Rock On Climbing — Local services in Toronto

Synopsis: Pros: open 24/7, no grade for a week is fun, mostly adult-only Cons: dogs bark, poor access to kilter board

I had climbed here for 2 years before recently ending my membership. I loved that the gym was open to members 24/7, which meant that I could come in very early or very late when it’s not busy. I wish them nothing but the best and hope these comments can help the owners improve the experience even more.

Setting: Considering the small size of the gym, setters do a great job of packing the walls full of climbs. I particularly enjoyed when they started not grading new boulders for a week after putting them up to encourage climbers to try everything they’re interested in. Trying harder problems is a great way to improve. There were a few times where they put big volumes at the bottom of the wall on the slab which felt very scary for my ankles and which I consider to be slightly unsafe setting.

No kids, yes pets: This gym has pretty strict policies around children and generally does not encourage children climbing here, which is great if you don’t want to think about watching out for kids. They allow and encourage dogs and cats in the gym, which are always cute to see.

Dogs barking: Unfortunately one of the main reasons that prompted my leaving was that the dogs could get disturbing. Sometimes owners left them unleashed and they could roam around to interrupt my workout. Worse, however, is when excited dogs bark. Every time they barked it was so loud in the small room and I really did not enjoy the loud disturbances.

Kilter board: Sometimes there is a group of people that would hang on a lyra hoop (I think that’s what it’s called) right over the mat of the kilterboard. I think it’s fine to do this outside of busy hours, but sometimes they do this while there are many others in the gym, many of whom possibly wanting to use the kilter board. I think in a climbing gym, on climbing equipment, I would expect climbing to be...

Rock On is a hidden gem tucked into the Corktown Commons complex. It is smaller than some other climbing gyms in the city, but has everything you need and I find it less crowded than other places I tried - Up the Bloc (Mississauga) and Boulderz, even on a weekend. I find the price very competitive ($25 for 2 hours drop-in, including shoe rental) and great value. They also are open 24/7 to members - a great option for more regular climbers.

It was my friend's first time and I am still very much a beginner myself. We found the atmosphere welcoming and we got a short run down of safety guidelines and a chance to ask any questions at the start. There are a good variety of routes, although even some of the "beginner" ones were still pretty challenging! Phew. They use a colour system for difficulty, rather than the V scale or font scale.

They also have a slack line, small workout area with kettle bells, rings, etc. and lockers. Everything was super clean and everyone was wearing their mask (properly too!!). I read the website and their COVID protocols and it seems that this is a good place if you are being careful and mindful about minimizing risk, which I really appreciate when I am going out.

In addition, this place is woman-owned and dog friendly! They have dog treats at the front desk and you can see their resident dogs on their site and instagram :) I would come back...

Ok, first off the cell phone mounts on the wall that you can use to record your climbs... GENIUS! Why more gyms don't do this I don't know but I love it.

The gym is small, but in that small space they pack in a good mix of climbing styles and routes. This is bouldering only, but you'll still get a decent workout here regardless.

Now for the not so hot points; it's a small gym and a lot of the current routes at the time of this review didn't feel like a challenge to me. I'm not an expert, but I am tall and I was able to literally reach for the last hold on most of the routes. Granted not a big issue, but the routes that were marked as hard certainly held up to that rating. At the end of the day I felt like it was a good workout, but was also left wanting more.

If you're a new climber or you're looking to get your fingers chalky check this gym out! That being said, if you're a seasoned gripper you may want to do a day pass here and possibly try another gym if you don't feel challenged.

I really hope Rock On sticks around, this city needs more gyms and there's certainty a lot of promise here. I'm Looking forward to...