Bouldering · Tacoma, WA
Twenty minutes or two hours.
Bouldering is climbing without the setup. No partner, no ropes, no lesson required. Show up in shorts and we’ll hand you the shoes.
Why people climb here
Three reasons it sticks
You don't need a partner
Bouldering is solo by default. Nobody holds your rope, nobody waits on you. Turn up alone at 8pm and climb until close without saying a word to anyone — or don't, most people end up talking.
New problems every Tuesday
Two setters, a full reset of one wall each week. Come back in seven days and a quarter of the gym is something you've never touched. It's never the same gym twice.
Nobody's watching
Everyone here fell off something ten minutes ago. The beginner wall is the busiest wall in the building, most nights by a wide margin.
First visit
Your first visit, start to finish
Sign the waiver
Online before you come, or at the desk when you get here. Either way it's five minutes.
Rent shoes
Six dollars, sizes 4 to 15. Climbing shoes should feel snug, not painful — the desk will size you.
Watch the floor briefing
Two minutes on how to fall, where not to stand, and how the grades work. It runs on the hour.
Start on the yellow wall
Lowest angle, biggest holds, softest grades. Work up from there whenever you feel like it.
Set report
This week’s sets
Tuesday, March 17
Cave reset — 18 new problems, V2 to V8
The whole steep section came down Monday night. Eighteen up, and the grade spread is wider than usual: five under V4 for anyone who's been avoiding the cave.
Read the set notes →
Thursday, March 12
The yellow wall got easier on purpose
We softened the whole beginner wall by about a grade. Naledi explains why a wall that flatters you on day one is doing its job better than one that doesn't.
Read the set notes →
Tuesday, March 10
Setter's notes: the blue V5 everyone hates
Four people have asked us to take it down. It's staying up until Sunday. Here's what the second move is actually asking you to do with your hips.
Read the set notes →Members