Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program Leads to New Yukon Climbing Gym

Exterior of the new Yukon Climbing Collective gym under construction — Climb Yukon Collective, a collaboration among the Climb Yukon Association, Canadian and Yukon governments, and the City of Whitehorse, will soon be opening in Whitehorse, Canada, as a year-round community hub for climbers in the area. (All photos are courtesy of the Climb Yukon Collective)

Climb Yukon Collective
Whitehorse, Yukon

Specs: Climb Yukon Collective is expected to open in the coming weeks in Whitehorse, Yukon, and will be the first full-sized climbing gym in the territory upon completion, per the gym’s operators. According to the Climb Yukon website, the new climbing facility project was designed to “develop our competitive athlete programs and accommodate regional and even national-level competitions,” providing a hub for competitors as well as climbers of all ages and ability levels in the region. Meagan Wilson, Pre-Opening General Manager of Climb Yukon, said the Climb Yukon Association has been around for over a decade and had, until this point, been using a small part of a high school gym with a climbing wall for their indoor climbing-related activities. The nonprofit association is board-run, “and their mandate is to promote the sport of climbing,” she said. “As a part of that, they’ve been working for a long time to get a facility. The gym evolved out of the desire for the community to have access to indoor climbing.”

Climb Yukon is based in Whitehorse, which Wilson said “is the biggest community in the Yukon, so it’s a logical fit [for the gym].” The region has a similar climate to Alaska, she detailed, where the community experiences “at least six months of winter [each year] or weather where you wouldn’t want to be outside climbing.” The ground-up build of Whitehorse’s new, year-round community space was funded by the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) in a location selected by the Canadian and Yukon Governments. ICIP was looking to build a gymnastics gym in town, Wilson explained, and because the height requirements for the businesses were similar, it was a “good fit” for Climb Yukon to share the space. The two gyms will have different entrances and operate separately.

“The Climb Yukon Association has existed for years to promote climbing and to promote the sport, and I think that the natural evolution of that became, well, how do we promote the sport better? And it’s with a dedicated facility,” Wilson stated.

Wilson said getting the gym up and running has been a “real community and team effort.” The Climb Yukon website acknowledges the help they have received from the “Government of Canada’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, Yukon Government’s Community Development Fund, City of Whitehorse, Yukon Lotteries, and other organizations and businesses who have supported with time, energy, expertise and donations.” The Yukon government will manage and own the business, and all revenue earned will go back into the community and Climb Yukon, Wilson explained. “If there was a really profitable year, it would stay within the organization and could help finance the climbing team or finance a trip in the future,” she added. “Primarily, the main staff will be employees, but we will be looking to have volunteers as well.” It was not a recent decision to open a nonprofit versus a private gym, said Wilson; as the territorial sport organization for climbing in the Yukon, operating as a nonprofit has long been part of Climb Yukon’s vision of promoting the sport in the region.

A Climb Yukon Kilter Board — *Climb Yukon has grown from a hand-built, volunteer-run wall at a high school to a 3,000-square-foot facility. “It’s pretty amazing to see how far we’ve come,” Wilson shared.*

Climb Yukon will feature 1,500 square feet of bouldering and 4,000 square feet of top rope and lead climbing wall surface. The gym plans to have hangboards in addition to a Kilter Board, auto belays, 55-65 boulder problems and 15 rope lines. Climb Yukon will host Climbing Escalade Canada events, birthday parties, youth team practices, corporate team building, learn-to-climb group lessons, and kids’ camps. Funding has been gathered to support the gym’s various programs which, as a nonprofit, included donations from local climbers and other community members. “It’s awesome to see that amount of community support,” Wilson said. “[In] Whitehorse and the Yukon, there are a lot of very outdoorsy, very active people. So, I think people are just itching to have a space like this.”

Walls: Walltopia
Flooring: Walltopia
CRM Software: Rock Gym Pro
Website: www.climbyukon.com
Instagram: @ClimbYukon

In Their Words: “The thing that’s really made it work is embracing the community aspect of it. I’m on as a contractor, but there’s a Board of Directors for Climb Yukon, and they’ve really helped make this possible. So, I guess my advice would be to lean into the community for support, and great things can happen.” – Meagan Wilson, Pre-Opening General Manager of Climb Yukon