Basecamp Climbing Queen West

Expérience fantastique: A great place to climb with a variety of routes that change up frequently. Staff is always great. It does get busy, but going on weekday mornings or afternoons is great.

Expérience fantastique: The circuit grading is kinda bad imo due the large overlaps in grades but the grading was pretty fair. Staff was really friendly and basically hand holds you if you are new. Good thing to note is that they don’t rent chalk so you might have to bring your own. They’ve also got a 2019 moon board here which was nice

Expérience fantastique: Nice climbing gym right downtown. Gets busy during the evenings

Expérience négative: Ok gym, but a terrible bad front desk -- asking too many personal questions about my situation at school. Pretty rude about my situation and had audacity to say these things about it after explaining it. Won't go into detail but yeah, that guy at the front desk was a bit rude. Settings were made more for taller people imo, my friend had trouble with some of those climbs and they are well seasoned climber. Overall for me, unfortunately i had bad experience due to the front desk mainly.

Expérience négative: - unnecessarily dangerous sets at any climbing grade - dirty/greasy holds - unfriendly and rude staff - repetitive sets - hard mats - general energy in the gym is sub par

Expérience fantastique: Basecamps an amazing facility. The staff are super friendly and the community is very supportive. The space is always clean and the walls are well maintained.

Expérience fantastique: Great wall. Staff and fellow climbers were very friendly. Great setting, will definitely visit next time I'm back in TO

Expérience fantastique: really nice gym.

Expérience positive: Small but plenty to do! Staff is very friendly and ready to help out. Good vibes overall.

Expérience fantastique: It's a bit small in comparison to other gyms but there's a lot of variety at the lower levels. There was surprisingly a really good ventilation system in place, and the CO2 levels were around 700 ppm when I went, which is a good level to be at in terms of indoor air quality and helping to mitigate the spread of airborne diseases.

Expérience négative: Small, but does the trick, and definitely not friendly if you’re not white or Asian unfortunately.

Expérience fantastique: I took the intro class for bouldering and had an amazing time. I was able to go from never climbing (with 0 knowledge of bouldering) being able to make my way to the top on several climbs and understanding a lot of basic fundamentals I wouldn't have known. Daniel was an amazing instructor who really took his time to make sure everyone gave it a shot and learned. He did an excellent job teaching, as well as giving each person feedback with their climbs.

Expérience négative: I'm really not a fan of Basecamp. I've been ~10+ times now and still have a few punches left. The main thing it has going for itself is that it's the closest climbing gym from the downtown core. The climbing area is really small so it can get quite packed during peak hours after work. Also note that this location is bouldering only (ropes are at their other Bloor location in k-town). A lot of routes are sketchy/dangerous and the holds are quite dirty as well. Walls aren't reset on a frequent basis, which contributes to why holds are so dirty. There have been several times where I've visited after a month's time and only half the gym has been reset.

Expérience positive: Great climbing gym! Lots of great routes and I like the open vibe. No top rope though. And big downside is how busy it gets, but it’s nice in the morning

Expérience fantastique: Was a great time coming here. The 3 gentlemen working were very kind and welcoming. Loved the community!

Expérience positive: Good boulders but you have to go in through Spadina unlike what google tells you

Expérience positive: Very durty holders and overwhelmed

Expérience négative: The routes are infrequently updated and gym is over priced, extremely dirty and super crowded.

Expérience négative: Kinda ill managed. Have their own people climbing with outdoor shoes.. seen multiple times. Can be a potential health hazard. Spoke with some crew called sefton or so (dude in his 40s) who was quite negligent about all of this and so was the staff, who can't enforce clear policies around hygiene. Update March 25: The staff (some Laura Smith) emailed me saying they're canceling my membership which I didn't ask for, since I highlighted they don't follow their own policies around hygiene. Instead of de-escalation, and taking it as an opportunity to work on hygiene, basically they're saying, screw your concerns we'll remain that dirty and smelly gym in downtown. PS: there are so many other reviews highlighting the same concern laura see images

Expérience fantastique: Amazing climbing gym in downtown Toronto. Went here with a large group on a Saturday afternoon and it was packed, but everyone is very friendly and good at sharing the space, there were no issues getting enough climbs in. The staff are super nice and were great at helping out the beginner climbers in my group. The walls offer a good variety of climbs and difficulty, and there is also a small climbing specific workout area. Most of the gym is located underground so there is a lot of room and it’s a pretty cool space. Would definitely recommend this place to eagerly climbers and newbies alike.

