” Because financing was the primary barrier holding up the project, Ramírez continued to focus on helping grow the climbing community in Los Mochis and making connections. Eventually, multiple partners—including his brother-in-law, Rodríguez, and childhood best friend, Granados—joined after seeing the project evolve, and they pooled resources to open the gym.
Construction for Ascend—which is unrelated to the U.S.-based ASCEND climbing gyms in Pennsylvania—began in July 2025 and finished in time for the gym’s opening on October 20th. “We mostly built everything ourselves,” said Ramírez. “All of the carpentry, all of the woods, all of the things.” Originally, the team considered building in a warehouse, but they ultimately chose a house because of its visibility and layout. Ascend is located on a main street in an older neighborhood that evolved into a mixed industrial and commercial space. Ramírez described it as a high-visibility spot, with many people traveling by, and said it has ample parking due to nearby businesses closing before peak gym hours.
The 1,800-square-foot space was transformed to include 1,000 square feet of climbing wall surface, with different rooms and areas serving separate functions. For example, the front area has bouldering walls, interior rooms have been converted into training spaces, and the backyard has been reserved for future expansion, including the potential for a 40-foot roped wall. In addition to 14.8-foot bouldering walls, Ascend features hangboards, free weights, calisthenic setups, and the original backyard MoonBoard, which was transported and rebuilt. Ramírez says the team is planning to add more gym equipment in the future.
Walls: Owner/contractor
Flooring: Owner/contractor
Instagram: @Ascend.Climbing
In Their Words: “I started teaching whoever let themselves be taught, just to not climb alone. And now the people that I taught to climb in my backyard feel compelled to teach others because they were taught for free. So, whenever somebody new arrives, they also teach them. The community is really open to helping each other.” – Kevin Ramírez, Ascend Climbing Gym Co-Owner
