The Climbers Crush
Owen Sound, Ontario
Specs: The Climbers Crush, the first commercial climbing gym in the Owen Sound area of Ontario, was opened by Carlin and Deb Val on July 6th. Before the bouldering gym’s opening, the climbing gym closest to Owen Sound had been over an hour and a half drive away. “Selfishly, I wanted [a climbing gym] for myself and my family. But also, I wanted to open it up for my community,” said Carlin, a climber of over 25 years. The journey from idea to actualization ended up being a multi-year process, beginning seven years ago when the Vals started looking for a spot for the new gym.
During the property hunt, most suitable facilities required rezoning, Carlin explained, a process many landlords did not want to go through. Due to the size of Owen Sound, a town with an estimated population of less than 22,000 people, it was difficult to find a building large enough to house their vision. Fortunately, the Vals found a former ink recycling center owned by a landlord who “thought the gym would be really good for the community,” Carlin said.
The Val’s initially signed a lease for the space on August 31st, 2023, and the business was rezoned from M2 (Heavy Industrial) to M1 (General Industrial), allowing the gym to operate as a community lifestyle business. “That process took almost a year,” Carlin detailed, “and then 30 days after the city approved it, a local neighbor…put in an appeal and halted us for six months.” Carlin said he and Deb did not want to invest in the leasehold improvements or pay to build the climbing walls until they knew that they would be able to open the business as a climbing gym, noting the delay could have taken up to two years. By the end of February 2024, the appeal was fortunately dropped and zoning was approved. “I was expecting delays, but not such a big one right off the start, before we even got going. But it just makes this time even sweeter,” Carlin said, adding that July 6th was the earliest the gym could have opened.
The 6,000–square-foot facility hosts 1,500 square feet of climbing wall surface, spread across a 100-foot-long wall that ends in a beginner-friendly auto belay/top rope zone. The Vals have extra space in the facility for an expansion—which they are planning to pursue after the first 18 months of business, once they’ve had time to assess how things have been going at The Climbers Crush. If the expansion isn’t possible, Carlin still wants to ensure he and Deb can keep the gym going strong, so their alternative plan is to open another business in the remaining space that brings in extra income.
In addition to running the gym, Carlin and Deb have also been raising their three children, another job on its own. For other operators managing a family-owned gym with their partner, Carlin advises, “If one person is working at the gym and the other one is maintaining the household and kids and balancing that, just be appreciative for both sides. The person in the gym is working really hard, but so is the person at home covering for the person at the gym.”
Walls: Onsite
Flooring: Onsite
CRM Software: Approach
Website: climberscrush.com
Instagram: @TheClimbersCrush
In Their Words: “I couldn’t have done this without the support from the climbing community. We have had a number of volunteers come and help build the wall, paint, and pretty much get this facility up and running. My main mission with this climbing gym is to build a climbing community; we have already done this, and we haven’t opened yet.” – Carlin Val, Co-Owner of The Climbers Crush
Naomi is a personal trainer and a routesetter who has also worked at climbing gyms as a youth team coach. After starting college at Colorado State University in 2017, she wanted to make new friends and found climbing, fell in love, and now climbing dictates most of what she does. Naomi earned a bachelor’s degree in Ecosystem Science & Sustainability, and when not climbing she enjoys baking, gardening and crafting.