Expérience positive: Nice place with fair route grading in my opinion but a little bit small and in need of cleaning.

Expérience fantastique: Small but live. Great toutes for all levels... could get crowded in the evenings.

Expérience fantastique: Great place for all levels. Everyone was very friendly. The instructions at the beginning were helpful but also all the people I met shared some tips to improve technique! Loved my first experience!

Expérience négative: Drove here, paid for parking, they refused to sale a day pass because they have technical issues. Wasted my time and money for this. Awful customer service

Expérience positive: Too busy

Expérience fantastique: One of the smaller gyms compared to others in the GTA. However it is located downtown, so it's pretty spacious with that considered. Setting style is good mix of dynamic, technical, and power routes. Difficulty is similar to pre-grade change Hub Markham(my main gym). Grading system uses the colored tag style if it makes a difference for people.

Expérience négative: Nicely set routes and lots of variety in a small space. Friendly staff. But relative to most big city bouldering gyms I’ve been to this one is 1/3 to 1/2 as big and quite crowded, with limited other amenities (e.g. tiny workout space). Would be nice if it opened early morning for a quieter climbing experience.

Expérience positive: Day pass with rental is a bit more expensive than other gyms but staff and people are friendly w good bouldering routes

Expérience fantastique: Lovely space. Friendly staff and great mix of grades. The layout is good and there's a handy little gym. Thanks Basecamp! Will be back one day I hope.

Expérience positive: A bouldering gym with relatively small area. Hence, fewer projects for each color (grades).

Expérience positive: 좁고 사람이 많고 홀드가 청결하진 않아요

Expérience positive: Too crowed, the holds are dirty, and the grading is so random. Every boulder is like a mystery box. There are some v6-8 that’s easier than v3s. The upside is that the setting is not bad, and the crowd is supportive.

Expérience fantastique: Very fun! Staff is welcoming + friendly

Expérience fantastique: Outstanding gym. The climbs are rated generously, so most of the climbs are doable for intermediate climbers. Wonderful staff and great atmosphere.

Expérience fantastique: Great location, Super Friendly Staff, lots of amazing routes from beginner friendly to extremely challenging. Great variety of Holds, Volumes, & Features Plenty of benches for resting in between climbs & there’s a Secondary smaller training room for strength training with a moon board, campus ladder, & and variety of wooden hang boards by far one of the best dedicated bouldering gyms the city has to offer.

Expérience négative: Only in town for the weekend, thought of checking out a new gym. Crowd and staff seem friendly, moonboard and workout area available. Pricey for a climbing gym of that size ~30 cad post taxes for a day pass. On top of this, many routes were quite dirty and old. With a gym that small, you would think the routes would be changed more often. Overall, I would not recommend considering the price, size of the gym, and condition of the routes.

Expérience négative: Update: I gave it another shot, everything I said below still holds true. Additionally I will say the routes here are by far the worst of any gym I've been to. They don't know how to make fun routes, only dangerous ones. Also the grading system is absurd, V3-5 being one color is hilarious I've been to a lot of gyms but Basecamp holds the record for the most expensive day pass. Most are around 25-28 but here its $32. You don't get much for that price as it is a very cramped and has been crowded every time I've gone. I've experienced a lot of (hopefully) new climbers with no regard for safety rules and even fell on someone who was standing on the mat even after I told him to move. There were staff around who were either not paying attention or didn't care. I can't say I've had this problem at any other gym. There's also no showers so don't come here before your other plans unless you want to be smelly. I really wish Toronto had more gyms to show basecamp how it should be

Expérience positive: Great location for a bouldering climbing gym in downtown Toronto. It gets pretty packed from around 5-8pm like many gyms, but it has good variety of climbs that you can work on.

Expérience fantastique: Friendly, very helpful staff. Huge clean environment with lots of climbing options, great social space to meet people. My first time I went to other location by mistake, d'oh! (my friend was at this studio) and the folks at both locations did me a courtesy by helping to refund me so I could meet up at the correct studio. Not too expensive for a one-off experience, either.

