I had a really great time at Up The Bloc! This is one of the many gyms that is affiliated with the…read moredifferent Rock Oasis Gyms and Joe's Rockheads. If you have previously filled out a waiver of these gyms semi-recently, they should be able to find you in the system so you don't have to do it again. This is one of their newer offerings and it shows! The gym is really shiny and new, the holds still quite abrasive on the skin if you rub them the wrong way haha. I thought the set up was quite grand - two huge walls that go from the front of the gym all the way to the back. They were able to work in overhangs and slab problems well across the walls. Everything felt seamless and the problems were interesting. They have some branded merch at the front which is great if you forgot any of your work out clothes at home. They also have a selection of shoes, chalk bags, and accessories. Interestingly they have lip balm that is themed by the different sister gyms. The change rooms here are sort of co-ed. There are lockers back here and changerooms that are single stalls kind of like you would see at a clothing store with cloth curtains. There is also a sink here which is communal. The parking was a tad difficult because there was a wedding going on at a banquet hall that shares the lot. There's also a church there with a lot of reserved parking. Make sure that you check for any reserved signs so you don't get towed!

Came here to use a Groupon that I bought in January, $30 for 2 ppl for a 2 hr slot + intro session…read moreincluding shoe rental. It was our first time bouldering and we were at our physical worst (lmao thanks to covid) to do this activity. Still, it was a lot of fun and a great introduction to bouldering. I'd definitely recommend for people looking to try something challenging and new. We signed the waiver and booked our slot online (the booking system only allowed us to book 3 days in advance, for time slots of 12-2pm, 3-5pm, and 6-8pm). Since it was our first time, we had a quick 5-10 min intro session on how to climb, helped us find climbing shoes that fit, explained the colour coding, and how to safely jump down from the wall. The staff were nice and gave us tips and tricks for trying the different levels. After that, they left us to climb on our own. The facility was bright and clean, with good air flow, mats for people to jump down to, and lots of space between us and the other people climbing. The gym is colour coded (the tape, not the rocks) and we completed all the beginner/yellow ones and just a couple of the next level/orange ones. There is a lot of variety and challenge for advanced climbers, not so much for beginners, but we really didn't have the energy/endurance to get that far so it was alright. When we went, most people present seemed to be advanced/experienced climbers. It was really interesting watching them attempt the harder climbs and seeing what they did to complete them. For the average person, they make it seem easy, but when you do it yourself, it's far far harder than it looks. Personally, while I understood the technique from watching, executing it was a completely different story. Originally, we were worried a 2 hr slot during Covid (previously the Groupon was a day pass I believe) wouldn't be enough time, but it was. It's such a challenging physical activity, my friend and I were both exhausted by the end of it. After our first climb, we were a bit surprised how much muscle/arm strength it took to hoist ourselves up there. By the end, our fingers were throbbing, hands rough, and after getting home, our muscles were sore for a couple days after. Since like 90% of the walls are slanted/angled, when we reached a problem we couldn't figure out on the wall, we had to jump down since it was too tiring to hang around on it. The slanted walls made the climbs much more challenging than a straight wall, since for some climbs you're at an angle where gravity is pulling you back and you need muscle strength just to keep yourself on the wall, let alone move to the next rock. For newbies interested in coming here, I'd say definitely bring more water than you think you need, conserve your energy, take breaks, and know your limits. I think people who regularly work out (especially their arms/fingers) would likely have an easier time, since the activity takes a lot of finger strength, but even for beginners, it was a lot of fun trying something new - I enjoyed the problem solving/activity aspect to bouldering, which made it a fun way to exercise.

Spontaneously decided to rock climb with some friends as a fun activity on a Sunday afternoon. We…read moreare complete novices to climbing. We were intimidated by the reviews about how crowded Basecamp Queen W is, so we decided to come down to the east end to check out Rock On as the reviews made it seem much chiller. When we arrived the staff asked us if we had climbed before, and because we hadn't, he gave us a lesson on safety tips (how to fall correctly) as well as how to locate/navigate the different holds. After a useful hands-on demonstration we were off to try some climbs. We worked our way around to all the climbs VB, V0 and V1 level (some successfully topped, some not) and had a lot of adrenaline pumping fun. Overall we were very scared to try rock climbing for the first time but we felt like we were in good hands with the staff here. On a Sunday afternoon it was also not very busy so we had a lot of time to try the same climbs over and over, and didn't have to wait much. I would definitely recommend for any beginner, and it looked like there were some advanced climbers as well!

