- This weekend is the Wings & Wheels Heritage Show, which makes the park a very busy place! There will be aircraft coming in, and on display at the Air & Space Museum and at The Hangar.
- The roadway has been reworked along the west side of 75 Carl Hall Rd (the Downsview Park Sports Centre). The zigzag that used to be near the Roller Derby has been shifted 50-100 m south, so you now keep going south longer before cutting in just in front of Grand Prix Kartways. Unfortunately the old route was closed off before the new roadway was completed, and the large blue sign that guides you to our joint has not yet been repositioned. I have shared my concerns with the landlord, and they will work to make things better, but in the meantime bear with these changes.
- New signs will be going up throughout the park within the next few months, to improve navigation from the main entrance.
- The railway crossing on Carl Hall Rd will get reworked and improved in a few weeks. The plan is as follows:
- Close the entire crossing starting at 10:00 p.m. on Friday June 25
- All vehicles already on site would exit at the Chesswood and Sheppard intersection; signage and police would be at the intersection to manage traffic
- Anyone entering after 10:00 p.m. Friday June 25 would enter via Chesswood and Sheppard
- Remove the existing track, ties, etc. and replace with new ones overnight
- Pave the new crossing in the morning and complete by 8:00 a.m. Saturday June 26
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Changes/Progress at Downsview Park
There's a lot going on within Downsview Park that I thought was worth a quick mention here:
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Evolution of the Rating Card
We've been working on our rating cards. You know, those white cards at the base of each climb that tell you:
- Which rope to tie into. This is important, because our routes do tend to wander a bit, and it's not always obvious from where the starting holds are. Of course you should be looking at the route all the way up to the belay bar before starting, to see where it finishes.
- The name of the route. This is of no real importance, but we try to make them fun
- The initials of the routesetter who set the route. Do you have a favourite yet?
- Whether the route is intended for Youth. These routes not only space the holds for smaller climbers, but the hold selection is also done with small hands in mind. Large climbers may find these routes uncomfortable!
- The rating for the route
- The rating for the boulder problem that starts the route. We try to put a boulder problem on each roped route to get a lot more boulder problems into the gym. The boulder problem ends at the second taped "V" (or a box on some of the older routes; we switched to a "V" because they are less likely to get rubbed off by wayward feet).
Nationals
Last weekend was the annual Canadian National Bouldering Championships, the culmination of a fantastic Tour de Bloc season. Joe Rockheads was the host gym, and they put on a fine (if somewhat hot) show. True North Climbing was well-represented, with 4 of our routesetters competing in the Open category, one of us judging, and some of our members also competing.
I took the judging course Friday night, to learn both how to judge bouldering problems, and what is involved in being the Jury President (aka Head Judge) for a competition. We plan to have a bunch of comps at our gym, and at some point I figure I should be prepared to be the head judge, so this was a start in that direction. (At our inaugural Tour de Bloc comp on march 27th I had the role of "host", which was a lot of fun, and required little training!).
Saturday was the qualifying round for the Open competitors. 15 women and 45 men each did 5 boulder problems in iso format, with 5 minutes to work on each problem and 5 minutes to rest in between. I was the judge on problem #2, which for the women featured a fun dyno opening move, and a nice balancing finish, with both hands high on the wall in a taped box with no handhold.
Sunday morning and early afternoon was the "citizen's comp": Youth, Recretional and Experienced categories in a scramble format, choosing among 50 problems (including the 10 qualifiers from Saturday) to get their best 6 scores. Sunday at 5pm the finals began, with the top 10 men and women (actually 11 men due to a tie for 10th place) again working their way through 5 problems each. It was very hot in the gym, and perhaps in part because of that, the men's problems were very tough on the finalists.
Our Head Instructor/Routesetter Dustin Curtis was 7th after qualifiers, and finished 10th on Sunday, earning him another berth on the Canadian team. Dustin will be heading to Vail, Colorado in June for the World Cup event as part of the Teva Mountain Games. Stephen Tambling just missed the cutoff for finals, finishing 12th in Men's Open. Dustin Kerr and Shaun Hunter rounded out the TNCI team, with DK having a spectacular fall on men's problem #3 on Saturday (extra padding went up right after that!).
Watching the comp as a judge was a very different perspective. I got to see all the climbers, but pretty much only on one problem each, each day. I got a great view up close, but had to keep my mouth shut instead of cheering them on. It was a good learning experience, and it's good to have more people trained to do this, to support the sport as it grows.
I took the judging course Friday night, to learn both how to judge bouldering problems, and what is involved in being the Jury President (aka Head Judge) for a competition. We plan to have a bunch of comps at our gym, and at some point I figure I should be prepared to be the head judge, so this was a start in that direction. (At our inaugural Tour de Bloc comp on march 27th I had the role of "host", which was a lot of fun, and required little training!).
