Kolher Klimbing wall in Truro!

[Matt Peck]

Hey all,
I've been away from the community for a bit now, but am trying to get back in the climbing life. Just thought I'd get out an unofficial bit of press on the Kolher Klimbing wall in Truro (disclaimer: I work there).
For a while now I've found it hard to train for routes in Nova Scotia if I wasn't getting out on the rock, and that's not always easy to do here in the good old Maritimes. The wall here at the RECC is nice for getting a decent pump in before the wall ends. The wall is approx. 12m or 40 feet tall vertically, and closer to 50 feet following the contours. There are anchors set at a couple of different heights along the wall. The wall structure is an Entreprise modular wall, similar to the one MEC in Halifax used to use, and has excellent friction. The wall surface is structured in a variety of 3d shapes with small features for texture. We also have a full length vertical offset hand crack for those traddies out there.

Currently we are open 12-10pm on weekdays and 12-8pm on weekends. There are occasional private bookings that usually don't last more than an hour at a time, otherwise the week is mostly free for walk-ins. It is necessary to take our B4U climb course before you are able to climb at our facility. The $19 course is an hour and a half long and runs most days through the week, contacting the RECC at 902-893-2224 will get you in touch for scheduling and booking. The course covers general rules, tying in via figure-eight follow through, and belay operation via Gri-Gri device. You can choose to challenge the course if you have experience with the above skills for $5, and if we find you need further instruction to bring you up to our standard, you will just have to pay the remaining $14 and schedule yourself into a B4U climb course.
Once you have passed the course, you have to wait a minimum of 24 hours before you can come back again to Retest. The retest is just a 30ish minute session where you show us what you learned so we can make sure you have memorized the important bits. After the retest you are good to come in at any time we don't have a booking at the drop-in rate + rentals. GriGri rental for the day is free after you complete your certification.

Brief cost breakdown:
Daily pass= $10 adult or $8 for Youth/Student/Senior.
Harness rental= $2
Shoe rental= $2

Currently the only belay device you can use is a Petzl Grigri. You can bring in your own harness/shoes/chalk, the only restriction being harnesses must be no older than 5 years. We will check, and reserve the right to restrict personal equipment.

We are currently set up for TOPROPING AND BOULDERING ONLY. Lead climbing is coming, but we are currently not set up with a training curriculum for it yet. Bouldering is available, but currently there are no pads available so spotting is a must and there is a climbing height restriction.

This is our first year so there are lots of big plans for expansion and improvement, come and visit us and be part of the growing community! We're just a quick drive from the HRM.
Check out the website here: http://www.ratheastlinkcommunitycentre.ca/climbing-wall.html
Cheers, and see you soon.

[stoneseeker]

Sounds cool. What are you guys doing to promote the place to locals in Truro? Any events planned?

[Matt Peck]

We've got a bunch of small clinics in the books for this summer, mostly focusing on introductory technique such as footwork, and resting on the wall, these will likely be once a week sessions for three to four weeks through the summer. Lady's night is on Tuesdays from 7-10pm, with a Lady's only B4U climb course being run during that time as well. The girls often get out to some of the local hangouts afterwards. We are going to have another round of the "try it for $5" days towards the end of June, wherein you can just drop in and sign a wavier, pay your $5 and we'll take care of all the belaying and equipment for ya. There is typically a limit of two to three climbs during these sessions, but its a great way to try the wall out for cheap, and without the Belay certification we require otherwise.
Let me know what you would like to see and I can try to make it happen! We'd love to see more Truro locals joining the community, and we are a great alternative for HRM'rs and others on a rainy day.

[stoneseeker]

Just curious, as i imagine not many Truro locals are aware of climbing in general. It would be cool to see you guys drum up interest with the local youth. I know in highschool growing up in a small town I didn't know anything about rock climbing until after I graduated, and we even had small local crags...

[Matt Peck]

Yep, we have been running school programs with some of the local schools, and we've tried to promote it especially within the local high schools but we're having a little trouble. We've had days booked off just for students where the event has been promoted within the school and had very little attendance. However most of the students that do come have a blast. Right now we are just working on making that connection to get them in, as they are an important demographic for us, and represent the next generation of climbers. We have a couple of youth programs targeted at a range of youth ages that have been quite successful, but honestly could be better attended. We are a new facility, and it will take some time for the public to become fully aware of us, in the meantime, we're here and ready to send!
Matthew.

[Matt Peck]

Here's a shot of the wall to wet your appetite:

[Zamboni]

What about a monthly city slicker bus posy! Once a month a crew from the city makes the treck down to session! Like rainy sundays / canada mondays

Cb.

[Matt Peck]

Had a big group in from Hali on Sunday who all successfully challenged the B4U climb course! Had a blast with you guys and hope you had a ton of fun after I had to leave. Looking forward to seeing you guys back up here, and tell your friends!

Cheers,
Matthew.