QuickTake:

Enthusiasts say that rock climbing is more than just great physical exercise — it involves problem solving as well. There are more places than ever for locals to try it, even if they never plan to climb outdoors. 

Elevation Bouldering Gym in Eugene buzzed with the sound of a drill April 24 as an employee fastened a large black fiberglass hold to the wall, drafting a new climbing route. 

“When you’re route-setting, you have the ability to manipulate and design the movement,” said Elevation owner Michael Hudson. “And that can give you a deeper appreciation for what’s possible, which is almost anything.”

Hudson is testing the bounds of what’s possible as he moves forward with plans for a new climbing facility in the former Register-Guard building in north Eugene. The news has been well-received by the area’s growing indoor climbing community, who seem hungry for more opportunities and spaces for climbing. 

Indoor climbing grows in popularity 

Elevation’s second location will be Eugene’s fourth climbing gym (not including the two climbing walls at the University of Oregon Student Recreation Center). 

Crux Rock Gym, which opened in 1994, is the oldest. The gym is in a former Eugene Planing Mill building at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and Lawrence Street, just southwest of Skinner Butte. Crux is currently the only climbing gym in Eugene that offers top-rope and lead climbing in addition to bouldering. (Bouldering is climbing without the use of ropes or harnesses. Bouldering walls are typically shorter than rope climbing walls and have soft mats underneath them to protect climbers if they fall. In top-rope and lead climbing, also called sport climbing, climbers use ropes for safety.)  

Elevation’s first location, also on West Third Avenue, less than a block from Crux, opened in 2017. The Circuit Bouldering Gym at Pearl Street and East 11th Avenue opened in November 2024. 

Indoor climbing is becoming more popular nationwide, and Hudson said the Pacific Northwest had a head start, mainly because so many early gyms like Crux and the Portland Rock Gym opened to support the outdoor climbers who needed a place to train when the weather kept them from climbing outside.  

“Very few people would choose those facilities when the weather was nice,” Hudson said. “But that’s one of the changes with modern gyms, even when the weather’s nice, people still come in, because the indoor climbing experience has just gotten more pleasant, more accessible and more varied.”

Todd McCormick, manager at The Circuit, said he thinks the popularity of indoor climbing in recent years is due to two factors: the addition of sport climbing in the Olympic Games in 2020, and the release of mainstream films about climbing, such as “Free Solo.” 

Twenty years ago, McCormick said, a climber would have had to go to a large city to have access to a climbing gym. Now, even medium-sized cities like Eugene have several gyms. 

While climbing gyms got their start as a place for outdoor climbers to train, McCormick said he now sees many indoor climbers who have never climbed outdoors. 

The Circuit provides a place for them to practice climbing skills and also to find community. In addition to a large climbing space, The Circuit has strength training and stretching areas, as well as a bar and a ping pong table. The gym hosts special events like movie screenings and has specific nights for student, BIPOC and queer meetups. 

“I think often climbing gym owners and operators aspire to have their gym be referred to as a third place,” McCormick said, “you know, like a community space where people just hang out. And I think that we have that here. We have people that come to climb, sure, but then we also just have people that come in to hang out, because they like the pingpong or they want to sit at the bar and chat with their friends.”

Marra Watson, owner of Crux Rock Gym, said that for many people, indoor climbing is seen less as a sport but as something fun to do on the weekend, like going to the movies. 

“It’s seen as much safer because it is indoors and everything’s very controlled,” Watson said. 

She said her clients comprise a wide age range, from kids to seniors. 

“I have people come in all the time, and they say, ‘I’m just bringing my kids in to climb. I’m too old,’” Watson said. “And then, I’m like, ‘Look out there, are they too old?’”

Elevation’s expansion

Elevation’s second location would allow the business to add sport climbing to its offerings. 

Hudson is currently going through the city’s conditional use permit process, which will determine his ability to turn the old newspaper production space into climbing walls. He expects the city to have a decision on that permit by the end of this summer. After approval, he can start applying for building permits.

“These projects take time,” he said. “But we’re closer than ever to being able to actually build.”

The local climbing community has long anticipated Elevation’s expansion. The gym posted on its social media in February 2023 that it was building a rope gym in Eugene but didn’t provide details. Finally, in February, an update: 

“Today we are happy to break our long silence and announce that we are building a new full-service climbing facility in the production wing of the former Register-Guard building,” the gym posted on its Instagram and Facebook pages. 

Positive responses followed. 

“This building is TALL!! Cannot wait!” one commenter wrote. 

“Good job! I think all of the climbing communities and businesses can thrive in Eugene. I think this addition will bring more climbers into the area,” another wrote.

“60-foot walls I hope,” one commenter on Facebook wrote. 

Elevation plans to grant their wish. 

“It’s a good repurposing of the space,” Hudson said. “The press room is so unusual because it’s very tall but relatively narrow.”

Hudson said Elevation will occupy approximately 34,000 square feet of the building’s 120,000-square-foot space. Other tenants occupy the former newsroom; Elevation will use the area that previously held the printing presses for the newspaper. 

Printing of The Register-Guard moved to a publishing company in Vancouver, Washington, in 2021, after Gannett assumed ownership of the paper. 

He said the gym plans to offer a variety of climbing wall heights, from 8-foot bouldering walls to 60-foot rope climbing walls. He also plans to have a dedicated youth climbing area. 

In addition, Hudson and his team are planning spaces for activities that will complement climbing and make the gym a comprehensive place for fitness. He’s considering strength training, stretching and yoga, and perhaps exercise classes. 

He said The Register-Guard building will offer a closer bouldering gym for the residents of north Eugene and Springfield, and because it is close to the highway, it is convenient for climbers traveling from out of town. 

As Hudson finalizes designs for the new Elevation location, he said he’s considering what the climbing community might want five, 10 and 20 years down the road. 

“When you do a project like this, you have to make a bunch of permanent decisions,” he said. “So you want to be really intentional in all the decisions that you make because you can’t easily pick up your equipment and move it.”