Delire

The last two days I have had the opportunity to climb at Delire in Quebec City. I have said it before, but this is by far the best rope gym in Eastern Canada, if not the country. The blue monster alone is enough wall to get seriously strong on.

The Blue Monster, its steeper then it looks.

Possibly my favorite wall though is the gently overhanging green wall. It is a great warm up wall, but it steep enough to have hard routes and be lead with no fear of hitting anything if you fall.

The Green Wall.

I think the guys at Delire got a few things right with this gym, which make climbing at their all around pleasant.

- the lighting is great, this makes a huge positive difference in atmosphere
- they have an excellent ventilation system, you can actually eat in the gym and leave things out and they won't be full of chaulk
- the colors are tasteful and bright
- the walls are built with quality in mind
- there is lots of space to hang out
- the flooring is ample in most places
- the location in a mall is ideal for food selection
- the washrooms are clean
- the staff is awesome

Really the gym is all around great. I wish more gyms were like Delire.

Its to bad that in Canada gyms have to at least in part be geared towards parties and groups because that is where the money is. This usually means there is far more flat wall and top ropes then steep lead walls. We really cater more to the one timer, then the aspiring. I think this is in part the reason we are behind many countries in the level of our elite athletes. We don't have the support (financial, training, medical etc) or facilities other countries have.

There are certainly good gyms here, but I wish there were more climbers and more elite climbers to justify more varied terrain and setting possibilities. I think this would trickle down and bring every ones level up, think the Canadian hockey system vs performance. I wish there were more people in each region pushing themselves beyond their current level.

I love seeing motivated people, the more falling the harder you are trying.