Expérience négative: This is the HONEST review that you are looking for: this gym, situated in the core of Toronto Chinatown, is designed and marketed towards beginner climbers. Therefore, the setting lacks certain complexity/depth, the problems usually revolve around using bigger holds and big volumes with basic movements, and holds are greasy and slippery due to the huge amount of daily traffic in the gym. Only a small portion of problems are reset every week/2 weeks, which contribute to the greasiness of climbing holds. Same goes for the moonboard, which is only being washed and reset twice a year, results being holds are extremely greasy, many of the white and black holds have almost no texture, so for serious moonboard climbers, I advise visiting other gyms like True North or Boulderz in Etobicoke. The prices for the gym are the highest in the GTA (~$120 for a monthly membership) for basically the smallest gym here, and because of its small size, it gets overcrowded and sweaty on most weekdays evening. I often see people lining up to climb the same problem, and beginner climbers tend to climb in close proximity to one another, which has safety implications. The gym has a small training area with a decent campus board setup, 2 hangboards, a squat rack, some dumbbells and a small area to warm up/stretch. Overall, I hope that the gym can make improvements such that climbs are reset more quickly, moonboard should be cleaned more often, and members should be reminded to brush the holds they are using.

Expérience positive: Good gym, dropped off a lot in quality though. Setters breaks are so often, despite the gym not even being that big. There have been two walls dedicated to dynos (not actual climbs) for at least a month now from an event, and the setters have just gone on break again meaning it will stay unchanged for another week or two at least. This gym is incredibly convenient, but honestly with the decline in quality I don’t know if it justifies being one of the most expensive gyms GTA, not to mention how crowded it can get in the evenings… Silver lining is that the staff are lovely.

Expérience positive: Can get busy and wish there were more walls to climb

Expérience fantastique: It's pretty fun and the staff are nice. A bit on the expensive side for a day pass, in my opinion.

Expérience positive: Having been to the OG Basecamp before (I'm from out of town), I was happy to see this addition to the Basecamp fam. It feels like the spaceship ride at Disney World: all sleek, black walls yet still brightly lit. It's like the cool cousin to the first gym The Setting was MUCH better than some other gyms I've visited in Toronto. I can still remember quite a few of the problems I tried which means the beta was fresh and inspiring. It didn't feel like I was climbing the same problem over and over. Also as a shorter climber I didn't feel dynamic on everything which was a refreshing concept haha. Thank you for the footchips! A+ job overall Setting Team! The holds are all quite new but I'm not sure if the Onsite volumes came from the old location or not? Either way they are all slick as hell and my feet fired off more than once when I thought I was in a solid position to move up Climb with care on those! The dyno station is an odd choice. For such a small space, I'm surprised to see so much wall real estate dedicated to a very specific training piece (or simply just novelty?) It seems like quite a few more problems could have been set there instead and just incorporated dynamic movement? Also because it covered two walls it meant for safety reasons, only one person should realistically be climbing at once in case of collision. I imagine if this gym gets busy in the evenings, the dyno station is a bit silly to have. The training space and gender-neutral washrooms are a great addition. The only improvement I could see was having showers would have been nice. This is coming from someone who works in a gym without showers so I understand the nuances of installing and maintaining them It's just when I travel it would have been nice to not get on my bus ride back home smelling ripe Lastly, the desk staff were phenomenal! Chill people with great adherence to safety and inclusion. Overall, great work Basecamp crew!

Expérience négative: The only thing good about this gym is the convenience of the location and the good community of people. The setting lacks variety and are not very fun.

Expérience négative: I am a pass holder. Sets used to be changed frequently and were well done. Now, I leave for 2 weeks and the sets are exactly the same. They have drastically declined in quality, with recent ones simply being a dyno requiring no real skill. Prices are super expensive yet they keep declining in quality every time I go…

Expérience positive: When you enter this gym, it looks kind of intimidating. You go down big stairs and it makes you think the place is going to be huge. But it's actually quite small. The route levels were nice and varied... I really enjoyed the few climbs I tried. I went on a Wednesday night and it was PACKED. In fact, there were so many people, I barely got to climb. But at least the crowd was very friendly (like in most bouldering gyms, yay!) And I got to socialize. There are no gendered changing rooms, only some stalls with blinds... But they do have small lockers at least which is good. The thing I found the most weird is that they don't have any showers, and I think this is a minimum requirement for any gym. Honestly, I wish the entrance was cheaper because of how small and packed it was. I'm not sure I will be coming back ! I might try the bigger one next time.

