Rock Climbing Guides | Milton | Toronto | Ontario | Niagara Escarpment

Escarpment Climbing Adventure -- Niagara Escarpment, Ontario

Looking for a rock climbing guide to climb a cliff along the Niagara Escarpment?  You have found one here.

The Escarpment stretches 725km from Niagara to Tobermory.  Many sections of it are suitable for rock climbing with tall and solid rocks.  While climbing you can see fossils on the sedimentary rock that began its formation 450 million years ago, while turkey vouchers soar over the cliff.

A guided climbing day may include top rope climbing, rappelling, sport lead climbing, single-pitch traditional climbing and even two-pitch traditional climbing that sometimes can be done in a sigle-pitch terrain along the escarpment, depending on your ability, comfort level and objectives for the day.

Whether you are a beginner or experienced rock climber, our certified instructor can tailor the itinerary to help you learn, improve and realize your climbing objectives.

"Xiaoping is an excellent instructor. Safety is paramount and he is a skilled motivator. He is full of helpful tips and hints. He is easy to chat to, patient and he puts an impressive amount of effort into ensuring that you have an enjoyable climbing experience." -- Isabel Gerety, Toronto, Ontario

"Xiaoping was a fantastic guide and great guy. Knowledgeable, always safe, and taking you as far as you wanted to go (or not go). He also had the perfect balance of advice and letting you explore and discover on your own." -- Shane Dzioba, Toronto, Ontario

"Thank you for the great day at Rattlesnake. My son and I really enjoyed the challenge and we learned a lot with you. You are an excellent teacher with focus on both technical skill and attitude." -- Erik Sande, Oakville, Ontario

View more testimonials here.

While we recommend the following locations for certain types and climbs, you can also let us know you preference.

Rattlesnake Point -- 45 minutes from Toronto. Perfect for first-time climbers. It's only 5-minute walk from the parking lots with outhouses and washrooms nearby.  There are plenty of easy and moderate routes for top rope climbing and traditional lead climbing.  There is only one easy-to-moderate sport route (5.7).  However, all these routes are polished by high traffic over the years, making the routes more difficult than their rated grades.

Buffalo Crag -- 45 minutes from Toronto.  Good for beginners.  It's 20-minute walk from the parking lot, with many easy and moderate routes for top rope climbing and traditional lead climbing.  The routes are less polished here.

Devil's Glen -- It's probably the best place for a beginner to practice sport lead climbing as the routes here range from 5.6, 5.7, 5.8 to 5.9 and up.  Traditional climbing is also good.  it's 2.5 hours drive from Toronto, plus another half an hour to hike to the crag.  It may be worthwhile to spend two days in these area: one day here and one day at Metcalfe Rock.

Metcalfe Rock -- It's 20-minute drive from Devil's Glen, and 2.5 hours from Toronto. It has a three easy sport routes 5. 6 to 5.7 and some enjoyable traditional climbing routes.

Eagle's Nest -- It's located in the town of Bancroft which is about 3 hours from Toronto.  Though it is not part of the Niagara Escarpment, it has a number of multi-pitch routes for those who want to experience the height of a tall cliff in Ontario.

Lion's Head -- It's 4-hour drive from Toronto, offers spectacular hard sport climb routes overlooking the vast water of Georgian Bay.  However, the Latvian Ledge is a good place for first-time visitors as it offers two routes at 5.7 and two at 5.9+.  Through this climbing trip, you will learn how to rappel to access the start of a route, and to exit afterwards.

Pre-requisites: Being able to walk up a flight of stairs independently.

Duration: 1 day minimum, April - November (weekday or weekend).

Location: TBD

Fee: $600/day + HST, for 1-2 climber(s).

For location beyond the GTA, please add $200-$300 per trip to cover the the guide's traveling time and cost.

To look for partners to take this trip together, you may post a note on www.facebook.com/zenclimb.

Register:

Please email  to provide the following informaiton:

- Your name, address and contact phone number;

- The number of people in your group. If there're minors in the group, indicate their age;

- Name of the course your group is registering;

- The location where you will take the course: A) Rattlesnake Point, B) Smok Bluffs Park.

- Your preferred date(s).

By submitting the above information, you agree to our Booking Conditions and Cancellation Policy.

Booking Conditions:

All participants are required to read, understand and sign this waiver of liability. Those under the age of 18 years must have a parent or legal guardian co-sign their waiver. The minimum age to participate is 6.

Cancellation Policy:

Cancellation must be made 30 days prior to the start of the program in order to receive a 50% refund.  Otherwise, no refund will be issued.  You may transfer your reservation to another person within one week of the program (course, camp or retreat) start date. The administrative cost for this is $45 per person.

Nature tests us and nurtures us.  Zen Climb may at its sole discretion reschedule or cancel a booked program due to extreme risky weather conditions or other factors justifiable by Zen Climb. In the event of such a cancellation, we will notify you the cancellation the day before the start of the program.  You may reschedule and attend the same or similar course/program within six months or receive a 50% refund. If you did not receive a cancellation call from us, assume the program will run as scheduled. We strongly advise you to purchase a trip cancellation/interruption insurance policy from an appropriate travel insurance company.

Privacy Policy:

We take the protection and proper use of your personal information seriously. We respect your privacy, and take great care to safeguard information in our possession. For your peace of mind, please read our Privacy Policy in its entirety.  Thanks!