Information about Of Rock and Chalk
Opening hours
- sunday: 10h-18h
- monday: 13h-22h
- tuesday: 13h-22h
- wednesday: 13h-22h
- thursday: 13h-22h
- friday: 13h-22h
- saturday: 10h-18h
Our comment from FitFit Canada about Of Rock and Chalk:
Of Rock and Chalk is a welcoming indoor climbing gym located in Newmarket, Canada, providing a fantastic atmosphere for climbers of all ages and skill levels. Visitors have praised the friendly and accommodating staff, highlighting their helpfulness during orientation and instruction.
Among the many positive experiences shared, families appreciate the engaging youth courses that not only teach climbing skills but also instill valuable safety strategies. The spacious facility offers a variety of challenging routes, auto belay systems, and bouldering options that cater to both beginners and experienced climbers alike.
Guests have enjoyed hosting events, such as birthday parties, citing excellent staff support and a fun environment. However, there have been mentions of cleanliness issues, with some visitors noting the need for better maintenance in certain areas.
Overall, Of Rock and Chalk is highly regarded for its community vibe, enthusiastic staff, and variety of climbing options. It remains a top choice for families looking to have a great time while getting active.
Services, Machines and Guided Classes
Of Rock and Chalk: Opinions
Fantastic experience: this place is better then it looks
Fantastic experience: We went here today with another family. We had 2 young kids around 3 years old. The guy managing the desk and walked us through orientation was so nice!! Very patient and good with the kids. We had a great time! We'll definitely be back. Thank you!!
Negative experience: My experience here wasn’t the best, when I went there were noisy children running around all over the place and yelling too me and my family. The staff were okay. They we’re friendly ish, but not too helpful.
Fantastic experience: My family has tried various programs at Of Rock and Chalk but my son has been there the most often, doing two of their youth courses. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. He always was excited to go and left tired and chatting about what he'd learned. However, I have to say that the safety and fall prep they taught him was invaluable. My son fell from a tree when a branch broke and afterwards said that he used the strategies taught to him at climbing to help protect himself which prevented more severe injuries. I couldn't be more thankful!
Fantastic experience: Our birthday party here was really excellent!
Negative experience: Worst gym! Sent my kid there for 90 minutes rock climbing event. The staff only let him tie knots and even asked him to hold ropes for others. They ignored his request for climbing, kept asking him to wait until time's up. My young boy didn't get any chance to do rock climbing the whole time. Worst experience and unprofessional staff! We paid for Rock climbing! It's ridiculous! Don't go there, Save your money
Fantastic experience: Came here with a few friends and had a great time! All the equipment is sturdy and safe, there are variety of climbs for all levels. The folks at the front desk are also very passionate about the sport and love to help or explain certain techniques you might be struggling with. Look forward to coming here more often and would recommend others to also give it a try!
Positive experience: It was good, kids had fun. The place hasn’t changed since the 90’s.. for a place with a lot of padding there are a lot of tripping hazards
Fantastic experience: very attractive place they have and nice for these kinds of services
Fantastic experience: Had our son’s birthday party here. The staff and owner was really wonderful, easy to work with/plan with. I would refer all my colleagues, friends and families to this venue! Thank you Of Rock and Chalk Climbing for a successful fun kids’ birthday party!
Fantastic experience: Great place to bring the kids.
Fantastic experience: Love this place!!! Was mega happy last time to hang out with my son. The staff was super friendly and gave so much attention to my son, this is definitely a highlight of our trip to Canada.
Fantastic experience: Very nice climbing gym and great staff. Took my kids here last weekend and they had a blast!
Positive experience: Looks like a great place to go! Website has clear pricing and ideas. Someday...
Negative experience: The place used to be great for a drop in, however, it's really sketchy and a money grab from the owner by eliminating the 1 hr pass with rentals which used to be around $28 incl tax. Now you are forced to pay $44 incl tax for a day pass with rentals. I know my child will not be using the facility more than an hr and essentially forcing you to pay extra. Essentially $44 for 1 hr is robbery!
