When most people hear the word “climbing,” they think of little kids climbing a tree or rock climbing in the wild. However, in today’s world, climbing is growing into a popular trend.

If you were to visit a place called “The Circuit Bouldering Gym” near Bridgeport between 5-8pm, you would find a packed parking lot and a climbing gym full of people. “The Circuit” is one of many climbing gyms opening up around Portland, including Planet Granite and Portland Rock Gym.

Bouldering is a sport which involves climbing color-coordinated routes that are graded on a scale from 0-10, with 10 being the hardest and 0 being the easiest. Routes labeled “0” are typically a little bit harder than climbing a ladder, meanwhile 10’s are for those that have practiced climbing for many years.

Climbing is appealing to people simply because bouldering is a physical exercise, yet it doesn’t feel like one. Bouldering is like a puzzle, since you have to think about how to correctly position yourself on the route. This combination of a mental and physical workout is what makes the sport so appealing. Oliver Hardt (a student at Wilsonville) says he goes there because “It’s a fun way to work out and helps me be more focused and driven in other parts of my life.”

If you are looking for a new and current hobby, try bouldering! While it is a slightly expensive investment at first, it pays off in the long run because you will fall in love with the challenges it presents.