Saturday was the qualifying round for the Open competitors. 15 women and 45 men each did 5 boulder problems in iso format, with 5 minutes to work on each problem and 5 minutes to rest in between. I was the judge on problem #2, which for the women featured a fun dyno opening move, and a nice balancing finish, with both hands high on the wall in a taped box with no handhold.
Sunday morning and early afternoon was the "citizen's comp": Youth, Recretional and Experienced categories in a scramble format, choosing among 50 problems (including the 10 qualifiers from Saturday) to get their best 6 scores. Sunday at 5pm the finals began, with the top 10 men and women (actually 11 men due to a tie for 10th place) again working their way through 5 problems each. It was very hot in the gym, and perhaps in part because of that, the men's problems were very tough on the finalists.
Our Head Instructor/Routesetter Dustin Curtis was 7th after qualifiers, and finished 10th on Sunday, earning him another berth on the Canadian team. Dustin will be heading to Vail, Colorado in June for the World Cup event as part of the Teva Mountain Games. Stephen Tambling just missed the cutoff for finals, finishing 12th in Men's Open. Dustin Kerr and Shaun Hunter rounded out the TNCI team, with DK having a spectacular fall on men's problem #3 on Saturday (extra padding went up right after that!).
Watching the comp as a judge was a very different perspective. I got to see all the climbers, but pretty much only on one problem each, each day. I got a great view up close, but had to keep my mouth shut instead of cheering them on. It was a good learning experience, and it's good to have more people trained to do this, to support the sport as it grows.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Heat is On (but not for long!)
Hot enough for you? I just wanted to reassure everyone that our air conditioning has been on order for weeks, and is scheduled to be installed starting next Tuesday. The venting and electrical system were set up to be ready for this, but I delayed purchase of the two large rooftop units until we had some revenue coming in, to help manage expenses during the start-up phase of the gym. I had hoped the start of June would be before any really hot weather, but I was wrong. Hang in there for a few more days, and soon it will be comfortable in here!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Dustin Dishes
[Today's post is by Head Routesetter/Head Instructor Dustin Curtis]
The rock climbing gym is changing in nature from its once dark dungeon of plywood and resin to the new generation of plastic paradises, with clean, sleek professionally-built walls, well-lit open spaces and beautiful poly urethane shapes. The chefs of these five-star restaurants must also learn to clean up, learn new dishes and out-cook even themselves in order to provide the top dishes expected of these world class facilities.
But Dustin, why is your first blog post about restaurants, especially since you work in a rock climbing gym? Is that what you're thinking? Allow me to continue instead of interrupting me with your punitive thoughts of boredom, desk jockey. Read on harness chuffer, there will be a test.
Rock climbing gyms function on almost the same principles and policies as a restaurant. The two run the same kind of staffing functions and protocols. Don't believe me? Check it: when you walk into a restaurant for the first time, a host or hostess greets you and shows you to your table; when you walk into a rock climbing gym for the first time, a member of the desk staff greets you, gets you to sign a waiver and gives you a belay test or sets you up with a lesson. In a restaurant, a server comes by, (hopefully one that is good looking but if not, after a couple of alcoholic beverages, he/she will be) and they introduce you to the menu and more importantly, the food. In a rock gym you get an instructor who shows you the ins and outs of how to keep yourself safe while you're enjoying the great joy that is rock climbing. In a restaurant, behind the scenes, you have the kitchen. This is where the magic happens. Chefs bring their greatness and creativity to balance with well-rehearsed and practiced recipes that eventually leave the kitchen and get served to you. Chefs bring together a mosaic of ingredients and spices to create their dishes; we as route setters bring together a collection of holds to publish a choreography of movements and body positions that will be loved by many, liked by most and hated by only the very few. You hope.
Chefs have enjoyed illustrious careers that are, for the most part, engaging, schooled and - very importantly - paid, for many years. Route Setters have endured the opposite, as creatures with no education in their craft save for some harsh words by a member once, and the intro lesson of 'this is how to spin a wrench' from the head setter at the time and in return for hours suffered in a harness, retribution is given with free climbing on the holds that you slung up.