Fantastic experience: My family has gone a few times over the years but my son recently got a membership and equipment from them. Good deal and never seems to be busy. Appreciate the members have a guest pass too.
Fantastic experience: Rock walls are really good, and staff is amazing … good time and good vibe’s definitely recommend!
Positive experience: Fun gym to check out if you're in the area! The best part of my visit was meeting Humphrey who helped my friends and I a lot during our climbing session. He took the time to do my belay test during a busy time in the gym with camp kids. He was incredibly helpful and really made our visit worth it. He even went out of his way to belay me for a climb and to help us work on specific routes. Had a really awesome time checking out this gym and big thanks to Humphrey for your help and support.
Fantastic experience: Nice small climbing gym with friendly stuff and large variety of self belays.
Fantastic experience: The staff were great, very friendly and helpful. We liked the variety of difficulty of the walls and great for all ages! Would go again for sure!
Positive experience: Haven't been here in a while so I don't know if it's still like this but the way they teach belaying is really weird, they don't even block the rope. It's "fine" for grigris which they have bolted to the floor but the way they do it is not transferable to other belay equipment, other gyms or anywhere else really.
Positive experience: Awesome gym
Positive experience: Old, but good
Positive experience: Good for top roping and auto belay, has some really fun climbs, crack climbing included which was also challenging but still fun, bouldering section was a bit small and tight but the boulder climbs were still fun. Would definitely recommend if you're looking for a good top roping / auto belay gym
Fantastic experience: Went for a friends birthday ! We had a blast love the magnetic rope systems you can just hook on and climb! Also Dimitri was extremely pleasant to us will definitely be back
Fantastic experience: Great place if you are crazy about rock and climbing. Very safe for kid and well professional staff behavior feel you safe. Recommend for kids above 5 years and have fun!
Fantastic experience: Best childhood memories here! So happy you’re still open. The new gyms are soulless profit machines. I for one enjoy when things seem like they’ve been enjoyed for a long time. Always had great experiences here even came during covid ish times.
Fantastic experience: Really nice staff that will help beginners and are extremely welcoming. Definitely recommend this as a beginner gym and a nice place to visit
Negative experience: Terrible experience with the Youth Class We were told to come in for a trial class (btw its not free its $30 - which is fine except...), we arrived at 4:25 did the waiver etc etc. My daughter stood there for an hour with no one instructing her. There weren't enough ropes for kids - there wasn't enough instructors. One instructor had one student climb up and down 3 or 4 times while my daughter just stood there waiting. At 5:35 I finally went to the front desk to complain and explain how this was a waste of my money (the class ends at 6pm my daughter got a harness on at 5:20) They finally took the one girl who kept going up and down off (instructor clearly knew this girl) and clipped my daughter in for a quick 1 min climb. She got unclipped and she stood to the side again - I had enough I took her harness off myself and we left. I emailed the owner and no one has responded back. I spoke with a few local mom friends (wish i did this earlier) and they said the same thing - ignored the kids. My daughter had a 2 min lesson, where I had to put her harness on and it cost $30. This is unacceptable - and to not email me back at all when you were SOO keen for me to come to your "trial' class is appalling. I would NEVER recommend this place.
Fantastic experience: Staff is very friendly and accommodating!
Positive experience: Staff was polite and informative, excited to try it out with my family. Also seems reasonably priced.
Fantastic experience: Has that x factor
Fantastic experience: Very friendly and accommodating staff. We showed up late and they were busy with the kids camp but still took time to do an orientation for us. The gym is rather small but the climbs are still pretty fun. Worth checking out if you are in the area!
Fantastic experience: Had a kids birthday party at Rock and Chalk. It was lots of fun and the staff was very kind to our very young group of climbers. I would recommend it if you've got an athletic group and likes to have fun and try something new! The party room was not as polished as youd expect but very appropriate considering it's above the climbing area and actually creates a cool atmosphere while you're celebrating and people are climbing up! It's not private so be aware of that. Would recommend! See you again soon Rock and Chalk!
