Have you ever wanted to learn to climb but couldn’t make your first move upwards? Maybe you have done some rock climbing but are stuck trying to reach the next level. Or maybe you are a good climber but need to work on inverse climbing, traversing, or bouldering. No matter your skill set, Hillsboro’s new rock climbing gym is out of this world. The Herald dropped in on Beyond The Wall Climbing last Thursday, and I was blown away when I entered.
James and Marjorie Kirby, and their partners Mikinna and Stephen Johnson , own and created this 10,000-square-foot masterpiece located at Shute Park Plaza, 1001 SE Tualatin Valley Hwy B2, Hillsboro, OR 97123. The fun starts tomorrow, 6-16-24, at 10 AM, and people of all ages, including the little ones, can climb and recreate on multiple climbing walls. Everyone will be safe on almost 3 feet of shock-absorbent special foam flooring. There are colored climbing courses with every form of foothold and handhold. Some walls are vertical, others have inverse courses, and some even provide special traversing routes. Two automated training boards are crowd-sourced, with tens of thousands of lit-up courses that offer climbers endless challenges. Those boards are incredible and have huge mechanical arms that can move from a straight vertical position to a steep incline.
There are no words I can use to describe this, so I will let the following video with Mikinna Johnson and the photos talk for me.
These people are locals, went to school here, are rooted in Hillsboro, and would not have done this project elsewhere. Initially, Beyond the Wall was slated to be in the proposed Block 67 project, and community excitement was high about their arrival in Hillsboro. That project was scrapped and out of their control, but these entrepreneurs pushed on. Please check them out, try climbing with a day pass, get a punch card, or join monthly or annually. Kids and organizations can have parties at BTW as well.
The Hillsboro Herald welcomes Beyond The Wall Climbing and we excited to have this option available to everyone in Hillsboro. Climbers from all over Oregon will undoubtedly come to try out the many courses and options they offer!
Fun for the kids