But much like the gyms we work in now, we must also evolve and redefine ourselves in this growing industry. While chefs enjoy having a consistent recipe that, in cooperation with each chef’s creativity and ‘personal touches’ will almost always come out the same, with the exception of some colossal mess ups I’ve seen, Route Setters have no such luxury. Sure we have a repertoire of moves, and some oppositional theory that is the consistent basis of climbing, but that’s about it and for the record, recycling ideas and movements on routes is a quick way to move your route setting career from in the harness (or on the ladder if that’s how you do things). By the way, if that is how you do things than you’re a useless wrench monkey who has decided he’s way too good to be on a harness not trying the moves and never challenges himself to do anything more creative than the eighteen crossovers or six gastons that he/she consistently puts in every one of your no-knowledge, uncreative and incredibly generic routes/boulder problems. You deserve that transfer from Route Setter to a behind-the-desk, I manage the gym and make Coke orders, desk job. Sit down and take notice wrench spinners: we are paid for creativity, not reusing the same boring sequences in order to make the extra cash.
My apologies. I got off on a rant, but from that you can tell exactly how passionate I am about providing an engaging and thought provocative climbing experience. We, the Setters, have a not-so-easy task, and on top of the everyday trials and tribulations of being creative is the simple issue that with creativity and passion come the terrible traits of opinionated and personal attachment. It’s different for a Chef: after the dish is prepared, it gets sent out to a patron who gobbles it down. If they didn’t like it, they whisper it lowly among their table or maybe they keep it to themselves. If it’s not amazing but not terrible, they complain to the serving staff or the manager. In the rare case that it’s just absolutely terrible it gets sent back and made again, probably in the same fashion, except added saliva and maybe dropped on the floor and stepped on. In any case, the Chef rarely finds out, unless it’s so sinfully terrible that it warrants being remade. Granted there are some very picky eaters out there but let’s generalize people.
Route Setting is much different. Instead of cooking for an anonymous patron, most of the time, we’re cooking for our friends, co-workers, acquaintances and most importantly fellow climbers. These are the people we sit in our harnesses for excruciating hours of the day (I hear you chufferton! "I sat in a harness for 2 hours the other day while I belayed my friend on his new super project". I’m sure you did, you goober-handed grease monkey, however, you didn’t (and I know you didn’t) have a bucket strapped to your ass full of urethane shapes and bolts as well as a drill and your wrenches. We haul all that plastic and creative thought, slap it on a wall with some tape and then have to listen to the unwarranted complaints and non-descriptive reasons of personal feelings towards movements or holds.
Route Setters are fragile creatures; yes we’re opinionated but for good reason. We put part of ourselves into each one of our routes and then put it on display for the climbing community to judge, criticize and generally abuse on a regular day basis.
The words you’re looking for people: constructive criticism. Feedback is important to us but not in the manner you’re thinking of. Route Setters are evolving; we are no longer the egotistical climbers, who scrounge a living from the nothing wage and answer any kind of balking at our routes with the answer "I did that move in my street shoes".
I don’t know what it is like for any other route setting crew, but I have worked with some of the best Setters in both the US and Canada and consistently try to challenge my team of Route Setters to create the most creative and interesting routes possible. I have the most talented group of route setters I have ever seen gathered in one gym, consistently putting brilliance and creative movement up on the walls, in one of the most fantastic facilities I’ve ever been in and what pains us the most (especially me because I know how hard we work and how much thought we put into our routes) is the unjustified comments of some cranky alpinist climber, wearing old Asolo’s and sporting ‘the latest’ in euro lyrca, complaining that the route was really awkward when the only move that he or she managed not to be crossed up on was the starting holds and the finishing hold.
The point of this is that at True North, we’re specifically attempting to make our routes thoughtful, enjoyable and creative. We will never recycle movement and we will continually attempt to provide flow and comfort in our routes while challenging the climber to be thoughtful, mindful of position and continuously ‘think outside the box.’ Like Chefs, we’re sharing our passion with you, so eat up and enjoy.
Test:
1. Route Setters throughout history have endured and made money by:
A) Checking underneath their car seats and tearing apart their cars for change, assuming they could afford cars.
B) Selling their bodies on the streets.
C) Finding a sugar momma who thinks they’re the next Chris Sharma
D) Working two fast food jobs while belay-slaving at the gym on their non-setting hours.
E) Becoming the next Chris Sharma.
F) A and D
G) B leading into C
2. The proper method for providing constructive criticism after climbing a route is:
A) “That feels awkward and I don’t like it”
B) “It was good but some of the moves didn’t flow right, I think possibly adding some feet or maybe some minor tweaks on that section (pointing to the section) would make it feel just a little more natural”
C) “Dude, sweet route!”
D) “Brah, that sucks”
E) If you actually picked A, C or D, email me and I’ll get you a shirt that’s bright orange and reads "I NEED TO BE WATCHED!" So that the desk staff know to assign you one watcher because if you actually picked those answers I doubt you know how to put your clothes on right in the morning, let alone belay. In fact, if you chose A, C or D check your pants right now: are they on right?
