Gym takes climbing to new heights in Federal Way

Climb NORA, a new climbing gym in Federal Way, opened to the public on Dec. 5 after a soft launch with members only, and is already drawing people from around the region.

The gym is located at the former Great Floors location, across the street from Federal Way High School at 30820 Pacific Hwy S. Opening weekend saw over 300 visitors to the gym, with 80 on Friday night alone.

The gym is created by climbers for climbers, with a community focus that founder Seung Park said can be missing at more corporate locations.

Park said that while scouting out locations for the climbing gym, investors and marketers warned him against choosing Federal Way.

“So many people told me not to open the gym here. Marketing professionals told me that it was a mistake, that I was making a bad decision, but I think we proved them wrong because we’re already off to such a successful start,” Park said.

“After years of climbing in different cities, we realized our own community in Federal Way deserved a space that feels just as inspiring, welcoming, and full of life,” the team shares on their website, adding: “We’re creating the kind of gym we always wished existed — energetic, inclusive, and rooted in the Southside.”

The two reasons he was advised against opening the gym in Federal Way were because of “lower median income” of the city and because of “racial exclusion … people saying that climbing is more of a white identifying sport.”

Climb NORA is set up to be a true third space for the climbing community including places to sit and spend time, fast wifi and snacks for purchase.

In his research, Park said he traveled to Texas and Arizona where there are predominantly Hispanic populations to see if this assessment of the sport was true, and he found that it was not.

He said investors suggested Issaquah or West Seattle as safer investments. Park, a graduate of Todd Beamer High School, said he ignored their advice.

“I went to Todd Beamer, I shared a lot of the same struggles everyone else shared,” Park said. One of these struggles was that there was “nothing to do when I was growing up.”

Climb NORA is his contribution to change that. The gym focuses on personal development and high quality equipment and staff, including two full-time employees who will create new routes and reset the holds every six weeks or so.

Most bouldering gyms use a grading system to describe the level of challenge. The Federal Way Community Center, for example, includes climbs rated from 5.4 to 5.10 on their 27-foot climbing pinnacle.

At Climb NORA, they instead “use a circuit system, encouraging climbers to focus less on rigid grades and more on personal progression — the kind that shows up in subtle, individual ways beyond any black-and-white scale.”

Their rating system goes from “iron” to “diamond” with “gold” rounding out the middle of the scale.

Maleah Caine and Elijah Jackson cheer on friend Alvina Ngo as she tries out the walls at Climb NORA for the first time. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

A different climbing gym

The vision of Climb NORA is already paying off and benefiting the city as a whole.

Climb NORA members and avid climbers Kristen Clark and Victor Avelar told the Mirror that they moved to Federal Way specifically because of the new gym.

“We were looking at different areas in the general Tacoma, Federal Way, Auburn area,” Avelar said. After seeing that the new climbing gym would only be a 10-minute drive if they chose Federal Way, Avelar said the choice was easy.

Avelar and Clark’s impression so far?

“It’s perfect,” Avelar said. “They put a lot of thought into the routes … they’re very unique and focus a lot on movement …they don’t use the V grade so they want to kind of break free of, like, climbing up the ranks and are more focused on technique.”

“Prices are very compatible,” Avelar added.

Kristen Clark and Victor Avelar are avid rock climbers and when looking to move to the Tacoma/Auburn/Federal Way area, chose Federal Way because of access to Climb NORA. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

While the gym has a fun and friendly aesthetic in many ways, including a cartoon tiger above the front entrance, Park said that serious climbers will find plenty of challenges.

“We’re a team of outdoor climbers … all we do is train,” said Park, speaking of his founding team. “It’s how we identify in our lives. A lot of our decisions are dictated by climbing,” and thoughts of their next climb are their core focus.

“This gym’s whole intention was to build the best climbing gym possible,” Park said, explaining they sprung for the best possible equipment and setup that they could find, to the point that it was almost irresponsible.

But Park’s bet is that these investments will pay off because the quality will draw climbers from around the region.

Talking to people at the gym, that already seems to be true, with one group of friends sharing they each came from a different nearby city to meet up at Climb NORA.

Another group of friends told the Mirror they don’t live in Federal Way, but find the gym to be a great place to meet up. One shared they live in Covington, another in Burien.

Prices are not necessarily lower than other climbing gyms, but Park said they offer weekly all access memberships, rather than monthly, to provide more access.

Park is also already partnering with local organizations to use the gym as a way to provide positive experiences for local youth.

Even before being fully open to the public, Climb NORA already welcomed in a group of youth who are in the foster system.

“They had a blast,” Park said.

As a newcomer to the sport, Maleah Caine told the Mirror she’s noticed the encouraging and accessible aspects of the sport.

Caine and friends Elijah Jackson and Alvina Ngo were at Climb NORA for the first time on Dec. 5, and Caine was planning on trying the sport for the first time.

Caine and Ngo both were introduced to the sport by Jackson, who said he was looking for something athletic to do after college sports ended: “This was something perfect for me to use my athleticism and work on myself. It’s like a human, physical puzzle. I enjoy it.”

Jackson said so far he likes the new gym, appreciating how “vibrant” it is and also appreciates the “meshed grading system,” explaining that when you don’t really know what grade you’re climbing, “it allows people to just be more comfortable.”

So far Climb NORA offers an intro to bouldering session that is free for members to help beginners get started, but plans to add more classes and specialized programs soon. These will include adult and youth teams as well as classes for young children to start building their climbing skills and confidence.

Maleah Caine, Alvina Ngo and Elijah Jackson visited Climb NORA for the first time and shared appreciation for the space’s location as a meeting point from their various cities. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

Check it out

Climb NORA, 30820 Pacific Hwy S., is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. The gym is offering a 4 day starter promo for $50 whereas the day pass is $25. While the gym does offer day passes, so far almost everyone who has purchased a day pass has rolled it over into a membership, Park said.

Climb NORA is a new climbing gym located in Federal Way at 30820 Pacific Highway S in Federal Way.

Founder Seung Park describes the details that make Climb NORA stand out, like high quality grips, employing two full-time setters to build new routes every six weeks, and even the dimensions of the space, including leaving space between the climbing walls and the ceiling. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror