British Columbia is Canada's most mountainous province and home to some of the world's best climbing areas. Especially the Coast Mountains near Vancouver are made up of many different types of rock formation offering diverse climbing opportunities. For long B.C., with its stunning mountain scenery is proving a Mecca and a fertile training ground for some of the top athletes in the sport. No wonder, everywhere you look there are signs of growth in the sport, and especially an abundance of indoor climbing gyms enjoys wide appeal. Today, we'll have a peek inside Vancouver’s (and North Vancouver's) Premier Bouldering Gym, The Hive.
The Hive is a relatively new bouldering only gym located downtown Vancouver and its opening surely increased traffic in Squamish boulders. At first sight the gym looks small and you can imagine the place would get quickly packed and very busy. But I like the fact that the walls are quite close together - it breaks barriers and you meet new people easily. Should that be a problem for some, the Hive team led by Andrew Coffey opened a new generation 20,000 sq ft. location facility in North Vancouver to improve traffic flow. Apart from almost double the wall space from the Hive in downtown, the facility offers a full work out facility and yoga room.
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Owned and operated by climbers, the whole Hive team is passionate about bouldering and believe that everyone is a climber. As a newcomer they will teach you how to properly fall off of the myriad of climbing spaces, and also teach the basics of proper technique. The staff keep the problems updated recently, which really keeps it interesting an never boring. It's also open to late during the week nights which are great for those who work late. Good variety and longer routes are certainly one of the highlights. But both gyms are more than that - The Hive is the place to hang out, meet new friends, challenge yourself and climb 'til your heart’s content.
North Shore's new location
So what's the new Hive location all about? It's obvious that the new space was designed to appeal to a larger community, not only boulderers. Apart from multiple climbing areas throughout the ground floor and walls which vary in height from 10-18 feet, there is a fitness and training area in place for those willing to crank hard. It offers double-wide campus and system walls, multiple hang boards, a broad range of fitness equipment, including squat racks, bicycles, TRX, free weights rowing machines and much more.
On the upper level, you'll find the Evolv Tech Lab: a private courses room equipped with dual systems walls, campus walls, hang boards, specific training equipment and a climbing training wall which is open only to courses, private lessons, and climbing groups.
Another novelty is Hive Yoga. Hive's programs and classes are geared not just for climbers hoping to use yoga to enhance their performance (the yoga is also available for cross training) and heal sore muscles, but for anyone looking to build strength, relax or enjoy a supreme experience.
The gym is located between the Arcteryx head office and a brewery - what better location can one wish for?
All in all the Hive does a great job in keeping you entertained and taking your skills to the next level if you wish too. Within a 20- to 30-minute drive from downtown Vancouver are the North Shore Mountains, and that's another challenge should you wish to take your hard-earned indoor skills outdoors. And you will.
Adam Ondra dominated the bouldering scene again and won a gold medal in the second World Cup competition in Salt Lake City. He took second place in the qualification and proceeded to the finals from the same position. This time, he was surprised by the victory and admits that a little luck was…
Adam Ondra completed today's finals in Meiringen, Switzerland, and won a gold medal in the first competition of this year's World Cup. He kept first place in bouldering continuously from the qualification until the very exciting finals. He was satisfied with his excellent form and appreciated a…