3. The Route Setters of True North are:
A) Fickle creatures that need only alcohol and Clif bars to survive
B) Egotistical maniacs involved in a childish game of sandbagging to destroy and demoralize the entire climbing community
C) Creative and fragile creatures that need to be both nurtured and compassionately encouraged with swift kicks to their special areas while providing constructive criticism in order to allow them to find their own setting style
D) You only wish it was A and B!
E) Mindless muscle heads that put up holds in unimaginative sequences that force their 9 allotted crossovers or gastons into every route.
F) C without the abuse; although the abuse is very convincing and thoroughly effective, it is against the Human Rights Code of Ontario
4. The only education that Route Setters of the past received was:
A) A quick introduction to forcing movement with Louis Anderson as well as a signed copy of “The Art Of Course Setting”
B) A twelve-step program to rid them of certain addictions while they are trained in the fine art of vertical dancing
C) The head setter performs a ritual dance which then unlocks the ancient knowledge of route setting inside the apprentice route setter and they blossom into the creative genius of the next generation of climbers while the head route setter crawls into the hold room where he/she will forever rest in some kind of reverent pose as inspiration to their former Padawan learner.
D) A quick intro of the necessary ins and outs of route setting, along with continual constructive feedback from the head route setter
5. The Head Route Setter, like the Master Chef, is to:
A) Sit in the corner and drink to their hearts content while heckling and daily abusing their crew
B) Motivate their crew to provide the best quality of product. Motivating methods may include: wedgies, allowances for sexual fraternization, ‘bonuses’ and half-witted compliments and insults where appropriate.
C) Offer constructive feedback and encouragement while forcefully containing egos by continually squashing with reasons of failure and disappointment.
D) Gloat uncontrollably about how he/she has the best crew that cannot be matched by any other establishment and that those establishments should simply fire their existing crews and pay the obscene amounts of money that would be charged for their crews to come in. Just saying.
E) B and C
F) A and D
Please grade yourself:
1. F
2. B
3. F
4. D
5. E
Score:
5 correct answers: You Rock!
4 correct answers: Good Work!
3 correct answers: Don’t worry, there’s a next test.
2 correct answers: Did you pass your belay test?
1 correct answer: You don’t even know what a Route Setter is do you?
0 correct answer: Next bridge you pass, over you go.
The rock climbing gym is changing in nature from its once dark dungeon of plywood and resin to the new generation of plastic paradises, with clean, sleek professionally-built walls, well-lit open spaces and beautiful poly urethane shapes. The chefs of these five-star restaurants must also learn to clean up, learn new dishes and out-cook even themselves in order to provide the top dishes expected of these world class facilities.
But Dustin, why is your first blog post about restaurants, especially since you work in a rock climbing gym? Is that what you're thinking? Allow me to continue instead of interrupting me with your punitive thoughts of boredom, desk jockey. Read on harness chuffer, there will be a test.
Rock climbing gyms function on almost the same principles and policies as a restaurant. The two run the same kind of staffing functions and protocols. Don't believe me? Check it: when you walk into a restaurant for the first time, a host or hostess greets you and shows you to your table; when you walk into a rock climbing gym for the first time, a member of the desk staff greets you, gets you to sign a waiver and gives you a belay test or sets you up with a lesson. In a restaurant, a server comes by, (hopefully one that is good looking but if not, after a couple of alcoholic beverages, he/she will be) and they introduce you to the menu and more importantly, the food. In a rock gym you get an instructor who shows you the ins and outs of how to keep yourself safe while you're enjoying the great joy that is rock climbing. In a restaurant, behind the scenes, you have the kitchen. This is where the magic happens. Chefs bring their greatness and creativity to balance with well-rehearsed and practiced recipes that eventually leave the kitchen and get served to you. Chefs bring together a mosaic of ingredients and spices to create their dishes; we as route setters bring together a collection of holds to publish a choreography of movements and body positions that will be loved by many, liked by most and hated by only the very few. You hope.
Chefs have enjoyed illustrious careers that are, for the most part, engaging, schooled and - very importantly - paid, for many years. Route Setters have endured the opposite, as creatures with no education in their craft save for some harsh words by a member once, and the intro lesson of 'this is how to spin a wrench' from the head setter at the time and in return for hours suffered in a harness, retribution is given with free climbing on the holds that you slung up.