Expérience négative: I’m an annual pass holder - The frequency of reset and space of the gym is not fulfilling the need of fast growing crowd. Plus the price increase makes it THE MOST expensive gym in gta. But so not worth it.

Expérience fantastique: פשוט ולעניין

Expérience positive: One of the newer gyms, but is small and always crowded.

Expérience fantastique: Great gym with routes for all skill levels. It can get pretty crowded on weekends.

Expérience positive: As a tourist on vacation I wanted a spot to do some bouldering. So I went here for a single visit during my stay in Toronto. Staff and climbing folks were nice and the introduction to the gym was alright. I also had fun trying the routes. But there are some points that need addressing/fixing in my opinion. Charging over 30 dollars for such a small gym and having no showers felt a bit like a rip off to me. Don't know yet if this price range is usual in Canada but it is by a wide margin (over 50% extra) the most expensive gym I have ever been to in the last 12 years. And this includes a top notch gym which also serves as a training facility for national cadres. On my visit I saw that brushing holds is not a thing here. There were two brushes in the gym but apart from me I saw no one brushing during my two hour visit. This seems to be quite common since handholds and footholds were extremely dirty and provided almost no friction (anymore). Additional brushes should be provided and a culture of brushing holds should be promoted/encouraged. This is not a nice-to-have but can actually prevent injuries by minimizing slips. Regarding injury prevention the mat is scheduled for a makeover and I really hope they replace it with a way stiffer mat. The one right now is way too soft. Just standing on it I sank into it up to my ankles. This is a textbook recipe for rolled and broken ankles among other nasty injuries. This problem is amplified by the route-setting. I know this is matter of personal preference but many of the routes I tried (V4-V6) had a high and risky crux. This is something I am generally not a fan of since I am an older climber and avert to injury risk. But combined with the dirty holds and too soft mat this is not a safe climbing environment especially for inexperienced climbers.

Expérience fantastique: Very accessible bouldering gym downtown, though can be super busy during peak times.

Expérience fantastique: Always fun to hangout here!

Expérience fantastique: My first time bouldering and it was a real treat! Will definitely be back here!!!

Expérience positive: Okay climbing gym with pretty nice routes but super crowded.

Expérience fantastique: This location doesn’t have many climbing areas for children. At least, that is what I was told. Seems their Bloor location is better suited for children. Despite that, my 6 year old daughter had fun here with her friend from school. They don’t accept American Express here. However, they accept American Express online.

Expérience fantastique: Gym has a lot of big and interesting holds which creates cool problems. Can get a bit busy at times.

Expérience fantastique: Good gym

Expérience négative: In my experience, an okay gym. Would not return Cons: -$132 for 1 month membership (expensive, but it’s downtown so I guess I get it) -very hot, it was at least 26-30°C inside everytime I climbed. Paying this much you’d think the AC would work/be stronger -packed with people and reeked of body odour no matter the time of day -training area very small for how many people are in there. The real estate of this gym could be much better laid out and filled for a training area IMO -problems are mostly beginner

Expérience positive: Mornings aren't as busy, lovely staff. Clean facilities

Expérience fantastique: This is a great place if you love bouldering as the Queen West location is all bouldering. Despite its small size, its a good location in the city surrounded by lots of food options or things to do. This place can get busy after work or on weekends, however, everyone I have met here is very friendly and usually leads to several of us trying to solve certain climbs together.

Expérience fantastique: Despite being pretty small compared to the other gyms I frequent for bouldering, I found the routes set at the Basecamp Queen St location to be the most balanced and accessible. There are enough routes here to keep you entertained for a couple of hours no matter the skill level. It's definitely the most fun I've had in bouldering in recent memory in this city. A couple of cons about this place include the poor ventilation - it can get pretty humid and stuffy - and the sometimes very crowded environment. It's the most central indoor rock climbing gym in DT and close to UofT's main campus, so expect to see a lot of people in general for weeknights. The photos attached are considered light-intermediate in terms of crowd level. It is often intermediate-heavy from 6pm and beyond for weeknights, and light-intermediate on weekends. Other things: - Staff have always been great. I've never had a negative experience with any of them. - You can rent shoes, buy passes, and buy snacks/drinks at the entrance. - The facilities are just fine. I always found myself an empty locker to put my stuff in so I didn't have to leave it against a wall somewhere unattended. - There is a small gym area with a squat rack, bench, free weights, and many more climbing apparatus like a moon board. - The bathroom is all-gender if you absolutely have to know. Never had issues here. - This location offers climbing courses (over several sessions) and has special climbing events or days scheduled regularly.

