The Circuit Bouldering Gym NE — Attraction in Portland

I've been a member of the Circuit for nearly six years now. In that time, their prices have nearly doubled. The list of improvements to make up for those price increases over the past six years are:

1. a mural on the wall (whoopee).
2. a slightly improved weight area, but it's still an afterthought at best.
3. finally fixing the floor after years of it being a taped-together mess.
4. no longer playing dubstep

...and that's it. My friends who work here say the prices have gone up to "stay competitive" with places like Planet Granite. Here's an economics tip: you stay competitive by offering more bang for your buck, not by arbitrarily raising prices without providing anything in return. Now that a Circuit monthly membership is only $6 cheaper than a Planet Granite membership, the choice is obvious: by spending an extra $6/month I get to boulder, top-rope, shower, sauna, and have access to a huge weightlifting area/workout machines?? [Edit: The Circuit once again raised their prices - now it's only $1 cheaper than PG! So if you want to save a buck a month, you can choose to forego all those amenities, plus deal with the fact that the Circuit is un-airconditioned during the summer.]

If you go in the afternoon or on weekends, prepare to share the wall with dozens of poorly-supervised kids having birthday parties, shrieking the entire time, and walking under you without a care in the world. I get it, you guys make a bunch of money this way, but your staff does not have the experience to handle a bunch of grade-schoolers running around a climbing gym, and I'm not paying $77/month [now $82 a month] to feel like I'm intruding on a daycare.

There are two reasons to go with the circuit: 1) their setters are top-notch, in my opinion the best in town. But given that they were just as good back when the Circuit was reasonably priced, it's not like anything's improved. And I'm gunna take a wild guess and say that their wage, and the employees' wages, haven't increased as much as the Circuit's rate has. The other reason to climb here is that the community is the best out of any climbing gym. But that's in spite of the Circuit's owners, not because of it.

If you're lucky enough to live in Tigard, your membership will get you showers, a decent weight area, and huge facilities. If you live in inner Portland and climb evenings/weekends, you'll be in an overcrowded, overpriced gym with a bunch of...

I recently visited The Circuit Gym in Tigard and will not be returning, because I choose to support businesses that value their customers and customer service. We arrived at the Circuit Gym and waited while the two cashiers were helping other customers. Strangely, one of them was giving ample advice to the customer on finding Circuit Gym deals on Groupon--I had heard that businesses receive very little of the revenue from Groupon but maybe that's not the case as this was so freely recommended by the business itself. Anyway, after talking for awhile about said deals, the customer proceeded onto his business, leaving the cashier free to help me (with two children). Rather than do so, he ambled over to the female cashier and helped her, then proceeded to chat for awhile before returning to his station. He did not motion for me to approach the register, so I walked up, at which point he finally acknowledged my presence. I had our exchange student with me, and he proceeded to ask whether he was my son, and whether I had guardianship papers so that I could legally sign the waiver for him to climb. There was some fairly egotistical banter on his part, and general rudeness. I asked to speak to the manager, and the cashier had to leave the area to the outside/roof so that he could get reception on the landline that they accept all calls on. The manager was straightforward, and then pretty rude when he told me he would not allow the international student or us into the gym. I asked to know who the owner was and he told me no, he would not tell me who that was. He then said that he, Danny Burkhead, was part owner. I know we find ourselves in divisive times with sometimes little regard to politeness, and I know that the way people view those from other countries has changed. I was astounded to find that manifest in my interactions with everyone I was in contact with on the Circuit Gym staff. There are kind ways of explaining things, and there are ways of running a business compassionately. Those ways are simply not found at the Circuit Gym, and so I won't be going back. I choose to support the other kind of businesses--the ones that value their customers, that choose community, and that...

My climbing gym of choice. From what I understand, this place is the first bouldering gym in the Pacific Northwest, and it's one of the biggest bouldering gyms in the US, if not THE biggest!

I love the variety of problems there are, meaning that there's never a day where I'm bored. You can top off (meaning: climb over the edge) on the middle two structures which makes reaching the top super satisfying. There's a variety of terrains to try out; get good at all of them!

They've got a traverse wall across one of the walls of the gym, which is super appreciated. They've also got other training equipment available, such as tension boards, hangboards, a slackline, as well as a few traditional gym items (ex. pullup bar, free weights, rowing machine) in the back corner. There's also a kids area where kids can solve easier-to-reach problems as well as top off; they can get down from the wall via a slide!

For those coming here for the first time and are worried about the cost, the rates here are lower than Portland Rock Gym and Planet Granite (both for passes and rentals), though something to note is that there's no top rope. This is a bouldering gym, after all!

The folks here are the friendliest community I've encountered in Portland. Don't be afraid to chat up another climber if you're getting stuck on a problem!

Depending on the hour, it'll either be comfortably crowded or nearly empty. Go based on your preference! In general, it's emptier during the day on weekdays than on weeknights or weekends.

Go...