But much like the gyms we work in now, we must also evolve and redefine ourselves in this growing industry. While chefs enjoy having a consistent recipe that, in cooperation with each chef’s creativity and ‘personal touches’ will almost always come out the same, with the exception of some colossal mess ups I’ve seen, Route Setters have no such luxury. Sure we have a repertoire of moves, and some oppositional theory that is the consistent basis of climbing, but that’s about it and for the record, recycling ideas and movements on routes is a quick way to move your route setting career from in the harness (or on the ladder if that’s how you do things). By the way, if that is how you do things than you’re a useless wrench monkey who has decided he’s way too good to be on a harness not trying the moves and never challenges himself to do anything more creative than the eighteen crossovers or six gastons that he/she consistently puts in every one of your no-knowledge, uncreative and incredibly generic routes/boulder problems. You deserve that transfer from Route Setter to a behind-the-desk, I manage the gym and make Coke orders, desk job. Sit down and take notice wrench spinners: we are paid for creativity, not reusing the same boring sequences in order to make the extra cash.
My apologies. I got off on a rant, but from that you can tell exactly how passionate I am about providing an engaging and thought provocative climbing experience. We, the Setters, have a not-so-easy task, and on top of the everyday trials and tribulations of being creative is the simple issue that with creativity and passion come the terrible traits of opinionated and personal attachment. It’s different for a Chef: after the dish is prepared, it gets sent out to a patron who gobbles it down. If they didn’t like it, they whisper it lowly among their table or maybe they keep it to themselves. If it’s not amazing but not terrible, they complain to the serving staff or the manager. In the rare case that it’s just absolutely terrible it gets sent back and made again, probably in the same fashion, except added saliva and maybe dropped on the floor and stepped on. In any case, the Chef rarely finds out, unless it’s so sinfully terrible that it warrants being remade. Granted there are some very picky eaters out there but let’s generalize people.
Route Setting is much different. Instead of cooking for an anonymous patron, most of the time, we’re cooking for our friends, co-workers, acquaintances and most importantly fellow climbers. These are the people we sit in our harnesses for excruciating hours of the day (I hear you chufferton! "I sat in a harness for 2 hours the other day while I belayed my friend on his new super project". I’m sure you did, you goober-handed grease monkey, however, you didn’t (and I know you didn’t) have a bucket strapped to your ass full of urethane shapes and bolts as well as a drill and your wrenches. We haul all that plastic and creative thought, slap it on a wall with some tape and then have to listen to the unwarranted complaints and non-descriptive reasons of personal feelings towards movements or holds.
Route Setters are fragile creatures; yes we’re opinionated but for good reason. We put part of ourselves into each one of our routes and then put it on display for the climbing community to judge, criticize and generally abuse on a regular day basis.
The words you’re looking for people: constructive criticism. Feedback is important to us but not in the manner you’re thinking of. Route Setters are evolving; we are no longer the egotistical climbers, who scrounge a living from the nothing wage and answer any kind of balking at our routes with the answer "I did that move in my street shoes".
I don’t know what it is like for any other route setting crew, but I have worked with some of the best Setters in both the US and Canada and consistently try to challenge my team of Route Setters to create the most creative and interesting routes possible. I have the most talented group of route setters I have ever seen gathered in one gym, consistently putting brilliance and creative movement up on the walls, in one of the most fantastic facilities I’ve ever been in and what pains us the most (especially me because I know how hard we work and how much thought we put into our routes) is the unjustified comments of some cranky alpinist climber, wearing old Asolo’s and sporting ‘the latest’ in euro lyrca, complaining that the route was really awkward when the only move that he or she managed not to be crossed up on was the starting holds and the finishing hold.
The point of this is that at True North, we’re specifically attempting to make our routes thoughtful, enjoyable and creative. We will never recycle movement and we will continually attempt to provide flow and comfort in our routes while challenging the climber to be thoughtful, mindful of position and continuously ‘think outside the box.’ Like Chefs, we’re sharing our passion with you, so eat up and enjoy.
Test:
1. Route Setters throughout history have endured and made money by:
A) Checking underneath their car seats and tearing apart their cars for change, assuming they could afford cars.
B) Selling their bodies on the streets.
C) Finding a sugar momma who thinks they’re the next Chris Sharma
D) Working two fast food jobs while belay-slaving at the gym on their non-setting hours.
E) Becoming the next Chris Sharma.
F) A and D
G) B leading into C
2. The proper method for providing constructive criticism after climbing a route is:
A) “That feels awkward and I don’t like it”
B) “It was good but some of the moves didn’t flow right, I think possibly adding some feet or maybe some minor tweaks on that section (pointing to the section) would make it feel just a little more natural”
C) “Dude, sweet route!”
D) “Brah, that sucks”
E) If you actually picked A, C or D, email me and I’ll get you a shirt that’s bright orange and reads "I NEED TO BE WATCHED!" So that the desk staff know to assign you one watcher because if you actually picked those answers I doubt you know how to put your clothes on right in the morning, let alone belay. In fact, if you chose A, C or D check your pants right now: are they on right?
