Visiting Central Oregon
Bouldering In Central Oregon
Story by Samuel Stumbo
The air is warm, your forearms burn and you strain to reach the next weakness in the rock wall. Without warning, your toe, which was connected to a micro-ledge on the seemingly blank rock face, looses itself and your unsuspecting body follows along, hurtling toward the ground. Fortunately, the move that you were working on is only a few feet off the ground, so your fall is short and you land with little consequence. You rest for a spell and then continue with the series of moves that you were working through to get to the top of a short section of rock. This is bouldering.
Bouldering is a form of climbing performed on short sections of rock (or on a boulder) measuring no more than 20 feet tall with most boulder routes or "problems" being 10 to 15 feet long. Climbers and mountaineers alike have been bouldering for more than a hundred years to train for harder technical climbs. In the 1950s, a mathematician by the name of John Gill was perhaps the first climber to promote bouldering as a sport unto itself. Also a gymnast, Gill believed that a bouldering problem should have some sort of dynamic movement involved. In Central Oregon, while many climbers were using bouldering as a warm-up for the longer, technical, roped routes at Smith Rock, Chris Jones and the author of "Smith Rock Climbing Guide," Alan Watts, were establishing many of Smith Rock’s bouldering routes in the 1970s and 80s.
In the shadow of the towering walls at Smith Rock State Park, the sport climbing capital of the U.S., bouldering has been a relatively hidden sport, but a growing number of young and old alike are finding its simplicity to be a valid alternative to its roped-climbing kin. Ryan Bolen of The Bend Rock Gym is one of these. "When I first moved to Bend all I brought were climbing shoes and a chalk bag," he says. "Because bouldering is so much simpler, you are freer to concentrate on the way you move on the actual route." In bouldering, there is little to no gear to lug along, so boulderers can climb just about anywhere.
Central Oregon is home to dozens of bouldering areas, most situated in relative obscurity. Despite its presence as a roped-climbing area, Smith Rock, with over 300 bouldering problems, contains perhaps the most concentrated bouldering in the area. But because bouldering is so accessible, a climber scarcely has to leave the comfort of his own home to participate. "There are five or six areas that are within ten minutes of Bend where you can go bouldering and have the whole place to yourself," says Bolan. "I usually go bouldering more than roped climbing because it is so convenient." When a climber only has a couple of hours to spare, a drive out to Smith Rock is often impractical. Those areas nearest Bend with good bouldering problems include Meadow Camp Picnic area and several areas on the Deschutes River Trail just south of Reed Market Road in Bend.
Though bouldering is largely considered an outside activity, and there is no substitute for climbing on real rock, many climb indoors on homemade climbing walls with artificial hand-holds or at bouldering gyms such as the Bend Rock Gym. Here, routes are reset regularly and there are plenty of thick mats to protect against potentially injurious falls. "Gym climbing is a really good way to try climbing," says Bolen. Besides bouldering, aspiring climbers are welcomed to try roped climbing in a safe, controlled environment.
Wherever you decide to boulder, you are sure to have an enjoyable time, while getting a good workout—with no strings attached.
If You Go:
For directions to any one of several good bouldering areas and for rentals or other related information contact one of your local climbing shops in Central Oregon.
Redpoint Climbers Supply
8283 11th St., Terrebonne
541-923-6207
Recreational Equipment, Inc.
380 Powerhouse Dr., Bend
541-385-0594
Mountain Supply
834 NW Colorado Ave., Bend
541-388-0688
Bend Rock Gym
1182 SE Centennial Ct., Bend
541-388-6764