Fantastic experience: Seems to be great place for fun !
Fantastic experience: I climbed here once upon a time, it has a good vibe.
Fantastic experience: Went for my son's birthday. Great experience, nice staff. Will be going back
Fantastic experience: My son (6) and I came for an hour climb, just walk in. It’s a great spot, lots of different routes/ difficulties, auto belay, rock faces, bouldering, fall mats etc. It was my sons first time indoor climbing so took him a bit to warm up to the idea but he had a great time. Staff are so patient, helpful and friendly We were the only ones there too so we were able to enjoy the whole space. Price is great for equipment rental and climbing too, look forward to coming back soon
Fantastic experience: I was there last week and the staff were very helpful and accommodating. There belay class is great as well.
Fantastic experience: A great place for bouldering and belaying. I’m more of a novice climber, and I most enjoy the autobelays. ORAC was where I discovered the activity and how much I love it! Since the start, I’ve always had great experiences with the workers, who are very friendly and helpful.
Positive experience: Very crowded little space. Still required to wear masks. Autobelay system works well
Fantastic experience: Shawnese helped get me out all set up, so friendly and helpful. I'll definitely tell my family and friends how comfortable and knowledgeable Shawnese is.
Fantastic experience: Used to go here every weekend as a kid. Moving back to Newmarket now and I'm very excited to see they have autobelay.
Fantastic experience: Friendly staff, great walls
Fantastic experience: It was our first time at this rock climbing venue and I have to say extra stars to the staff...super friendly and patient ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Made our Family day all the more delightful!
Fantastic experience: Emily was so friendly. Super fun experience. Definitely considering coming back with a membership and pushing to improve. Thank you!
Fantastic experience: My son has a wonderful experience after his friend's birthday party in this place. Very qualified and friendly staff.
Fantastic experience: Cool little place, friendly staff. Different climbing levels.
Negative experience: This is an older smaller place. It has really high walls and offers auto-belays. I would expect such a small place to be easy to clean, yet ALL OVER THE PLACE there is dirt, dust bunnies, hair, and pieces of the wall. Shouldn't be hard to pull out a vacuum once in a while. The auto-belays are not offering enough resistance when you ascend, as you are quickly released, feeling like you are flying down instead of slowly getting lowered (this I am comparing to other gyms with auto-belays). Some of the rocks felts a bit loose. If it is your first time, expect to spend 25min of you 60min time-slot on "safety training". That's almost half the time we paid for. It is possible it was longer than usual as our instructor was new. The mats for bouldering are old, torn, and could also use a wipe down. The booking system is far from good as well. If one person booked a time, that time is automatically removed from the system until a staff members calls you back to confirm your reservation (including # of ppl in your party). So you don't actually know if there is one spot or 10 spots left (which is an issue if you want to come as a group). Overall, staff were really nice (hence the 2 stars) but the place has seen better (and much cleaner) days.
Hi Sar, We are under renovations which definitely adds to the dust but we vacuum every evening and wipe down the dragmats multiple times an hour. I walked the gym this morning and could not find one instance of pieces of wall, dust bunnies or dirt on the floor. Hair, however, is an ongoing battle that we brush up once a week, so we will look into increasing the frequency for this. I'm sorry that you feel the gym wasn't up to par during your visit but I assure you we take cleaning our space seriously. Our auto-belay systems are inspected (daily, weekly, monthly and annually) and certified according to manufacturer's standards. We are not able to change the tension to the devices. There are other brands of autobelay that have a slower rate of descent but both systems are completely safe. Rock climbing holds can loosen from use and we ask everyone (in the waiver you signed) to report to the desk anything that you feel could be unsafe. We fix loose holds regularly and generally within an hour of it being brought to our attention. We do our best to check the routes regularly but it would be impossible for a staff member to know the status of every hold in the gym at any given time. Regarding the orientation, it's not a timed event and can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 30 minutes. Your booked climbing time starts at the end of your orientation so you do not lose out on any of the time you paid for. The staff member you worked with that day was not new to the facility but one of our long-time staff who is known for being very thorough. We apologize that you felt that the safety orientation took too long but it's a mandatory part of being able to use our facility. We do agree that the booking system can use some work to be more functional for a customer. It's something we've been working to improve and hope to have a better system soon. While some of the things you've mentioned we aren't able to change at all, we definitely always take feedback into consideration and do our best to make sure every experience here is great. We're sorry you feel we missed the mark on your visit. We'd love to have you in again in the future to see that we do take all feedback to heart and try to make improvements. Please email [email protected] ATTN:Emily so we can send you some free passes if you'd like to come climbing again.