3. The Route Setters of True North are:
A) Fickle creatures that need only alcohol and Clif bars to survive
B) Egotistical maniacs involved in a childish game of sandbagging to destroy and demoralize the entire climbing community
C) Creative and fragile creatures that need to be both nurtured and compassionately encouraged with swift kicks to their special areas while providing constructive criticism in order to allow them to find their own setting style
D) You only wish it was A and B!
E) Mindless muscle heads that put up holds in unimaginative sequences that force their 9 allotted crossovers or gastons into every route.
F) C without the abuse; although the abuse is very convincing and thoroughly effective, it is against the Human Rights Code of Ontario
4. The only education that Route Setters of the past received was:
A) A quick introduction to forcing movement with Louis Anderson as well as a signed copy of “The Art Of Course Setting”
B) A twelve-step program to rid them of certain addictions while they are trained in the fine art of vertical dancing
C) The head setter performs a ritual dance which then unlocks the ancient knowledge of route setting inside the apprentice route setter and they blossom into the creative genius of the next generation of climbers while the head route setter crawls into the hold room where he/she will forever rest in some kind of reverent pose as inspiration to their former Padawan learner.
D) A quick intro of the necessary ins and outs of route setting, along with continual constructive feedback from the head route setter
5. The Head Route Setter, like the Master Chef, is to:
A) Sit in the corner and drink to their hearts content while heckling and daily abusing their crew
B) Motivate their crew to provide the best quality of product. Motivating methods may include: wedgies, allowances for sexual fraternization, ‘bonuses’ and half-witted compliments and insults where appropriate.
C) Offer constructive feedback and encouragement while forcefully containing egos by continually squashing with reasons of failure and disappointment.
D) Gloat uncontrollably about how he/she has the best crew that cannot be matched by any other establishment and that those establishments should simply fire their existing crews and pay the obscene amounts of money that would be charged for their crews to come in. Just saying.
E) B and C
F) A and D
Please grade yourself:
1. F
2. B
3. F
4. D
5. E
Score:
5 correct answers: You Rock!
4 correct answers: Good Work!
3 correct answers: Don’t worry, there’s a next test.
2 correct answers: Did you pass your belay test?
1 correct answer: You don’t even know what a Route Setter is do you?
0 correct answer: Next bridge you pass, over you go.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Slackers Rejoice!
[Today's post is a guest post from Ben Iseman, our resident slackline expert]
Slackers rejoice! Finally, there is somewhere you can slack in the rain or when it's snowing (it is only May after all) in a safe and comfortable setting. No more worrying about whether you are slacking in a dog park! True North Climbing is the only place in the GTA where you can walk the line indoors.
Michael Palma, using his extra appendages for balance!
Photo by Chris Gregorowicz
Whether you are new to the sport of slackline or a seasoned pro you'll have 2 very different lines to play around on. First off we have a short 2" line that can be more forgiving to learn on or to try advanced jumping tricks. The second line is a more traditional 1" line that stretches and wobbles as you walk across it. Our ratchet tightening system allows for quick and easy adjustments to the tension of each line giving infinite possibilities and challenges; just ask a staff member!
As daunting as it may seem at first, you will take a couple of steps on your first day. With some hours of effort you will be amazed to actually be walking, recovering your balance and walking some more on something that is only 1" wide. Eventually you can work your way up to surfing back and forth on the line, jumping across it or even attempting the seemingly impossible backflip. Come out and give it a try!
Dustin Kerr playing with some high bounces.
Slackers rejoice! Finally, there is somewhere you can slack in the rain or when it's snowing (it is only May after all) in a safe and comfortable setting. No more worrying about whether you are slacking in a dog park! True North Climbing is the only place in the GTA where you can walk the line indoors.
Michael Palma, using his extra appendages for balance! Photo by Chris Gregorowicz
Whether you are new to the sport of slackline or a seasoned pro you'll have 2 very different lines to play around on. First off we have a short 2" line that can be more forgiving to learn on or to try advanced jumping tricks. The second line is a more traditional 1" line that stretches and wobbles as you walk across it. Our ratchet tightening system allows for quick and easy adjustments to the tension of each line giving infinite possibilities and challenges; just ask a staff member!
As daunting as it may seem at first, you will take a couple of steps on your first day. With some hours of effort you will be amazed to actually be walking, recovering your balance and walking some more on something that is only 1" wide. Eventually you can work your way up to surfing back and forth on the line, jumping across it or even attempting the seemingly impossible backflip. Come out and give it a try!
Dustin Kerr playing with some high bounces.Lost & Found (Part 2)
I wrote last month about all the stuff that people have been leaving behind in the gym when they're done. Today I have a bit to say about the opposite problem: stuff going missing from the gym. In the past month we have seen 3 pairs of rental climbing shoes disappear. (Actually the net loss is only 2 pairs, as one pair that was missing last month has turned up!)
