Downsview hangar re-invented as climbing facility.
A climber tackles on the walls at True North Climbing, constructed in a former hanger at Downsview.
Image/ERIC HEINO
It seems appropriate that what used to be an airplane hangar is now filled with individuals who are quite literally hanging from the walls.
All puns aside, True North Climbing is Toronto's newest indoor climbing facility and is serious about making their gym a success.
Owner John Gross had the already cavernous location inside the Downsview Park Sports Centre outfitted with more than 14,000 square feet of climbing surfaces suitable for every level of athlete and painted to match the Mosquito Bombers that used to be built in this location during the Second World War.
"We are trying to make climbing accessible to new climbers so there are a lot of easy routes, but it's a big enough gym that we can have more difficult areas to keep more serious climbers happy," said Gross.
"Rock climbing has the reputation that it's an extreme sport and you need to be super fit and macho to do it. That's not true at all...a couple of weeks ago my 87-year-old mother was in and even she got to the top of one of the walls."
He may be the owner, but he is also a prime example of the type of clientele he hopes to attract. Gross began climbing when he was 45 and admittedly, was not in very good shape. He climbs to get fit and to have fun, but is by no means an expert or top calibre athlete.
He had been pondering the idea of opening his own gym for years, but he really got serious after he was laid-off from his previous job as a software manager. He attended a climbers' conference in Colorado and began getting together the pieces he needed to open True North.
It took time and dedication, but his dream became a reality when the gym held its grand opening for the general public on April 17.
When climbers arrived they were presented with a colourful variety of walls, each presenting different challenges. The most striking feature of the gym is a giant stalactite, stretching from the 36-foot-high ceiling down to its point, a few feet from the ground.
There are three types of climbs available. Those new to the sport are best suited to the bouldering and top rope walls. The bouldering area is a 13-foot-high length of wall constructed with difficult angles that are challenging, but close enough to the ground that climbers do not need a safety rope. There are 150 routes on the boulder wall.
There are 100 different colour-coded routes suitable for top rope climbs, where the climber makes their way up a tall, vertical wall, supported by a partner on the ground and a safety rope.
Both bouldering and top rope climbs can be taught within an hour by instructors at True North, but more experienced climbers can try lead climbing, which is significantly more challenging and hazardous. The lead cave is as tall as the top rope walls, but protrudes out from the main wall, requiring climbers to move sideways and upside down while attaching their safety rope to different points as the inclines change.
True North Climbing is located at 75 Carl Hall Rd, and is open seven days a week.