Fantastic experience: Wonderful staff and nice walls to climb at any skill level!
Negative experience: Used to love this place and spend a lot of time bouldering there. As a shift worker at the hospital I work evenings and their schedule makes it near impossible to go and now they want you to book in advanced with a credit card and they no longer offer bouldering and are charging by the hour I think I'll be looking elsewhere for a facility that better caters to the needs of adult climbers.
Hi Kyle, There have been lots of changes here due to COVID and most are directives passed down directly from York Region Public Health which we must abide by. Booking appointments, capacity restrictions and shortened visit times were mandatory for all fitness facilities until the lifting of the most recent restrictions in July 2021. We continue to require advance bookings for all users except members to be able to maintain capacity restrictions, allow time to do safety orientations, and screen all climbers as per York Region Public Health. We must require some sort of deposit against a booking (credit card number or pre-payment) so that we don't get burned by no-show appointments. We do still offer bouldering and have two bouldering rooms open while we renovate and prepare for more bouldering space. We removed the option to pay for only bouldering as we felt there wasn't enough space to justify a boulder-only price. While we're sorry you feel that our facility no longer meets your needs, it's unfortunate that most of the reasons you listed are outside of our control. Hopefully we can continue moving forward and restrictions will lessen again so we can operate closer to way we could in the past. If you'd like to discuss options for making getting in to the facility easier for your schedule please email info@rockandchalk - subject line ATTN: Emily so we can see if there's anything we can do for you.
Fantastic experience: It's pretty cheap and a great place to take your kids to give them a great workout and tire them out before bed
Positive experience: Super friendly staff that got us checked in, signed the waiver and ready to go. The walls were pretty tall so it's perfect for top rope climbing and bouldering.
Fantastic experience: Love this place
Fantastic experience: Have a great time Emily and the staff are awesome
Fantastic experience: Great climbing, great people. Tall walls and solid setting makes this the best choice for top rope climbing in the surrounding area.
Fantastic experience: AMAZING atmosphere
Positive experience: The location is nested in a side street of Newmarket, I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for the Groupon deal. The climb feels like being inside a cave, it’s a repurposed Mill Factory turned indoor rock climbing facility. They offer bouldering, auto belay and rope. I’m not a climber myself, but my 10 yr old daughter loves to climb. She liked this venue because the courses are more challenging than where we normally go, and the walls are high. All this possible because the shape of the mill. The building itself is aged and they only refurbished the minimum for rock climb; entrance not really inviting. There is a long and, what feels fairly steep, staircase to the upstairs sign-in reception. Each stair case step is shallow, and I wonder if it meets today’s building code as I walk up and down these stairs. Hold the hand rail when you use it ! The air is a bit stuffy and the floor mats may need a good vacuum soon. Points scored for : - the ‘cave-like’ feel, it’s cozy. - my daughter liked the challenging courses - not busy, so the day pass allows you to really enjoy the courses Lost points for : - uninviting entrance and old school steep stairs case to reach the sign-in desk - not good if you are sensitive to dusty/stale air
Positive experience: Long story short: Super super fun! Do not be afraid to fall and trust the machine. Pros: Great and nice instructor, student discount, many walls with different levels of difficulty, soft mats, and a really fun group activity Cons: Outside of building is sketchy, washroom is not the best looking, getting to this location was kind of confusing
Positive experience: Great place for children to learn to rock climb and get some exercise. Friendly and informative staff. Prices were great. Very safety oriented. Could have more auto retractable climbs for beginners.