I tend to be very naive about this kind of thing, and it's hard for me to imagine that anyone is actually deliberately taking rental shoes with them after climbing. I'm sure it's just that people are absent-minded, and accidentally tossing everything into their bag. If that's the case, I hope the missing shoes will find their way back soon. If you find yourself with a pair of bright blue velcro or grey lace-up Evolv rental shoes (with the big size number on the back of the heel) and are too embarrassed to bring them to the front desk, you can discreetly leave them in the change room for us to find.
If this trend continues, we will need to start buying more rental shoes, and will also need to consider taking some form of security when we loan them out. We really don't want to do this, as it will slow down check-in for everyone, and it would also be kind of insulting to suggest to our customers that we don't trust them. Hopefully the missing shoes will find their way home soon!
I tend to be very naive about this kind of thing, and it's hard for me to imagine that anyone is actually deliberately taking rental shoes with them after climbing. I'm sure it's just that people are absent-minded, and accidentally tossing everything into their bag. If that's the case, I hope the missing shoes will find their way back soon. If you find yourself with a pair of bright blue velcro or grey lace-up Evolv rental shoes (with the big size number on the back of the heel) and are too embarrassed to bring them to the front desk, you can discreetly leave them in the change room for us to find.
If this trend continues, we will need to start buying more rental shoes, and will also need to consider taking some form of security when we loan them out. We really don't want to do this, as it will slow down check-in for everyone, and it would also be kind of insulting to suggest to our customers that we don't trust them. Hopefully the missing shoes will find their way home soon!
Monday, May 17, 2010
2010 Climbing Wall Summit
Just got back from this year's Climbing Wall Association Summit Conference in Boulder, and I thought I would share my impressions.
First, for those who aren't familiar with it, the Climbing Wall Association is the industry trade group representing climbing gym owners & operators. It's a non-profit organization focussed on education, standards (for engineering, inspection and more recently instruction) and looking out for the industry in areas like insurance and regulation.
This is the fourth year running that the CWA has held a conference in Boulder Colorado to bring together gym owners and their staff, equipment manufacturers, and others who make their living in this cool business. At last year's event I was a wannabe gym owner, soaking up as much information as I could to prepare me for the adventure that followed. I learned a lot of important things that affected how True North Climbing took shape. The biggest lessons I listened to were:
The highlight of the week was the Battle in the Bubble bouldering competition. After qualifying and semi-final rounds at The Spot, the finals were Saturday night, outdoors at the Boulder reservoir. This comp used an elimination format, in which the initial 10 men and women were reduced over 5 problems to 6, 4, 3 and then 2 for the final problem. Daniel Woods and Alex Puccio were the winners, but it was close, and the action was really thrilling. Here are some other articles with more details of the comp, and some good photos:
The CWA does a good job of serving the climbing gym industry, and we definitely benefit from keeping up on their work. the Summit conference each year is a great opportunity to learn what's going on in the business, and share lessons and best practices with gym owners from all over the world.
First, for those who aren't familiar with it, the Climbing Wall Association is the industry trade group representing climbing gym owners & operators. It's a non-profit organization focussed on education, standards (for engineering, inspection and more recently instruction) and looking out for the industry in areas like insurance and regulation.
This is the fourth year running that the CWA has held a conference in Boulder Colorado to bring together gym owners and their staff, equipment manufacturers, and others who make their living in this cool business. At last year's event I was a wannabe gym owner, soaking up as much information as I could to prepare me for the adventure that followed. I learned a lot of important things that affected how True North Climbing took shape. The biggest lessons I listened to were:
- If you're going to build a gym, build a big one. Many gym owners regret building a small facility (which they often do to keep the costs manageable), and find it quickly fills up and they have to build another one!
- Treat routesetting as a profession, and recognize that having great routes that are changed regularly is the key to a successful business
The highlight of the week was the Battle in the Bubble bouldering competition. After qualifying and semi-final rounds at The Spot, the finals were Saturday night, outdoors at the Boulder reservoir. This comp used an elimination format, in which the initial 10 men and women were reduced over 5 problems to 6, 4, 3 and then 2 for the final problem. Daniel Woods and Alex Puccio were the winners, but it was close, and the action was really thrilling. Here are some other articles with more details of the comp, and some good photos:
- ClimbingNarc.com
- B3bouldering
- Fullerton Images
- The Spot blog (lots of details here about the setting & forerunning that I found especially interesting)
The CWA does a good job of serving the climbing gym industry, and we definitely benefit from keeping up on their work. the Summit conference each year is a great opportunity to learn what's going on in the business, and share lessons and best practices with gym owners from all over the world.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Programmes and Lessons Starting Up!
