Salt Pump Climbing

Have you tried climbing? Would you like that feeling of soreness and satisfaction? How about when your brain tells you to do something, but your body won't let it? That was how I felt after my climbing session last night. I was PUMPED, like jello arms pumped. It was glorious!

I loved, loved, loved this gym. It was just what the climber in me, who hasn't climbed regularly in over a year, needed to become reinvigorated in the sport. It's a mindset, to want to climb, to feel the urge to be strong and confident. To understand your body mechanics, to remember to breathe. All of these things are addictive and climbing, as a sport, gets in your blood. It makes you want... NO... need, to climb.

At this point, I would say I am a veteran climber. I have been in the game for almost a decade, have taught kids and adults how to belay, worked in a rock gym for over 5 years, and gone on the quintessential western climbing/camping trip. I would call myself a climber. Am I the best? Nope. Do I trad climb? No, but I'll clean your route. Do I love projecting routes? You bet!

When I walked into Salt Pump, I was immediately greeted by the employees who asked a few questions to gauge our climbing experience. They were non-judgemental and really gave us the time to check in, then gave us a quick tour. The facility is beautiful! It's open, but no so open it feels overwhelming. It's got a really great vibe, which immediately made me feel at ease.

The route setting was solid. Lots of variety, literally something for everyone. They have bouldering, top roping, auto belays, a lead wall, and a few nice cracks throughout the gym. This is a real climber's gym. I can tell that that is their audience and that that is who should frequent this locale. It doesn't feel commercial, industrial, or corporate.

And, to top it off, they have a pond off their back deck where you can fish and you access to a grill to cook food after your climbing session. I am completely sold and you should be too. Of the two gyms in the area, this one will happily give my money to:

Amazing rock climbing gym to go to by far the best around, good selection of easy ish rock climbing levels and a nice, friendly staff always ready to help.

Another great climbing gym in the area! The people are great and the routes are fantastic. Which is better.... I bet there is ALWAYS going to be that question...

The answer is simple. Go to whichever feels right and is in the location you want!

I love the routes at SP and especially the staff. Having trouble with a route? There's always another climber or a staff member willing to help you learn and become a better climber. The location is a bit secluded but that offers a little pond to play on, a bigger floor space and big windows with great views!

A rock-star kinda place (*groan*)

Very clean and awesome atmosphere! First time climbing and I am hooked, tired as hell but worth it! Can't wait to return back here and do it again!

The staff was also super friendly and helpful

Not to be missed. Great staff! Great walls! Great workout area!

As the long cold winter closes our outside playtime, give this gym a try! IT IS THE BEST! Great routes, and variety. If you haven't climbed in a gym that doesn't mark it's routes with tape, you deserve to try it! Also, THEY EVEN HAVE 3 crack climbs!!!

Oh yeah, and if your dog is quiet, house trained and socialized, you can bring them too!

I've been a member of SP for about a year now and it's the best gym I've been to before of the facility and the service. The routes are constantly changing so I never get bored and they keep everything clean which is hard with chalky climbers everywhere. I like the quarterly parties which are the fall, winter, spring and summer solstices. It's totally free for members and includes raffles for gear, climbing comps for all levels, free cider/beer and free food. Your membership also includes a yoga class every night and a skills seminar on various climbing skills. It's a great value and you can bring two guests a month to climb with you. The owners are very involved and you'll see them all the time. It's also great for families with the kiddos with the wall upstairs with many easy routes to try. It's never very crowded either and I can always get on a autobelay within a few minutes. If you car pool or ride a bike there's a raffle every month for a membership for saving the planet.

With limited outdoor climbing in the immediate Portland area, this gym really fills a need. A bit of a drive can get you to serious climbing, but to train in the area, the gym is a must.

As a primarily outdoor climber, my expectations were low going in - after all, what can you hope to recreate of the outdoor climbing experience in an indoor setting? My experience with rock gyms in the past had answered this question: fine to train, but only to train.

I was honestly surprised with my experience at Salt Pump. Great location, with lots of windows and natural light, beautiful lake out back and the sunset is beautiful here. Even from indoors, the sense of the outdoors is present.

The climbs. Options vary from bouldering to three-story walls, and everything in between. The bouldering is from 90 to 180, and lots of variant routes on the same walls. The large walls are top-rope or lead, and several auto-belay systems are in place. Difficulty ranges from 5.6 to 5.13+, and there are three (if I counted right) artificial cracks available.

Wow. Not the same as being at Acadia, but hey. If I have to climb inside, this is where I'm doing it.

Best rock climbing gym I've ever been to. People there love climbing which makes a great atmosphere. They didn't charge me when I was there just to belay for my daughter. However, after I found out that they have self belaying devices there so I can climb with her too, I will just climb with her. Great place.

Beautiful gym, love all the natural light coming through the many windows. And it's clean, including the ladies restroom. After returning from Joshua Tree NP to learn basics of crack climbing, I looked for local gyms to see if there was any with crack routes and instruction. I found the Salt Pump Climbing gym and although it's a 154 mile, round trip drive for me, it has what I needed to continue learning more crack climbing skills. I'm working with Tino and my lessons are fantastic, Tino is the Movement Guru!!

This place was love at first sight! Right away I fell in love with climbing, the laidback inviting vibe of this place, and the friendly people that work and climb here. I had almost no climbing experience (10 years ago I occasionally monkeyed around on a free wall at my college) and tried out the Intro to Climbing class which comes with a 2-week trial membership and all the equipment you need during that time. (During winter 2017 they have an extra discount advertised online with the promo code climb2017), so it was only $32 for all of that. Their website is beautiful and intuitive so it couldn't have been easier to fill out the waiver, register and pay for the course online before I even got there. It can be fairly intimidating to show up the first time for natural reasons - there's a whole world of equipment, lingo and etiquette that it takes time to learn, but I have found everyone I've talked to to be very friendly and willing to share info and tips if you ask. I enjoy the yoga classes included with membership they offer as well and find it really helpful to do some opposing pushing movements in those classes since you do so much pulling when climbing. What else...the music is pretty great - anything from James Brown funk to Eddie Vedder. I haven't heard any top 40 nor typical gym bro rock so I couldn't be happier about that. I moved here not too long ago and don't know anyone else in Portland who climbs, but so far it's been easy to find belay partners if you want them (if you got to yoga first often there are others who want to climb after, or if you see anyone else auto-belaying you can ask if they're interested), so don't be intimidated about showing up alone. If you'd rather auto-belay, they have 5 with varying route difficulty so it's not hard to get a spot on one. There seems to be a weekday rush of people who come straight after work, but even then you can find plenty of spots to climb, and that rush hour doesn't last long. Also, it's dog friendly, so you can pet some of the most adorable gentle giants while you're resting in between climbs. I couldn't like this place more. Careful, it's addicting!