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<\/a>Hannah Brier of Windham, top, and Stephanie Clement of Portland climb a wall at Evo Rock + Fitness in Portland, which was recently acquired by Salt Pump Climbing Co. (Derek Davis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\nPurchase this image<\/a><\/p>\n
Now, Clement and other avid rock climbers in southern Maine have expanded indoor climbing options after Evo was purchased this month by Salt Pump Climbing Co., which operates gyms in Scarborough and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.<\/p>\n
Salt Pump\u2019s owners said they hope to fortify and shield the gyms in a challenging economic landscape that saw two climbing facilities in New Hampshire recently close: Vertical Dreams<\/a> in Nashua last month and GraniteWorks Gym<\/a> in Keene this week.<\/p>\n For Evo and Salt Pump members, it means they can climb at any of the three clubs, which offer similar features, climbers said. Each gym has 500-700 members and programs for children through adults, including yoga classes, fitness training and summer camps.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fantastic opportunity,\u201d Clement said. \u201cIt opens up the climbing communities at each gym and provides different climbing options.\u201d<\/p>\n Purchase this image<\/a><\/p>\n For Taki Miyamoto, Salt Pump\u2019s managing partner, buying Evo has been a full-circle experience. He started indoor climbing at Maine Rock Gym on Marginal Way in the late 1990s, when he was a student at Bates College in Lewiston. The gym was renamed Evo when it moved to Warren Avenue in 2015.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the core relationships in my life I made there,\u201d Miyamoto said. \u201cThe social aspect of climbing gyms becomes a common denominator for most people.\u201d<\/p>\n Miyamoto and his partners opened Salt Pump Scarborough, at 36 Haigis Parkway, shortly after Evo opened on Warren Avenue, he said. Salt Pump Portsmouth opened in 2024.<\/p>\n Several years ago, Miyamoto said, he reached out to Evo owner Scott Howard to see if he was interested in selling. They kept in touch. The sale closed this month.<\/p>\n \u201cI opened Maine Rock Gym in 1994,\u201d Howard said. \u201cIt\u2019s been 32 years and I just wanted to shed a few things and simplify my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Howard, 61, still owns Olivia\u2019s Garden, a greenhouse in New Gloucester that supplies tomatoes and basil to local markets, and operates flyfishmaine.com<\/a>, a fishing guide service.<\/p>\n Miyamoto sees strength in uniting the two gyms under one company.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had plateauing growth over the last two years and we face a lot of headwinds,\u201d said Miyamoto, 48. \u201cWe just wanted to build a moat around our business to ideally survive and thrive, whatever happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Purchase this image<\/a><\/p>\n Rising costs, inflation and overall economic uncertainty made 2025 a challenging year for many climbing gym operators, developers and suppliers across North America, Climbing Business Journal reported in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n Member traffic and revenues were largely flat or down at many preexisting gyms, prompting some to scale back plans for growth and expansion, the journal found in a survey of 240 operators. There are more than 800 in the region, mostly in the U.S. and Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cBoom times are over,\u201d one operator responded. \u201cProfitability is much harder unless you have scale and infrastructure to support institutional growth or mergers and acquisitions.\u201d<\/p>\n Purchase this image<\/a><\/p>\n For now, Miyamoto wants to ensure a smooth and comfortable ownership transition at Evo, delaying a name change until fall, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a business that\u2019s been operating for over 30 years,\u201d he said. \u201cAt this point I\u2019m just trying to learn about the people who come here, the people who work here and how they do things.\u201d<\/p>\n Current Evo members will continue to be charged the rates they have been paying until they cancel, he said. New members will be charged rates that have been increased slightly to align with Salt Pump. For new members, a monthly adult auto-pay membership increased from $77 to $85.<\/p>\n Evo manager Trevor Bostic said he\u2019s feeling optimistic about the new ownership.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to working with Taki and his team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Purchase this image<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dev.mainetodaymedia.com\/smugmug\/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F05%5C%2F43595737_20260513_climb_1.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Hannah%20Brier%20of%20Windham%2C%20top%2C%20and%20Stephanie%20Clement%20of%20Portland%20climb%20a%20wall%20at%20Evo%20Rock%20%2B%20Fitness%20in%20Portland%2C%20which%20was%20recently%20acquired%20by%20Salt%20Pump%20Climbing%20Co.%20%28Derek%20Davis%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D\")
<\/a>Amelia Klos, left, and Stephanie Clement chat while getting geared up to climb a route at Evo Rock + Fitness in Portland. (Derek Davis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n<\/a>Julien Russell, 7, of Portland, climbs at Evo Rock +Fitness, which was recently acquired by Salt Pump Climbing Co. (Derek Davis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n<\/a>Harry Kinard watches as Nathan Conroy of Portland climbs at Evo Rock + Fitness. (Derek Davis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n<\/a>Stephanie Clement reaches for chalk while climbing at Evo Rock + Fitness in Portland. (Derek Davis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n
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