Fantastic experience: Great staff and fun top rope route with come crack climb included.
Fantastic experience: Professional and charming staff
Positive experience: Super fun and friendly staff. The shoes they gave us were way too small, and our feet were dead after that
Climbing shoes are uncomfortable at the best of times but please come to the desk next time so we can get you a shoe that feels better on your feet! We hope to see you back climbing with us again soon!
Negative experience: Visited this location for the first time today, being the closest to me i was hopping it would be the place i could always come to. Unfortunately i ran into one issue that you would hope never to have wen rock climbing.... i was on a bouldering wall as i got to the top i went to reach for the last climbing hold and it BROKE OFF THE WALL...... i fell right off the wall with it still in my hand (thank god for the padding) the climbing hold was not properly secured to the wall, you can tell it was screwed in multiple times using normal screws. not cool. not safe.
We’re sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy your experience here with us. While not common it is certainly possible for holds to come off with enough force applied (both indoors and outdoors!) and we have reset the route so that we can be sure only the highest quality routes are on the walls. We’d like a chance to redeem ourselves and have put a free day pass with rentals on your account and we hope that you’ll come back to see that we value and apply feedback such as yours.
Fantastic experience: Great place had a blast. They were very clear and helpful and I loved the place as a newcomer. Lots of routes and different things to do. Will come back again!
Thanks so much for the awesome feedback! We’re glad to hear you had a great time trying out all the different things we have to offer and hope to see you back soon.
Negative experience: Our camp group came here today and had a great time climbing. We were, however, disappointed in the staff. It was a very unwelcoming environment where the staff constantly barked at the campers & were extremely unfriendly. We expected much friendlier staff as when we booked, the person we spoke to was very accommodating. They promised to do team building activities with the campers but didn't come through with that either. Not a place we will visit again.
We’re sorry you feel we missed the mark with your group. We have sent you an email looking to discuss your feedback so that we can improve in the future.
Fantastic experience: Awesome way to have a couple's workout, learn a new skill that you can use outdoors as well and have fun. Great facility and staff.
Thanks for the positive feedback! We’re glad you guys enjoy your time here with us climbing and hope to see you continue to get stronger and take your skills outside!
Positive experience: While we had a great time at this climbing gym, I must be honest and say that the facilities are old, worn out, and not well maintained. PROS: lots of courses in different rooms for both climbing and bouldering, friendly staff. CONS: bathrooms are dirty, rusty, missing toilet paper and paper towels, climbing spaces smell terrible, a few grips on the bouldering walls were out of commission, lack of resting space between climbs. Bottom line, adjust your expectations accordingly if you choose to come here.
We are a located in a very old building and while we may not have the most up-to-date facility we do try and keep it clean and stocked with supplies. We’re sorry we missed the mark while you were here and we’ve spoken to all desk staff about the standard of cleanliness we wish to uphold. We wish there was more room to sit and rest but for better or worse we made the choice to use as much space as possible for climbing. We appreciate all of your feedback and hope you’ll come back soon to see how we have applied it!
Positive experience: This is a great place to go on a date for the day. We got a great deal from Groupon that included harness and shoe rentals it allowed us to use all the autobelay and bouldering routes/problems. Being our 'first' visit the staff made sure our harnesses were worn properly before we got our safety instructions. They seemed a little oversimplified just explaining the carabiner and where not to stand, well it's really just that simple; hook your harness into the carabiner and climb. When you fall or jump off the wall the autobelay catches you. We're going to sign up for their beginners course and make it a regular thing. Why not five stars? (I AM NOT A CLIMBER) - This facility is a little rough around the edges. It's old which is part of the appeal for me I actually used to go there as a kid. But there is a lot of wear and tear. We found a few of the holds were lose and the whole place looks like it needs a fresh coat of paint and a good scrubbing. - Staff interaction. There isn't anything negative here but there was some room for improvement. I would have appreciated them to hang around during our first climb so you're comfortable with the autobelay, approach us an hour or so later to see how you're doing and follow that up when you're leaving. We exchanged our shoes at the end and didn't get a "Thanks for coming in today", "Hey hope to see you guys again", "How was it?" All we got was a "Can you describe your shoes?"
