I was reading that the crew of a Russian ship in 1741 were the first Europeans to arrive in Northwestern North America, almost 250 years after Columbus sailed to the New World. While I know many explorers crossed the Atlantic looking for a northwest passage to Asia, were there other notable persons or journeys that tried going the other way, beyond Asia?
If you are asking if Europeans had been crossing the Pacific before 1741, the answer is a clear yes. Magellan's expedition in 1519-1522 was the first to cross the Pacific in from east to west direction, going from Magellan's straits to Phillipines. And it was followed up by many more till 1741
If you are asking if other Europeans had been crossing the Pacific in a specifically from west to east direction - from Asia to Americas - prior to 1741, the answer is also a clear yes. In the follow up to Magellan's voyage, Spanish sent numerous expeditions to try to establish a commercial route from Americas to Asia, with the problem being that contrary winds prevented an easy return to American continent.
It wasn't until 1565 when following the conquest of Philippines by Miguel López de Legazpi, ships under Alonso de Arellano and Andrés de Urdaneta returned to America by first going north to 38th parallel where they found (as they had expected to find) winds blowing in the eastern direction which they used to steer the ships back to America. Sadly I do not know enough information about the expedition to go into more details, but suffice to say the ships headed from the Philippines, steered north to 38th parallel, then changed course due east, reaching first California and then heading south to Mexico where Spanish settlements were to be found. The discovery of this route was then been immediately taken advantage of by the Spanish. For the next several centuries, pretty much every year several ships were crossing the Pacific from Acapulco to Manila and then back, carrying New World's silver to be exchanged for Far Eastern goods. A system which is nowadays most commonly referred to as "Manila Galleons" and on which plenty of literature exists.
So the answer is that without any doubt, Europeans were regularly crossing the Pacific from Asia for almost two centuries before 1741. The reference you quote, of a Russian ship being the "first Europeans to arrive in Northwestern North America" can then only be considered serious if we limit the scope to just Northwestern North America (whatever that means) and definitely not implying they were the first to go from Asia to Americas