Portland is a special city in more ways than one. It has good food, a short drive to the coast or up to the mountain and has an absolute surplus of climbing gyms. From climbing gyms that stretch 100+ feet to the ceiling with ropes hanging from the top, to smaller gyms with tight-knit communities, Portland has it all, at least in terms of climbing. Recently, a new climbing gym, called Tomo Bouldering Club, opened for the first time on 1315 NW Overton St.
Just like the name says, Tomo is a bouldering-only gym. Bouldering is the act of climbing up a wall or rock face without any ropes. To keep you safe when you fall, there’s a good chunk of padding beneath you to cushion your fall. This doesn’t completely eradicate the risk of injuries after a fall, so it’s always a good idea to learn the right way to fall before you go gunning for it to the top of the wall.
The gym opened in early February while still working out a few kinks in the system. The gym has 5000 sq ft of climbing and workout area, along with an upper mezzanine looking down at the rest of the gym.
The pricing at Tomo is relatively competitive, with a $20 day pass and a $850 annual pass, whereas other similar bouldering gyms in Portland cost $22 for a day pass but $800 for a year. Tomo also has a pass for access to their mezzanine to work or just relax and sip some tea for $10 a day.
Their main climbing walls are filled to the brim with amazing routes, with interesting solutions for climbers of all experience levels. Many of the climbs are jam-packed with massive holds scattered across the walls, creating interesting moves. Even where there aren’t fancy holds in play, they manage to create interesting moves, often being more competition-based if that’s your forte. This may be because of the growing popularity of the jump-and-run style of climbing that was on the main stage in the Olympics.
The mezzanine area is complete with desks and chairs, board games, a stretching area with foam rollers and a full setup to make tea while staying above. It’s also an area where many clubs meet up to have fun.
In the training area, there are dumbbells, squat racks, bench gear and hangboards to train your fingers, and if you venture outside of the training area, you can find the 2024 Moon Board and the 16x12ft Kilter Board.
Both of which are called system boards that let you connect over Bluetooth with an app on your phone that lights up LEDs beneath the hold, mapping out where to climb. All of the climbs you can choose from are made by other users, and because all of the holds are standardized from board to board, you can do the same climb across the world. Both the Moon Board and Kilter Board have their pros and cons, both being great for slightly different things, with the main goal of making you stronger.
Right beyond that, there’s a densely packed spray wall inspired by a European style spray wall with bigger holds and a Japanese style that would never skimp out on the skin-splitting crimps. This is one of the few commercial spray walls in Portland and has a great variety of holds from comfortable crimps, sharp real rock emulating holds and some larger sloping holds strewn about.
The last thing to mention that really sets Tomo apart from other gyms is all of the different clubs they have, including a Women and Non-Binary Climb Morning, a Poetry and Prose Night and a BYOY (bring your own yarn) Yarn Night. Keep in mind that you need a day pass or a membership to attend all of these clubs.
Tomo has a high-level setting for all levels of climbs, training from their variety of system boards and their own spray wall to train on. If you don’t climb, they still have things for you. Between the mezzanine pass along with the variety of clubs they offer, Tomo creates a tight-knit community accepting of everyone who steps foot in the gym. At the end of the day, Tomo is a great gym that is definitely worth a visit at any level of climbing.
