True North Climbing

Heading to Nationals!

john.gross — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:10:53 +0000

This weekend the Canadian National Climbing Championships will be held at The Boulders climbing gym in Saanich, BC (near Victoria). This is the Difficulty (roped) climbing championship, mostly for youth climbers, but also for the small group of adults who compete in Open Difficulty climbing.

Seven members of the True North Climbing Youth Team will be making the trip to compete for the national championship: Indiana, Yinki, Rosalee, Ethan, Jack, Olivia and Paulette, along with Head Coach Shaun Hunter. Yinki, Jack and Olivia will also be competing in the Speed competition. We’re incredibly proud of our entire team, who worked hard all season, and had some great comps, and we’re all rooting for those competing at Nationals.

TTC Bus Route 101 Resumes Daily Service!

john.gross — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:18:29 +0000

It’s May, and besides hail storms, that means the TTC’s bus route 101 has resumed daily service, scheduled to run every 20 minutes between Downsview subway station and Downsview Park, until 10:10 pm each night.

For route details, see http://ttc.ca/Routes/101/Westbound.jsp

How You Can Help Us Climb For Cancer

john.gross — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:04:09 +0000

Our big charity event of the year is fast approaching! Climb for Cancer returns on Saturday May 25th, with a few dozen climbers going up and down the walla from 3-7pm. Please be aware that we are not offering Introductory Lessons that afternoon, and you should expect the easier walls to be dominated by the marathon climbers.

There is still time to round up a team of 2-4 climbers and join in the fun! You can find all the details at http://www.climbforcancer.ca/.

And if for some strange reason you don’t want to join us climbing your butt off that afternoon, you can still help the cause by making a donation at the front desk. Fill in your name and address on the sponsor sign up sheet if you want a tax receipt. You can also send us a cheque made out to The Princess Margaret Hospital and mail it to us at:

True North Climbing

75 Carl Hall Rd, Unit 14

Toronto ON M3K 2B9

Earth Day Clean-up At Rattlesnake Point

john.gross — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:28:21 +0000

The Ontario Access Coalition is hosting their annual Spring Clean-Up Day next Saturday, May 4th at Rattlesnake Point. Here’s the lowdown:

Who: You!

What: Earth Day Clean-up + free BBQ lunch + raffle (+ climbing if you like)

Where: Rattlesnake Point (meet at the Upper Pavilion)

When: Saturday May 4th 2013, 9:00 am

Why: To give back to the community and to set an example of climber stewardship for discussions re: access at other areas. To have fun, to hang with the friends that you bring along, to be outdoors, to maybe win some cool swag, etc.!

We encourage folks to join in to help keep Rattlesnake Point clean, and demonstrate that climbers are good for our outdoor recreational areas.

Certifying our Instructors

john.gross — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:00:50 +0000

We have been working steadily over the past few years to get our instructors certified, as a part of demonstrating our commitment to running a safe and professional facility. Last week we finally put the results of that work on display in the gym, by mounting the certificates we have so far on the wall above the waiver stations, across from the front desk.

So far we have gotten 14 of our Climbing Instructors certified, with one or more of the following:

Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) Climbing Gym Instructor (CGI) Level 1 (for Top-Rope instruction): 3
ACMG CGI Level 2 (for Lead Climbing instruction): 2
Climbing Wall Association (CWA) Climbing Wall Instructor with lead endorsement (12)
CWA Provider certification (Clint Searle, our Head Instructor)

The ACMG and CWA processes are different, but we feel both demonstrate a good level of capability and knowledge. Because Clint can run the CWA certification sessions in our own facility, those are logistically easier to arrange, which is why more of our instructors have that certification.

We still have a handful of Instructors left to be certified (those who don’t work during the school year, or have been hired most recently). We expect to finish those in the coming weeks, and will then be prepared to offer CWA Climbing Wall Instructor certification class to the public.