Canada's insider blog

It’s one serious climbing wall.  

That’s the verdict of climbers – and spectators – attending the grand opening of the four-storey addition to The Boulders Climbing Gym near Victoria, British Columbia.

The new wall adds 743 sq. metres (8,000 sq. feet) of space, making it the biggest indoor climbing training facility in Canada.

It’s so impressive, in fact, that The Boulders has been catapulted into the lofty realm of world climbing competitions.  

In August 2013, the World Youth Climbing Championships will be held at The Boulders – the first time ever in North America.

That’s not bad for what started out as a small climbing facility for high school students at adjacent Stelly’s Secondary School.

The new $2-million wall was designed to accommodate lots of spectators. Huge metal doors open up so people can sit outside and watch as athletes climb their way to the top of various ‘routes’ using hand and toeholds.

The new addition includes a 15-metre (50-foot) wall specifically for speed climbing.

It’s an exciting time for climbers and it’s only going to get better. Climbing could become an Olympic sport as early as 2020 – that’s the hope of climbers anyway, ever since the International Olympic Committee granted full recognition to the International Federation of Sport Climbing.