Expérience fantastique: I recently had my second visit to Base Camp, and unfortunately, I experienced an accident during my climb. While attempting a challenging rock, my hand slipped, causing me to fall awkwardly on my ankle. The impact resulted in three ruptured tendons and considerable pain. However, what truly compelled me to write this review is the extraordinary care and support I received from the Base Camp staff. Despite the unfortunate incident, the staff at Base Camp went above and beyond to ensure my well-being while waiting for the ambulance. They promptly provided ample amounts of ice to reduce any swelling, offered refreshing drinks to keep me comfortable, and even arranged a comfortable place to sit as I dealt with the pain. What impressed me most was how the staff worked together seamlessly to ensure my comfort and reassurance during the waiting period. Their professionalism and attentiveness were truly commendable, making a difficult situation much more manageable. To my surprise and gratitude, at the end of it all, the Base Camp team offered a full reimbursement for both myself and my husband for that climbing session. This gesture not only showed their genuine concern for our experience but also demonstrated their commitment to exceptional customer care. While my accident was unfortunate, the care and support I received from the Base Camp staff were exceptional. I highly recommend this facility not only for their fantastic climbing experience but also for their outstanding customer service and dedication to the well-being of their patrons. Thank you, Base Camp, for turning a challenging situation into a testament of your commitment to customer satisfaction and care.

Expérience négative: Staff let people with running shoes climb. Weird vibes.

Expérience fantastique: Love this gym.

Expérience positive: pretty small gym, with pretty good training zone, routes are very good and varied. Can be overcrowded during the peak times.

Expérience positive: 37 per person for climbing indoors with friends, a bit on the expensive side but definitely worth it. It's really fun with various levels of difficulty so most people can join in.

Expérience positive: Very pricey day pass for a very small bouldering gym. Setting was particularly unfriendly to much shorter than average climbers - lots of static wingspan moves. The training room seemed well equipped.

Expérience positive: Very friendly and helpful staff. Good gym but does get very busy! If you want to climb you may have to wait in line and be ready to step onto the mat when a climber finishes a route to get your spot!

Expérience fantastique: Helpful and friendly staff. Friendly atmosphere. The climbs were fun and the grading system is different but cool. Great bouldering gym!

Expérience fantastique: Amazing place if you want to start learning rock climbing. Fun place to be with friends or even for dates.

Expérience négative: Came in for a tour trying to convince my friend to try climbing as I'm an avid indoor and outdoor climber, but wasn't impressed. No questions asked about our familiarity with climbing and was told to just go down and look around, no mention of staying off the mats until we asked someone about to give an orientation about what we need to consider when going on our self-guided tour. There was also a big tear in the mat and several people climbing the routes above it and landing right in the tear but routes above were still open. It was a known issue as we tried to alert staff thinking it was a new tear (about 1m long and 30cm wide) but were told it's scheduled for a repair. Don't particularly feel safe climbing at this gym since safety seems to be pretty relaxed around people who have no experience bouldering. While looking around, about 50% of folks were wearing rental shoes so could tell that they weren't that experienced. I think the route above it may have been a V1 or V2 route but can't remember. Recommended my friend to try to find another gym instead, one that puts safety first.

Expérience fantastique: Great environment and everyone is very friendly

Expérience fantastique: Fantastic climbing gym. Busy but well used and enjoyable atmosphere.

Expérience fantastique: Cool gym, not the biggest gym I've been to but they've got nice high boulders, 100% I'd come again, bear in mind this location is boulders only with a nice training/ moon board area, parking is what you'd expect downtown but they have underground attached to the building, tanner helped us out at the front, he was cool

Expérience fantastique: As somebody who has visited most of the bouldering locations in Toronto, this one of my favorite gyms.

