Reach for the sky! Climbing wall opens in Brooklyn Bridge Park

DUMBO Boulders is ‘North America’s largest outdoor bouldering facility’

April 21, 2016 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

DUMBO Boulders, “North America’s largest outdoor bouldering facility,” opened this week at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photo by Mary Frost

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A huge, curved climbing wall has opened in Brooklyn Bridge Park, just in time for the warm weather.

The facility, known as DUMBO Boulders, is called “North America’s largest outdoor bouldering facility” by operator The Cliffs, in partnership with Brooklyn Bridge Park.

On Monday, climbers scaled the structure, nestled under the Manhattan Bridge near Main Street, grasping various levels of colorful hand- and foot-holds. Soft padding coats the ground.

Business has been “fantastic,” said Jonathan Medina, operating the front desk at the climbing wall. “The neighborhood has been very receptive.”

The facility is getting both experienced and unexperienced climbers, Medina said. “You have a lot of new faces, and a lot of experienced climbers from all over New York come in and check it out.

The hand- and foot-grips are color coded according to difficulty. Inexperienced climbers might start with the purple routes, while more expert climbers work their way through a rainbow of increasingly difficult challenges.

The shoes come with a day pass, which is $9. “It’s good for the whole day. You can come here and climb till your hands fall off,” Medina said.

“The location is magnificent and with The Cliffs’ commitment to community programming, we hope everyone can enjoy DUMBO Boulders,” Regina Myer, President of Brooklyn Bridge Park, said in a statement.

The Cliffs plans to incorporate lessons soon.

DUMBO Boulders is a partnership between The Cliffs Climbing + Fitness and Brooklyn Bridge Park. Park designers Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. collaborated with climbing wall specialists Walltopia to design the walls.

This is The Cliffs’ third location, but “it’s the first time we’ve had a permanent outdoor installation in New York,” Medina said.

The climbing walls, already attracting serious climbers, are located under the Manhattan Bridge. Soft padding coats the ground.