The Gym

VANCOUVER ISLAND’S NEWEST CLIMBING GYM

Wip, Courtenay, B.C.

The Comox Valley on Vancouver Island has a new bouldering gym called Wip and people are loving it. The grand opening took place last fall with a big turnout. “We have a variety of things for all ages and all abilities,” said top boulderer and coowner Josh Muller, who also owns Bolder Climbing in Calgary. Muller’s business partner is Christiaan de Vries, a geologist who owns Gneiss Climbing in Kelowna.

“We both have our independent facilities,” said Muller. “We came together to create this expansion, and this new project.” They anticipate the market in Comox Valley will be young families and backcountry users looking to stay fit in winter. Wip stands for Work in Progress, but it’s also a clever play on words, seeing that in climbing you can take a whipper.

Like many modern bouldering gyms, the ground floor at Wip has several walls, including a few short ones with ropes. The upstairs has a weight-training area, a children’s party room and a Moonboard. The Moonboard has over 50,000 possible problems as of this year. Wip Climbing is located at 780-30th St. in Courtenay. It is open seven days a week.—gripped