Expérience positive: Great place for beginners and advanced- a bit crowded on the weekends but great experience

Expérience fantastique: Good bouldering gym. Usually a little crowded but good variety of routes, polite staff and most people follow good bouldering etiquette.

Expérience positive: This place is soooo busy, but it has a great atmosphere and I never have to wait too long to climb.

Expérience fantastique: If you are looking into an activity that challenges you and forces you make better connections in body and mind, indoor climbing is greatly Basecamp QW has a bunch of climbs for different levels. The con is that the space is a bit small and sometimes can get a bit too crowded.

Expérience fantastique: It has a lotta fun routes for all levels of climbers. Only problem is that it tends to get very crowded in the evenings. Best to go in the morning to beat the traffic.

Expérience fantastique: Fun activity, great location — clearly a popular spot since it was packed when I went but everyone was doing their own thing respectfully so it was a good time.

Expérience positive: Energy is kinda off ngl also it’s super busy and there are better places to climb in the city

Expérience positive: It is a nice gym full of friendly people, but a bit overpriced for how overcrowded it is. At peak hours, training can get a bit frustrating as you have to get in line.

Expérience fantastique: Nice spot for bouldering in the city. Convenient location. I go early in the morning when it isn’t too crowded! Problems seem slightly lower rated - consistent with other gyms in Toronto.

Expérience positive: Good place to Boulder. Nice people and environment. Small space. But dense number of routes on the limited space they have. Has decent route setting with interesting and diverse problems in each difficulty range. Convenient location in downtown. Way too expensive and crowded unfortunately because of that though.

Expérience positive: Super fun although it’s quite expensive. They should also rent chalk!!

Expérience positive: Although a bit pricy, definitely one of my go to Bouldering gyms. It is small but wait time for climbing isn’t bad especially going earlier in the morning.

Expérience fantastique: Friendly staff that was nice and helpful. Someone fell a bit funny from the wall and the staff was quick to provide healing potions. The morning sesh on a Saturday was a bit packed but that’s how you know there’s some dank sets

Expérience négative: Been in an ongoing dispute with my bank since June 2022 where Basecamp charged me twice for a day pass. All because Basecamp refused to acknowledge that they saw me pay twice on thier books. Guess when thier POS system had an error and my card didn't go through, there was no error As for the experience there, I had a great time bouldering as it was my first time, I would love to go bouldering again, but next time somewhere else. If you're reading this, remember to check your bank transactions the next day that they didn't double charge you either. Edit: turns out my bank resolved it in October! Just took a couple of months and lots of waiting on the phone.

Expérience fantastique: Nice bouldering gym. They have a good space for training too.

Expérience fantastique: We got a recommendation and had our 7 year old's birthday party here - it was a blast. We had access to their party room for the entire party, and two staff assigned to our group - Suhana and Elias did an amazing job keeping 13 little kids entertained, safe, and happy. Many thanks to both of them for the fabulous experience!

Expérience négative: The gym is great overall. However, management should consider change official closing time to 10:40pm. We were constantly told half of the site is closed for cleaning at 10:40pm and we were not allowed to climb at all. One of the closing staff is really rude and force people to leave starting 10:45pm. The customer service has been terrible lately and many of my friends switched gym because of this. We have been to other places and never seen staff chasing people off this early. Not great climbing experience at night when you are treated terribly by the rude staff.

Expérience fantastique: Always great climbing at Basecamp! Challenging climbs, great staff. What more can you ask for

Expérience fantastique: Rock climbing was strenuous athletics to be participating in before you tried it. And after you try it, it's a challenging sport, even if you got some advice or training. But I still highly recommend trying it; so much fun. Precisely if you watched ‘vertical limited’ or ‘127 hours’.

Expérience fantastique: Great bouldering gym in the heart of downtown. Has a great selection of climbs of all different levels. They change the climbs regularly which is great and staff is always so friendly and kind!! Would definitely recommend to everyone:)

Expérience positive: Fun climbs! It gets very very busy on weekends - there seems to be a lack of crowd control

Expérience positive: Ugh this place is so packed now and they increased their price despite the large increase in traffic. They need more gyms to reduce the burden of overcrowding. This place was amazing when I started here.

Expérience fantastique: Such kind staff, and the boulders are great. It can get very crowded in the evenings, but the etiquette is solid. A lot of beginners come here, FYI!