Rock Climbing – The Concordian

A look at new bouldering gym/cafe Café Bloc on Saint-Laurent Boulevard

The story of Café Bloc begins with a dream about comradery, a sense of community and a tasteful amount of the main ingredient: a passion for rock climbing. After two years in the making, what started simply as an ambitious concept has recently turned into a reality for young entrepreneur Sébastien Aubé. Alongside his now-business partner Jean-François Gravel, the duo managed to pull off a fully functional bouldering gym in the heart of downtown Montreal at a time that does not respect any uncalculated boldness in developing new business models. Some may call it a shot in the dark but for Aubé the coronavirus comes as “an outside event that we have no control of. The only thing we can change about it is the way we perceive it.”

Just like the sport itself requires from its enthusiasts, you need to overcome obstacles to make your way to the top. As Aubé puts it, “A key element to motivation is to keep yourself active towards your goals even when you don’t feel like it.” The current situation definitely affects the business negatively but it does not put an end to the adventure.

“It is challenging,” agrees Aubé, “but not to the extent where I am going to sit in the corner and give up.” Hardships were what defined the journey of the place as it took two long years for the project to come into existence.

After a rock climbing trip in June 2018, the exciting idea to create an environment where people can simultaneously sweat it all out on the climbing wall and relax with a cup of coffee and friendly company began to grow.

At last, the moment they all had been waiting for was here. On Feb. 9, 2020, Café Bloc welcomed its first rock climbing customers and for six weeks, the dream of a community united under a mutual passion carried on. Working at full capacity, the place easily became a hotspot for those eager to solve “problems” (that is how climbing routes are referred to in a bouldering gym). No extra equipment is needed — just you and your climbing shoes. To ensure the safety of all participants, the gym follows basic security standards. There are big bouncy mats under the boulders that will catch anyone’s fall, regardless of their position on the wall.

According to Aubé, there are different challenges and they are all rated with a level of difficulty. For example, “six moves, using only blue holes, from the ground to the top can be a warm-up for someone more experienced or a good beginner problem to start with.” For better engagement and constant physical stimulus, the gym is designed to change the style of the walls regularly, thus providing new problems almost every week.

“We were open for six weeks and then we had to close on March 15 like everybody else,” Aubé vividly remembers. Despite the successful launch, COVID-19 did not spare the bouldering gym and jeopardized all the effort put into the place. However, Café Bloc learns to adapt to the changes as they come.

“We are running at a 25 per cent capacity,” says Aubé, “and we lack our main demographic of the people who work in the downtown offices and would normally swing by for a session after-hours.”

Their routine now consists of pressure washing the climbing holes every week, which adds to the accumulated business losses. Aubé’s team has also put hand sanitizers everywhere to accommodate the health regulations and the climbers’ needs. However, it’s up to everyone to have the responsibility of adhering to disinfecting before and after an exercise.

“It’s all about the energy everyone brings into the place,” says Aubé.

Indeed, prior to the coronavirus restrictions, the gym was running smoothly. According to Aubé, before the pandemic, they would have “people come in and overstay their welcome beyond the staff’s shifts, simply soaking in the atmosphere.” Now, Aubé wishes for nothing more than to have the gym run normally. Yet, the co-owner reflects on the current social implication as a mental challenge. Apart from technique, rock climbing represents an inner battle of overcoming your own limitations and doubts.

“Similar to rock climbing, this is just another problem we need to face and persevere, so that we can come out of it stronger and better.”

Photos by Yordan Ivanov and Kit Mergaert

Exploring the Laurentians with the Concordia Rock Climbers Association

Who would want to get up early on a Sunday, drive two hours through fog to the Laurentians and hike 15 minutes uphill all just to go rock climbing on an overcast October morning?

Concordia students would.

Matthew Packer is a business student at the John Molson Student of Business and one of the executives of the Concordia Rock Climbers Association (CRCA). Just last week, he was clinging to a cliff on Montagne d’Argent, a popular rock climbing area, leading a group of four Concordia students up the mountain in the rain. Moments earlier, the group had been staring up at him, but as the rain came down, they began rummaging through their daypacks, past peanut butter sandwiches, granola bars and harnesses, to get out their rain coats.

“Had anyone checked the weather forecast?” someone yelled.

Not a comforting thought when you’re 20 meters above the ground. Packer, along with the CRCA climbers, know that cliffs are slippery when wet. It’s usually not as enjoyable to rock climb in the rain. And yet, somehow, the group of eager young climbers are all smiles. Maybe it’s because, up until recently, this opportunity would not have been possible.

The CRCA was founded last year by two Concordia students looking to share their passion for climbing. Nicholas McCullagh, a computer science student and the CRCA’s vice president of events, got involved after he noticed the university’s outdoor club, Concordia Outdoors Club (COC), didn’t offer much for someone who was either already a passionate rock climber or looking to delve into the sport.

The four students who joined the executive team on their rainy trip to the Laurentians two weeks ago are pioneers in a sense. They are among the first people to attend a trip hosted by the CRCA, and while the group may have been small, the association’s executives are expecting a rise in membership and participation.

CRCA member Melanie Allard climbs up Montagne d’Argent.

“Rock climbing is becoming more popular,” said McCullagh. “It’s going to be in the Olympics. There are more gyms opening up. The community is expanding.”

An increase in the CRCA’s popularity may take some strain off COC, whose trips are often at full capacity. The club hosts frequent hiking trips to mountains such as St-Sauveur and Orford. They hire busses to transport as many as 45 students to and from the hikes.

Brynn Low, one of the COC’s co-presidents, said that the strain of running such a large group is being felt at the top.

“Our participation this year has gone up over 100 per cent. All of our events have sold out in literally minutes,” Low said. “It’s been insane. It’s awesome but it’s a lot.”

The COC’s hikes are meant to be entry-level, providing the opportunity for city-dwelling students to get outside and meet new people. They are open to Concordia students interested in getting some exercise away from the city.

“We try and do hiking trips almost every weekend in the fall, and then we do a chalet trip once a semester and we do things like ice-skating in the winter,” Low said.

The popularity of the COC makes it hard to believe that it has only been around for about 10 years. Furthermore, according to Low, the group had barely been active until three years ago and has since experienced a transformation.

Both the COC and CRCA can be considered modern when compared to Montreal’s oldest university outdoor association—the McGill Outdoors Club (MOC) which has been around since 1936.

While not yet on par with an established organization like the MOC, adventure opportunities at Concordia are skyrocketing. Leaders of Concordia’s outdoor clubs have plans to develop and get more people outside in the coming years.

“We want to build. We want to buy gear, ropes and [bouldering] pads,” McCullough said. “We want to expand the community. Becoming like the MOC is an eventual goal.”

Packer, fresh off the wet cliffs of Montagne d’Argent and smiling ear to ear agrees.

“We just want to let climbers connect with each other and introduce people to the sport we love,” said Packer.