With over 4,600 square feet of climbing space, 33 ft route walls, workout space and rock climbing courses for all ages, Climb Muskoka is set to offer Muskoka residents everything they could expect from the state-of-the-art rock climbing facilities in the GTA. But according to owner Kevin French what you can find in the building is only a small part of what the Bracebridge business hopes to become.
“The goal is to create a community space – a place where people can gather,” says French. “There are so many benefits to climbing but for me the biggest thing has always been the social piece.”
The original plan was to have the facility, located on Kirkhill Drive, open and running in time to host camps this summer but like many other business owners the current pandemic threw a wrench into those plans.
“We want to create a community space where everyone can gather and in the middle of a pandemic those are all of the things you basically can’t do,” says French. “It was difficult but we had to make the responsible decision to slow down…and now I’m glad we did.”
The plan is now to open the facility in October, which works well for French as they intend to focus more heavily on the permanent Muskoka residents, as opposed to seasonal residents.
Climb Muskoka will offer guests a full range of bouldering terrain, 33′ route walls with top rope, lead and auto-belay stations. A second-story mezzanine will have space for stretching, free weights and cardio equipment. they will also have change-rooms, a foot wash station, showers and a retail space with climbing gear. A multi-purpose room will provide a meeting space for community groups, team meetings, birthday celebrations and general rentals.
“We want to create a place for kids to grow and develop as well as a place for people in their 40s, 50s and 60s to come together in the winter,” he says. “Our goal isn’t to take away from the existing facility but complement it.”
French is originally from Mississauga but he spent some 18 years working in outdoor adventure camps and many years climbing.
“As a kid I spent a lot of hours climbing. That’s where I had a lot of my founding life experiences and made many friendships.”
French and his wife Kim moved to Muskoka in 2012 with their children looking for a change of pace. He says the benefits their family have experienced from moving to the area have been profound and he felt like this was their opportunity to give something back.
If all goes according to plan he already anticipates building a 1,600 square foot expansion. By summer of 2022 he hopes to have a tiki bar in front of this facility making use of local breweries and providing a venue for live music on the weekends.
Although he admits the existing community of climbers in Muskoka is fairly small he hopes to bolster those numbers by offering intro courses and allowing novices to rent equipment.
“All of this is part of our goal to create a community hub and I believe strongly in what we can do,” says French.
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