Now that we have the basic operation of the gym running fairly smoothly, we're ready to offer some children's after-school programmes and Lead Climbing Lessons.
There are 4 levels of children's programmes being offered: 3 levels of Recreational programme, and a Pre-competitive/Competitive programme for youths who are getting serious about their climbing, and are interested in competing. Full details of the programmes are available for download from our web site.
The Lead course is also now available for those who are proficient at top rope climbing and are ready for the next level of challenge. The course is available Monday or Wednesday evenings from 6-9pm on 2 consecutive weeks (2 3-hour sessions), and is normally held in groups of 4 climbers. Climbers are expected to provide their own equipment (harness, shoes, lead rope and belay device). The fee for the class is $150 ($120 for gym members), plus GST/HST. Email us if you want in.
There are 4 levels of children's programmes being offered: 3 levels of Recreational programme, and a Pre-competitive/Competitive programme for youths who are getting serious about their climbing, and are interested in competing. Full details of the programmes are available for download from our web site.
The Lead course is also now available for those who are proficient at top rope climbing and are ready for the next level of challenge. The course is available Monday or Wednesday evenings from 6-9pm on 2 consecutive weeks (2 3-hour sessions), and is normally held in groups of 4 climbers. Climbers are expected to provide their own equipment (harness, shoes, lead rope and belay device). The fee for the class is $150 ($120 for gym members), plus GST/HST. Email us if you want in.
The First Full Month
April is over, and we can look back at our first full month of business now. It has been a pretty good start. We have had over 1,500 people through the door since we opened, and more than 100 of those have become members: a mix of prepaid monthly, monthly electronic funds transfer (EFT) and prepaid annual. We have given introductory lessons to about 150 people, so we're also off to a good start at introducing climbing to new people and growing the market. We're not quite profitable yet, but we're getting there, and as we add after-school programmes for children (now available; info at the front desk), summer camp, lead classes (now available!), school groups and more birthday parties, we'll get where we need to be.
While the feedback we have heard so far has been overwhelmingly positive, there have been suggestions on how to make the gym better, and we're trying to listen. We have already added lockers, removable shower heads in the change rooms for foot-washing and the training area. We now sell climbing tape (important for those trying the cracks!), and are ready to teach lead climbing. We have heard from a fair number of people who would like us to extend our hours (in both directions), and I expect we will respond to that soon, once we find a way for a few of us to work a little less and sleep a little more.
We have also heard clearly that our route grades need to be more consistent, and we agree. It is taking a little time for our 7 routesetters (who bring experience from at least that many other gyms!) to come together in a consensus of what each grade ought to mean. With the first refresh of our routes this past week (belay bars 1-16, the "Atari Arete" of the main bouldering wall, and some of the lead-only routes have been replaced) we started having all the routesetters forerun each other's routes and problems. This generates more feedback on how to improve them, and gets us closer to a consistent set of grades. You may not necessarily find that our grades exactly match what is at other gyms, but we are trying hard to make things reasonably consistent across what we offer.
I want to thank everyone who has come to climb at our new gym, and especially those who have trusted us with their membership. We are working very hard to make this gym better every day (there is a lot to do!), and we haven't yet got everything we have in mind rolled out.
OK, I gotta get some breakfast and get to the gym soon...
While the feedback we have heard so far has been overwhelmingly positive, there have been suggestions on how to make the gym better, and we're trying to listen. We have already added lockers, removable shower heads in the change rooms for foot-washing and the training area. We now sell climbing tape (important for those trying the cracks!), and are ready to teach lead climbing. We have heard from a fair number of people who would like us to extend our hours (in both directions), and I expect we will respond to that soon, once we find a way for a few of us to work a little less and sleep a little more.
We have also heard clearly that our route grades need to be more consistent, and we agree. It is taking a little time for our 7 routesetters (who bring experience from at least that many other gyms!) to come together in a consensus of what each grade ought to mean. With the first refresh of our routes this past week (belay bars 1-16, the "Atari Arete" of the main bouldering wall, and some of the lead-only routes have been replaced) we started having all the routesetters forerun each other's routes and problems. This generates more feedback on how to improve them, and gets us closer to a consistent set of grades. You may not necessarily find that our grades exactly match what is at other gyms, but we are trying hard to make things reasonably consistent across what we offer.
I want to thank everyone who has come to climb at our new gym, and especially those who have trusted us with their membership. We are working very hard to make this gym better every day (there is a lot to do!), and we haven't yet got everything we have in mind rolled out.
OK, I gotta get some breakfast and get to the gym soon...
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