Owen Sound should be the rock climbing capital of Ontario.
It’s an easy drive to the popular Beaver Valley crags such as Old Baldy, and a quick coastal trip up to the world class, soaring cliffs of Lion’s Head and the Bruce Peninsula. Better yet, The Scenic City itself is nestled into the dolomite walls of the Niagara Escarpment, with excellent quality stone and a history of established routes in extremely close-to-home areas many walkable from the city’s downtown.
But any city hoping to attract and grow a community of rock climbers needs one crucial element: a good indoor climbing gym where climbers can gather and train year-round. Once upon a time, the old 2nd Ave YMCA had a few slick, grimy holds bolted up the wall behind the basketball hoops–the new Y, unfortunately, has none.
If my memory serves correctly, there was briefly a climbing shop and lo-fi bare plywood bouldering gym shadily operating out of a small garage backing onto the Sydenham River. It came and went in a season.
Enter Carl and Deb Val, owners of Owen Sound’s new 6900 sq ft climbing gym, The Climbers Crush. “I wanted a place to climb and train year-round, and I wanted to get my kids into the sport.” Carl tells me. He and Deb have a long history with outdoor sports education, as proprietors of At Last Adventures, a guiding company that specializes in caving expeditions, rappelling, and outdoor climbing at Metcalfe Rock in the Blue Mountains’ Kolapore forest.
“It was never a matter of if, it was a matter of when we would open a climbing gym.” Nearly a decade ago, Carl started ruminating on the project, but it proved a tall hill to climb. A good gym needs lots of wide open floor area, and healthy ceiling height as well. Finding just the right type of building (with an amenable landlord) was no small feat. After years of searching, they finally discovered a spacious ink recycling facility on 20th St E, just north of Hwy 26. After some municipal zoning headaches, financing frustrations, and finally a whole lot of cleaning, demolition, and construction, The Climbers Crush indoor climbing gym had its grand opening in August 2024.
When I talk to those unfamiliar with rock climbing, I tend to hear back words like “extreme”, “dangerous”, and “absolutely crazy”. Maybe they’re picturing the Hollywood cheese of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible II. Or maybe they watched the genuinely heart-pounding documentary of Alex Honnold’s world-changing free solo of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. There’s still a lingering perception of 80’s hair metal, neon tank tops, and NO FEAR decal adrenaline junkie culture attached to the sport. But modern indoor climbing gyms provide a space and culture almost entirely removed from this skewed public image.
With cushy gymnastics mats lining the floors beside every 20’ wall, and foolproof auto-belay devices equipping the roped routes, gyms like The Climbers Crush aim to provide every person with a safe, inclusive, and relaxed place to learn or hone skills–whether it’s their first time in a harness, or they just came back from crushing V10 in Squamish BC.
“I love the sense of community that climbing gyms cultivate,” says Carlin. “They’re a place where everyone is welcome, and people can meet and support one another. They’re also” he adds, “where I have made some of my longest lasting friendships.” And there absolutely is an inherently friendly element to indoor bouldering (climbing shorter walls with no ropes, just the thick pads beneath you) especially that is magical and addictive. Working out the moves of the climb (we call them boulder “problems”) together, spotting each other, and cheering new and old friends to the top of the wall becomes a must-have weekly experience, that leaves you socially satisfied, sore-muscled, and craving to come back another day.
As parents of three young children, it was important for Carl and Deb to make sure their gym was set-up as a place to help bring kids into the sport. “We offer fall, winter, and spring after school climbing programs that introduce children to the sport of climbing,” Carl tells me. “We’ll also have a youth climbing club where we’ll meet, climb, learn ropes, and have the occasional field trip to outdoor crags. And a competitive team where we’ll train and travel to competitions.” The shorter walls of The Climbers Crush are very approachable and low on the intimidation scale, and a miniature traverse area is purpose built for even the littlest tykes looking to monkey around.
With half the space in the facility still open and undeveloped, Carl says they’re looking to continue building and expanding as the business grows in the coming years: more walls, steeper and harder bouldering caves, dedicated training equipment, and additional roped routes as well. “We have a yoga studio upstairs,” Carl points out, beamingly. Deb, a yoga and meditation teacher, will be conducting her classes in that space going forward.
If you’ve ever hiked the beautiful Bruce Trail around Owen Sound, looked up from the bottom of the blocky, pocketed cliffs and thought to yourself, “I wonder…”, now you have an opportunity to find out. The Climbers Crush is open noon-1opm, 7 days a week. Day passes, monthly and family memberships, and beginner lessons are available. Visit www.climberscrush.com for more information.
*Note: Harrison Park and West Rocks are currently (unfortunately) closed to rock climbing. Visit www.ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca for up to date information on outdoor rock climbing access and permissions
Written by Joel Loughead
Photos by Frances Beatty