Decently spacious climbing gym. There is a nice amount of bouldering space in addition to their…read moreroutes. Next door they have a 24hour facility that is included in day pass use that has a moonboard, large kilterboard, spray wall, slabwall as well as more training equipment, campus board and weights. The Cafe upstairs of the main facility is a nice touch too.

This place seems really new - it still has that fresh Home Depot type of smell lol. This has all…read moremanner of climbing including bouldering, top rope, lead climbing, and auto belay. The fees are a little bit less than at other gyms and I think this is due to the size of it. There are a decent number of top rope and lead climbing routes but only a few auto belays. The bouldering area was very squished due to a wall that separates everything else from it. It just felt like it was hard to walk without tripping over people essentially. They had a lot of projects up that were ungraded on one side of the wall. This was kind of interesting because it kind let you forget about any sort of level restrictions. Some of the grading they did have was interesting - they had had a "V minus"...as in less than 0. I'm not sure how one determines something is easier than a 0. As for some housekeeping, the front has a lot of coat hangers and a bench area for you to put on your shoes. There is a sink in this area too for quick handwashing. There are lockers up a set of stairs. They don't do any walk-in sort of belay training - check for special dates. They had a board up where you could contact other members for a belay partner which was pretty cool. All the staff were friendly too. Seems like a nice gym to be a part of!

Came here when I visited Toronto, and I enjoyed how big the gym was. Since the gym is decently…read moresized, the route setting feels like there's more variety in techniques. To use the auto-belay, they had me do a mini-test and gave me a card to show that I was approved to auto-belay. The locker rooms were clean. There's a decently sized parking lot.

Hub Climbing is a great space to go bouldering; I haven't yet tried the belaying area of the gym,…read morebut the bouldering section is quite large and has a section for learning climbers as well as more experienced ones. They have a training area upstairs for more experienced climbers as well, and a small gym area with a bench, cables, and other weights. They have climbing merchandise for sale as well near the front, and a vending machine with some snacks and drinks, too. I will definitely be returning to climb here again!

Pursuit OCR was super fun! The first time I went was when they first opened many years ago, back in…read morethe old location (smaller venue). This newer location was bigger, more spacious, and had more obstacles and areas such as dodgeball & volleyball arena and arcade games (which you can play after finished with going through the obstacle course). I really liked the diversity of all of the courses. For some of them, you can choose the 'easy' or 'hard' version. Once you finish going through all of the obstacles in the course (which took ~30-45 minutes), you can play dodgeball, volleyball, arcade games, giant Jenga, giant 4-In-A-Row, try scaling up one of the vertical walls, or go through any of the obstacles again. Staff were all super friendly and energetic, from the ones who greeted us at the front and helped us check in, to the ones who explained the rules once inside. Useful tips: - Sign the waiver online to save time when checking in. - Bring a lock or you can purchase one at the front desk for $4. - There is ample parking space in the parking lot right outside the building, and TTC bus stop is 2-8 minutes walk (depending on which bus # you take). - There is a vending machine where you can purchase drinks. - It's better to wear long pants or leggings instead of shorts because in some obstacles, there are 'slides' component and parts where the surface can rub hard against the skin (and pants also do a better job at protecting the knee when crawling).

@pursuitor is sooooo fun!!! You can have a good time regardless of how athletic you are!…read more I got invited to go the last minute showed up in my non-stretchy work pants- restricting my movements, but was able to get some self absorption photos and enjoy the kiddies facilities

Always so good to visit here, especially with good friends!…read moreI haven't been here since last Summer, and truly enjoyed their new rock set up (renovated). I visited on Friday afternoon and it was quiet enough to try all my levels (of my level haha) without waiting so long. Staff were very friendly and knowledgeable too. Maybe I should visit here more often!

First time at True North. Came with friends who are members. Friendly staff, good COVID protocols,…read morewell ventilated with the garage sized door open, various levels of difficulties for climbers of all skill level. Equipment is clean and in good condition. Fun experience with friends or couples. Good full body work out! Plenty of parking. Would highly recommend.

