Rock Room
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Specs: Rock Room, a new bouldering gym, is coming together in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with Mike Hyer and Cody Cook at the head. Hyer and Cook are longtime friends and climbing partners who were born and raised in Thunder Bay, which Hyer described as somewhat of an isolated city, geographically. The city of about 111,000 residents is a six-hour drive north of Minneapolis, the nearest large U.S. city, and eight hours from Winnipeg, Hyer estimated. However, “everyone who drives across the country in Canada has to go through Thunder Bay,” Hyer said, noting the Trans-Canada Highway divides the city. According to Hyer, there is a “huge movement of climbers from Eastern Canada to Western Canada,” so the Rock Room operators hope to “get as many of those people to stop and hang out for a minute on their way by.” Hyer added that, historically, many people did not know they were driving through such a heavily established climbing area. “There is a lifetime of first ascents to be had for the entire population of Thunder Bay,” he added, noting the city “is somewhere with a lot of climbing and not very many climbers,” compared to some other areas.
Hyer and Cook plan to open Rock Room before the end of 2025. According to Hyer, it came to their knowledge that the previous climbing gym in the city, Boulder Bear Climbing Centre, was closing last fall, and they “wanted to be certain Thunder Bay would go without a climbing gym for the shortest period possible,” since there are currently no other climbing gyms open in the city. [More information on Boulder Bear’s closure can be found in CBJ’s recent Gyms & Trends report.] Hyer felt that what the community needed was a space where climbers could train and get stronger, “but even more so a space where the community can come together and strengthen ties.” Compared to the amount of outdoor climbing around Thunder Bay, the “physical spaces of people interacting are limited,” he added. With the come and go of university climbers, the sizable outdoor parks, recreation and tourism program in Thunder Bay, and the support of outdoor adventure tourism by the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission, Hyer decided the city was ready for a new climbing gym.
Before working on the gym, Hyer practiced human rights law and has always been passionate about inclusion, something which he is excited to highlight at Rock Room. “It is important that climbing and all recreational activities and all aspects of our life are looked at with fresh eyes compared to how they might have been looked at in the past,” Hyer stated. “As that relates to climbing, for me that means looking at the historical barriers in terms of who has been involved in climbing and who has not.” Hyer believes Rock Room can play an exciting role for marginalized groups, noting, “You can’t have a conversation about inclusion and climbing without talking about gender diversity and racial diversity.” And because he believes “good community building and connection” happen through climbing, he hopes the gym will help remove barriers to entry into the sport. For example, Rock Room plans to host “Femmes and Thems” nights and adaptive nights, as well as partner with local organizations that “already do a lot of really good work,” said Hyer. He hopes Rock Room will be “a space where folks of all preferences, skin colors, body shapes and forms of neurodivergence can come hang out and go bouldering because bouldering is fun. At the end of the day, it’s as simple as that.”
Website: www.rockroomclimbing.ca
Instagram: @RockRoomClimbing
In Their Words: “Be Humble. And ask for advice from the people who are already doing the work.” – Mike Hyer, Rock Room Co-Owner
