Island Rock Gym to open bouldering gym, fitness center in Bremerton

Christian Vosler | Kitsap

BREMERTON — The owner of Kitsap County’s only rock climbing gym on Bainbridge Island plans to open a bouldering gym and fitness center in Bremerton as soon as next spring.

Michele Lang, owner of Island Rock Gym, purchased the old Disabled American Veterans building at 2315 Burwell St. in September. By early next year, Lang hopes to transform the 7,500-square-foot space into a bouldering gym, complete with fitness equipment and a yoga studio.

The Bainbridge Island gym opened in 2013 and has been the only rock climbing gym in Kitsap since Vertical World, which operated for over a decade off Highway 303 in Bremerton, closed in 2011. Since then, climbers in Central Kitsap have had to choose between driving 40 minutes to visit gyms on Bainbridge Island or in Tacoma.

“We are super stoked to be coming over there, we can't wait to get it open," Lang said. "The community has been amazing.”

The interior of the Burwell building will be remodeled and reinforced before the climbing structure is installed, Lang said. Bouldering will be located on the main floor, while downstairs will be home to a fitness area with cardio and Crossfit equipment, a yoga studio and other “advanced training” areas.

Climbing and fitness classes will be offered in addition to after-school programs for students, a climbing team, and special events like movies or speakers. Hours and membership costs for the new gym have not been finalized yet, but Lang said there will be a shared membership option for both Bainbridge and Bremerton locations.

The Bremerton location — which will be called Insight Climbing & Movement — is on track to open in spring 2020, Lang said.

“We think that it's unique, there are some needs there that are not being met that we feel like we’ll be able to meet and we're super excited about it,” Lang said.

“Bouldering” refers to a style of ropeless climbing that takes place on smaller structures, usually under 20 feet tall. As opposed to aid climbing, where participants use protective safety gear like a harness and rope to ascend a wall, bouldering requires little equipment or training to get started.

Bouldering began as a way to safely practice certain difficult routes, or “problems,” while close to the ground. But it has since evolved into its own sport complete with national competitions. It also tends to be one of the most social forms of climbing, Lang said.

“We love our rope gym, but the beauty of the bouldering gym is just the access that everybody can drop in and give it a whirl and everybody has the same level of access,” Lang said.

Lang has been exploring a bouldering-specific expansion of Island Rock Gym for over a year and acknowledged some of the difficulties her customers face in getting to the Bainbridge location. Bremerton was appealing because of its central location.

“We wanted to be able to offer a space like this where we could create this fun bouldering environment where we had more room to play with, more to offer as far as the fitness, (where) we could do a yoga studio,” Lang said. “And because geographically we wanted to better meet the needs of our customers who live over that way.”

Allison Molnar, the creator of the “Climb Bremerton” community group on Facebook, said she started the page to gauge community interest in bringing a climbing gym back to Bremerton. The group, which has about 200 members, is meant to be a spot for climbing conversation, photos, and to act as a kind of measuring stick for community interest. Molnar even called Lang herself to encourage her to bring a gym to Bremerton.

“I told her — and I don't know if it made a difference or not — I'm really passionate about it, and want to be the voice for all the other people who are passionate about it,” Molnar said.

An avid climber in college, Molnar said she doesn’t go climbing as often now in part because of the time it takes to get to Bainbridge Island or Tacoma. She suspects the new gym will solve that problem for a lot of people.

“I’m going to sign up for an unlimited membership, and I’m going to go all the time,” Molnar said.

Vertical World was a popular spot for Bremerton climbers. While the new location won’t offer traditional wall climbing, Lang hopes it will act as a community gathering place and possibly a stepping stone to bigger things.

“Basically, we want to expand ourselves to the community in Bremerton,” Lang said. “We're going to start with this one and then see what the market demands.”