We are a family of 3 (2 adults and a 10 yo) who are new to climbing, so when I called to inquire…read moreabout their offerings, Jeff, encouraged us to come in to check out the facility in person. The facility is clean, albeit being on the small side which does not affect our time there at all, as we're just starting to learn. Both times we were there, we were lucky enough to have the place mostly to ourselves and we've been having lots of fun on the auto-belays. Jeff is very personable and laid back, which is really nice, because the last thing I wanted was having someone hovering over me as I ungracefully try to maneuver my way up the colour coded path. We'll continue to learn here and I am looking forward to trying out their summer camp for my daughter soon.

There are two Rock Oasis gyms in the city, one in Toronto and the other in Ajax. The Ajax location…read moreis actually located inside of the Ajax Community Centre. The photo on Google Maps of the entrance isn't actually the one I was able to enter from. If you're facing the entrance where it says "banquet hall" (that's where it'll take you in the nav), walk to the left until you see another set of doors. Once you walk in there's hanging signage that will say "rock climbing". Follow these and you should start seeing signs for "Rock Oasis". Pretty easy from there! There's a little counter where you can take care of your rentals and payment. The staff member that I was greeted by was already expecting me! I had booked online the night before and signed the waiver. In the same hallway there's a set of doors that leads directly into the rock climbing area. There are cubbies to store your gear at the bottom of the stairs. Right by it was a hand sanitizing station although they had some other bottles spread throughout the climbing area on benches. It's a veryyy small climbing area! you can see everything at a glance. The walls also don't get super high which is good for beginners since you won't get as tired going all the way up. There are only 3 auto belays so it gets crowded if you're climbing alone. There is a lot of bouldering available. Since they have limited space, they had to be imaginative with their puzzles. Most of them take the approach of moving horizontally across a wider range of space rather than going up. The bouldering and the top rope walls cross over each other so on a busy day it would be more difficult to maneuver. The bouldering paths are graded by difficulty and they have a colour coding system. I will say that just because they are traversed horizontally doesn't mean that they're easier than the ones at other gyms! It's still a great challenge. Overall the gym is great for the community and located in an accessible place at a reasonable price. However it's very small. If you don't have the place all to yourself, I could find it really hard to get access to the walls you're interested in. You also probably couldn't spend that much time here if you are an experienced climbing.

This was a temporary gym for me while I was in the area for a few weeks. I chose this gym for the…read moreproximity and reasonable monthly membership fee and was not disappointed! The gym is very clean and the employees were very friendly. I loved that they have communal chalk for free - great for when you forget or if you are a first timer. There are not too many problems to work on here and even fewer overhangs. Although they make up for it by changing a section of the wall every week so it keeps things new and fresh. For a tall person I also thought some problems were too short (I could reach the top after a few steps). Maybe setters can make problems more interesting by setting longer routes. Overall I would still come back whenever I'm visiting Canada again!

My nieces (8 & 11) absolutely love this place, so I guess it must be OK. To be clear, this is not…read morerock climbing walls. This is "bouldering". The difference being zero help, no ropes, no safety of any kind aside from a padded floor. Some walls are steep and over 20' tall, so a fall can be significant. Guess that's why you sign a waiver. This place is clean and spacious with almost limitless possibilities to suit all skill levels. The colored nodules on the wall indicate a skill level and "path" you should take to reach the top. Using a color other than the one you started with would be considered cheating--but I won't tell. Admission price varies depending on group size and you get admitted for an all-day pass. I would like to see an hourly option since we really only needed 2 hours to get hour fill of fun. We paid about $17 USD per person. Groupon has several offerings to help reduce that cost. My only recommendation would be to offer some sort of instruction, tips, videos, etc related to bouldering. There was only one staff member and he never came over to offer a tip or advice or anything to help us navigate the walls better. They had a TV playing video of rock climbing, but that is of no value here. Overall very enjoyable time with the kids, but I think I prefer Sky Zone instead for the variety of activities available.

Great place for starters. You get thoroughly oriented and with all the gears complete, you will be…read moreready for your first few climbs. Clean facility. Great staff. Not too busy when we were there on a non-holiday weekend. Great exercise. Used their auto-belay as only one person in the family was climbing Ample parking too

Fun for the kids and me we climb all day on Sunday and we got some stuff at the gift shop gift shop…read morelike crock gibit