F.A.Q.

616 State Street in downtown Hood River in the upper level of the Old Asbury Church. It’s a block west of the library, on the same side of the street.

Literally, Brimstone means ‘sulfur’--which seems appropriate given our location smack in the middle of two major volcanoes. And we built the gym inside an old church--you know, fire and brimstone and all…

No, we’re a bouldering gym, which means walls no more than 15-feet tall with big, thick, foam mats underneath them.

We like rope-climbing, too, but for a number of reasons, a bouldering gym makes more sense:

We have an amazing space, and the ceilings are tall, but not quite tall enough for worthwhile roped walls. By offering only bouldering, we can create the best features in the space we have available.

In a small space, a bouldering gym can accommodate more people than a gym with ropes. Someone might take 10 or 15-minutes to climb a tall wall, whereas it usually takes someone less than 5-minutes to attempt a boulder problem, so people can cycle through more quickly.

Bouldering is a social activity. People often hang out on the mats between climbs, encourage each other and share advice. It’s important to us that this is a space for community to gather and to form.

Bouldering is more accessible than rope climbing. A bouldering gym is kind of like an all-ages playground. Someone can walk into a bouldering gym by themselves, never having climbed before, go through a quick orientation, rent a pair of shoes and be climbing within a few minutes. No complicated, intimidating apparatuses. No belay tests. No need to bring a partner.

Yes. We will offer a small assortment of traditional fitness equipment (cardio machines and weights) and yoga.

For special events, perhaps, but our insurance company won’t bite on the climbing while drinking or drinking while climbing thing. Given our current footprint, we had the option to open a bar or a climbing gym. We opted for a climbing gym. Maybe the constraints will change in the future, but, in the meantime, you can choose between thirty establishments that serve alcohol within about seven blocks.

Yes! We have coffee from Moby Roasters (Parkdale, OR) and an assortment of bars and pre-packaged snacks. Again, we want our staff to focus on the climbing gym thing rather than the food service/barista thing.

We will definitely put up a pull-up bar and a hangboard. Hopefully an assortment of hangboards. Maybe a campus board.

We would love to have a Kilter, Moon or Tension board, someday. For now, we’ve made the decision to prioritize our square footage toward a climbing experience that’s accessible and fun for the greatest number of folks possible.

Sadly, no, because it sounds like a lot of you would like one. If we can figure out somewhere to put it that doesn’t prevent people from climbing, we will.

Yes. We have rental shoes and chalk bags, and loaner towels and yoga mats.

Yes. We have five models of retail shoes from So iLL. We also offer chalk from Chalk Cartel, chalk bags from VonZ Thread Works, Rhino Skin Solutions, of course, lots of Brimstone swag. With enough interest, we could offer more retail climbing gear down the road.

Not exactly, but we have lockers, cubbies, benches and four single-person bathrooms that we keep obsessively clean.

Yes. Two. And towels!

Yes.

Yes.

Yep.

Absolutely.

So much.

Hard yes.

No. But, if you have other questions, requests or suggestions, shoot us an email at info@brimstoneboulders.com