Hi, I'm hoping you can email us ([email protected]) to let the manager know what day you were in as we're unable to search without last name to see what day you were in the facility climbing. We're disappointed that the staff on duty were not more engaged and would like to opportunity to talk to them to help them improve their customer interactions and make sure that all customers leave with a sense of community that we strive for. We appreciate the feedback and are always looking to improve both our facility and our staff interactions.
Fantastic experience: Was a bit worried before I went since we never did this before and my girls are only four and six, and I thought they might be too young for this. But I was worry too much. We had tons of fun, all of us! So if you had the same worry, don’t be. Just remember to warm up a bit before you start. When you let go from up high, just hold on to the rope and face the wall. It’s a slow ride coming down.
Hi Lin, We're so happy you and your girls had a great time climbing with us! We hope to see you back soon :)
Fantastic experience: Pro tip: fill out the online waiver before you arrive to speed up the check in process. Also check out Groupon for some great deals. Great place with very tall climbs. There are many different areas including a bouldering wall and auto belay systems. There is a also a realistic crack for climbing. Staff are very friendly and ample parking in front
We're so glad to hear that you had a great time climbing with us! We hope to see you back soon :)
Positive experience: A bit more staff on duty so we could do more climbs would have been great. Otherwise was a fun day.
Hi Lina, We only have staff available for appointments booked a minimum of 24 hours in advance. Our drop-in pass only gives you access to a limited number of walls. If you would like to book a staffed appointment to get access to all of the walls to climb please give us a call at least 24 hours in advance and mention your review to receive a discounted booking price. Thanks and we hope to see you again soon!
Negative experience: After months of coming here I canceled my membership. The management has a tendency to close the gym during posted open hours so that they can host events. Twice I was turned away even though the gym was supposedly open, the second time very rudely. The men's change room is small and has woefully few lockers, and the plumbing is seriously challenged. They rarely clean it: the same dirt and stones on the floor were there for weeks. Also, the sightlines into the change room leave only the back corner of the bench to change on without exposing yourself to the hallway. The stereo that they play has a loud annoying hum. Reports of holds that are spinning are met with indifference, and are never addressed. Some of the staff are good people, but quite a few are rather unfriendly if not downright rude. I'm told this place is the second oldest climbing gym in Ontario, and it shows. It's really surprising that the place manages to stay open at all. Visit if you are curious, but be a member somewhere else.
As you have changed your review we feel the need to respond to a number of things that you have mentioned. We do occasionally (approx. once every 3 months) close the gym to large group events to maintain fire capacity but we post these closures in multiple locations at least one week in advance – on our calendar, both of our social media accounts and with at least 7 signs posted throughout the gym. We truly apologize that you came to climb multiple times during a closure but we do cover this in the membership terms as we plan to continue hosting large groups. We do not own our building and have tried to have the plumbing replaced to the men’s bathroom. We try our best to make sure that the facilities are always accessible but unfortunately the plumbing is out of our control. We will always make the other washroom available so that everyone has a space to use the washroom. We also have doors at the entrance of each change room that you can close to ensure you can change in privacy. The manager and head setter are notified about spinning holds as soon as they are brought to the attention of the desk staff and all desk staff are trained to fix spinning holds in bouldering rooms. We will certainly talk to all of the desk staff again about the policy about spinning holds but we are confident there is not one spinning hold in the gym except those marked out with tape as not to be used until we can cut them off the wall. All of the speakers in the gym have been replaced and new wires have been routed so there is no more hum in any room. We wish that we could replace everything all at once but unfortunately that is not a possibility. We apologize that you felt any of our staff were rude or unfriendly as we pride ourselves on great customer service. After speaking with the staff that were on duty during the closures it would appear that they did everything possible to accommodate you including allowing you to climb in the training room downstairs even though we were not open to the public. We are truly sorry we could not offer you any other climbing at that time and that you felt this was communicated in way not in line with our customer service standards.
Fantastic experience: My kids went a week in the summer camp program and every day I would pick them up they were really excited, they would be super hyper! If you have picky kids, I am recommending this camp. The staff is super nice! Good job Of Rock & Chalk ! And thank you!
Negative experience: Very disappointed. I run a summer camp and my advice is don't come here if you have a large group of kids. I was excited to all the kids climb, but instead the staff yelled at my Intern the minute she came in because one of my campers was sick and not coming (as if we could help that). The staff did not explain to my campers how to descend from the wall properly nor could they handle a large group of kids. The staff was caught several times looking at their phones instead of paying attention to the kids and they broke their own safety rules. They weren't on the same page when it came to where my campers could chill and eat a snack and kept yelling/sending them back and forth. I understand a large group of kids can be overwhelming, but not once did any of the staff approach us ask tell us what they needed and instead of asking for our help they yelled at my kids, and volunteers. They sent some kids to a room without giving us a number and then got upset when there were too many. We ended up leaving early because the lack of professionalism got ridiculous. I will never come back to this place even with a handful of people.
Hi Melissa, We would like to address your comment as we feel that things happened differently on our end. We have a proven track record of having large groups return year after year during our 23 years of operation and have not received feedback like this from any other group either publicly or privately. The staff member who came up to pay asked if we could drop the price for the two kids that did not show up and were told, as per multiple confirmation emails, that we must maintain a ratio of 1:9 for groups to comply with our insurance requirements. We reach out with a second confirmation, either by email or phone, to get all final numbers from groups as we are not able to send a staff home unpaid if a group shows up with less than their booked numbers. This was explained (but not ever yelled) to the staff that was paying and she responded that she understood our position and that was not a problem. If there was in fact an issue with this it could likely have been dealt with had we been informed sometime between checking in and payment being made towards the end of the booking. We have a standard procedure for large groups for the rules in all of the rooms at the gym, a visual demonstration of how to use the automatic belay devices and to stay out of the marked landing zones underneath the devices. Both of these were covered during your group’s orientation by our staff that had to stop on multiple occasions to get the attention of the group as this is a necessary safety procedure. Each staff member from your group was told the rules of supervision in each room as well as the maximum of 10 people in the room closest to our front desk. These rules were repeated on many occasions by our staff members as well as directed by our staff and management directly to your staff. We do not ever allow food or drinks (besides water) in any of the public climbing areas of the gym. To keep food crumbs and spills from our mats and public walking areas we have party rooms for this purpose. Your group was offered access to the party room in your original booking as well as the confirmation email that was sent out immediately following. As the party room was declined on both occasions we did not book a time for your group to be in the party room to eat, however our manager cleared out the room when there was a discussion with your staff about opening the room for your group to eat in the approved locations. We have disciplined the staff that checked their phone during your group. We apologize that this happened and have taken steps to ensure that it won’t happen again by implementing a phone-free policy on our floor. As to staff breaking safety rules, we will review our camera but without more specific information it is not possible to deal with this as it was not brought up as it was happening. We strive to provide awesome group experiences but that can only happen when our staff and your staff are working together. We ask our staff to stay in the larger climbing rooms as they are the only ones who can operate the ropes for the kids to climb the large walls. In order for us to be able to have kids in the bouldering rooms we rely on the staff of the group to listen to the safety instructions and to enforce them as we would. We had management speak to your staff multiple times asking them to help us out with keeping kids in the rooms they were asked to be in and to help maintain the safety standards of our gym. Going forward we will be emailing out a procedure required for all staff that are coming in with groups and posting capacity signs in each room. We apologize that you felt your group was not up to our usual standards and regret that we could not deal with any of the issues mentioned at the time as they were not brought to our attention. If you would like to discuss this issue further please email us at [email protected].
Fantastic experience: As soon as you find this location you’re tempted to turn back. It’s at the end of a roadway with only a few houses around it and it looks very sketchy. Even after you walk in, you must travel through quite a few hallways in order to get to the reception area. This wouldn’t be so bad if you saw a single person to confirm that this indeed was the right place. However, once you do meet the staff you’ll find that they are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. They’ll first ask you to sign a waiver, which is standard in almost all bouldering facilities. They will then give you your climbing shoes and go through all the safety instructions. It was quite a fun experience and I would definitely do it again. The facility is quite large in terms of height, but they do have more difficult and smaller rooms. I went bouldering here with the purchase of a Groupon for two, at a very good price, which included the shoe rental and a chalk bag. I do recommend using this or other deals if they are still available, as you will most likely get tired after an hour and a half (if you’re a beginner) and it would be a waste to get a day pass.
Negative experience: Quick view:sketchy We came in just after opening and the place was already dirty. Hairballs on the gym floor, garbage in the change rooms, the ropes are frayed and walls splintering. Staff didn't check the waiver of the other person in my group and failed to instruct us how to use the belay devices until asked which is outrageous. Much rather drive further south to Toronto for a proper gym
Fantastic experience: Amazing staff, community atmosphere, and an overall great place to meet new people and climb!
Fantastic experience: Enjoyed climbing here. The staff were very friendly!
Fantastic experience: Great spot, convienent, friendly and helpful staff!
Fantastic experience: St. John Ambulance, York Region held an event for our Youth Units Newmarket #910Y & Richmond Hill #829Y at the OfRockandChalk. The OfRockandChalk staff were amazing, informative and were great with our Cadet youth members. Our youth had a great experience and have commented that they would definitely want to make this a yearly event at your location! Thank you to the owner, Bruce, for making this event possible with our charity.
Negative experience: Not clean at all!
Fantastic experience: Go there
Fantastic experience: Amazing indoor rock climbing! And very friendly staff.
Positive experience: Great rock climbing gym, friendly staff
Positive experience: Awesome routes, sketchy rope systems
Positive experience: Great family outing!
Positive experience: Fun place to check out for indoor rock climbing. There are a few different rooms with various difficulty levels.
Thanks for the review! We're glad you had a good time checking the place out - hopefully we see you back soon!
Fantastic experience: Great place to go rock climbing. Friendly staff will help you get started if you have never been before.
We're glad you had a great first experience climbing here with us! We hope to see you back soon using all your new skills!
Positive experience: Awesome climbing gym. Theyve got a ton of routes set. Super creative with the space also.
We're glad to hear you had a great time climbing here! Given that we're in an older building we definitely try and use every last bit of wall that we've got! Hope to see you back crushing here again soon.
Fantastic experience: Love this! Got the intro course plus one month membership for like $40. Staff is amazing especially young guy with cap
We're glad you had a great time here and we hope to see you back during your one month membership!
Positive experience: This is a cool place and however if you are mainly into bouldering it'll not be the best place. For top rope and lead this is an amazing location. It feels a little stuffy, and the colour of their walls make the location looks old and a little outdated. Over all a cool place
Thanks for the review! We are a much older facility (22 years in January 2017!) so working on updating the place is one of our priorities for the new year. Keep coming in to see all the exciting new things we have in store!
Fantastic experience: I had my daughters birthday party here. The staff were excellent!! They all had so much fun!!!
Positive experience: I bought a pass for four at Groupon and took my kids there last Saturday. It was a good experience overall though the place was packed with people, probably due to Groupon deals. All the easy routes were overcrowded and we had to wait for up to 5 min each until the kids could climb.
Hi Jeff, I'm sorry it was busy when you came in, we try to make sure that everyone gets on the walls they want to climb. Give us a call for 25% off your next session
Fantastic experience: went with school lots of fun and the staff was extraordinary!
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