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Fresh Out The Oven

Ontario Parks Opens Comments on Formally Recognizing Climbing at Devil’s Glen

By Access, Beaver Valley, News

Congratulations, climbers! The Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has heard your voices. Thanks to your letters and advocacy, they are proposing an amendment to the Devilā€™s Glen Provincial Park Management Plan that would formally recognize rock climbing at DG.

Amendment ERO 019_8238 is a massive milestone and a direct result of our collective action. The proposed amendment is open for public comment until September 19, 2025. Supportive comments are a vital part of the approval process — we need every climber to act now.

What You Can Do:

  1. Click here to visit the Environmental Registry website for Amendment 019-8238 (ERO 019-8238).
  2. Read the amendment overviewā€”itā€™s short and accessible.
  3. Use your voice! Tell the Ministry why climbing matters to you.
    You can mention:
    • Your experiences at Devilā€™s Glen
    • Your commitment to conservation
    • Why you support a balanced approach to recreation
    • Looking for more ideas and examples? Check out ClimbInParks.ca for some suggestions!
  4. Hit ā€œSubmit.ā€ Thatā€™s it. Youā€™ve made a difference!

Your comment becomes part of the public record — and part of the decision-making process. Donā€™t underestimate the power of showing up. Everyone should comment: you don’t have to be a climber in order to have an opinion on this. Ask your friends and family to support you and your fight for access! Ask your neighbours to share their thoughts on balanced conservancy. Tell your out-of-town belay partners that they can help secure access to climbing in Ontario for their future visits.

Devilā€™s Glen is just the beginning. Amendment ERO 019-8238 lays the groundwork for partnerships with Ontario Parks that could open the door to more climbing opportunities across the province. A collaborative path forward starts hereā€”with climbers supporting conservation while advocating for responsible access.

When you comment on this amendment, youā€™re not just protecting access at DG. Youā€™re helping create a model that could support climbing at other provincial parks in the future. Letā€™s build this future together.

Support climbing in provincial parks.

Provide comments to support Amendment ERO 019-8238
August 14, 2025
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Launching the Bolt Fund Initiative & New Report a Bad Bolt Form

By Access, Developments

We are absolutely thrilled to announce the launch of the OAC Bolt Fund!

This exciting new initiative is designed to directly support the incredible route developers who work tirelessly to keep our outdoor climbing areas safe and sustainable.

The Bolt Fund will help cover the costs of replacing old or worn-out bolts and anchors, ensuring the longevity of our favourite climbs.

How you can get involved:

Are you a route developer? Learn how to apply for reimbursement for your essential gear by reading our Bolt Fund Initiative Overview. We’re also launching a new way for you to Report Bad Bolts! If you see hardware on a route that needs some attention, and feel ill equipped to remedy it yourself, report it to us!

Learn about the OAC Bolt Fund
Report a Bad Bolt

šŸ¤ Love safe climbing? Consider becoming an OAC annual member or donate directly to support this important initiative.

Become a Member
Make a Donation

Let’s work together to protect our climbing future!

June 12, 2025
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Rattlesnake Spring Fling – June 8th

By Community, Events

The OAC Rattlesnake Spring Fling is back!

The Spring Fling is a day spent contributing to crag maintenance and strengthening our relationship with Conservation Halton.  We’ll spend the morning picking up trash, celebrate our hard work with lunch, and then spend the afternoon climbing.  Register now to participate in this day of giving back to the climbing community!

Sunday, June 8th, we’ll be picking up trash at two crags just like last year – Rattlesnake Point, and Mount Nemo!

Come join us in this day of giving back, meet some new climbing friends, and enjoy the sunshine!  This event is open to all ages — and yes, we can sign volunteer forms for anyone trying to log volunteer hours šŸ˜Š

Register Now!
May 23, 2025
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2025 Ontario Crags Calendars & End-of-Year Wrap Up

By Community, Fundraisers, News

As 2024 comes to an end, it’s almost time to switch out your 2024 calendar with the newest 2025 Ontario Crags Calendar!

Get yours now online here

Or, visit Ontario Gear Co. or Climb Smart Shop to pick one up in person!

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you should have received our 2024 Winter Occasional recently, with a recap of the year. Did you miss it? Here’s what happened!

2024 Climber Survey

Every year we put out a survey to learn about the everchanging climbing community. We launched our annual survey at the end of November, and weā€™re keeping it open until January 3rd. Help us get to know you better, so we can represent you better!

Click here to fill out the survey now. You could be a winner!

Ewan W. and Taryn K. were the lucky respondents randomly selected to win $50 MEC gift cards for filling out the survey. We will have another prize drawing on January 3rd for some OAC t-shirts, so make sure you fill it out now if you havenā€™t yet! It only takes 5 minutes =)

2024 OAC Annual General Meeting

This year’s AGM was held in November, and saw us elect Tori Silvera and Tyler Coffin as the OACā€™s newest Directors. Congratulations, and welcome to the Board!

Portraits of Tori Silvera and Tyler Coffin
Welcome our newest Directors, Tori and Tyler!

Please join us in extending a big thank you to Randy Kielbasiewicz and Mike Makischuk for their many years of service on the Board. Keep an eye out for them on the wall!

We had 36 attendees for our virtual meeting, and covered highlights from crags across Ontario. Some notable news items include:

– The release times for Turtle Crag permit booking will move to 7pm in 2025 to better serve the majority of users.
– A reminder that NO topouts at the Niagara Glen are permitted on any boulder, in order to preserve vegetation with increased climber traffic.
– The OAC is working with the Alpine Club of Canada on options to improve access at Eagle’s Nest in Bancroft.
– There has been a TON of new development in the Ottawa Region, Sudbury and Thunder Bay. Put these places on your list for next year!

You can watch the full recording of the AGM on our YouTube channel by clicking here.

Volunteer with us!

Are you passionate about helping us secure access to climbing in Ontario? We’re always looking for more volunteers to help out! Right now we’re looking to fill a few specific volunteer roles:

Newsletter Author

Perma-potties Project Manager

Beaver Valley Climbing Festival Organizer

Message Jeremy at jeremy.fortier@ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca if you’d like to get involved!

December 27, 2024
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Submit your photos for the 2025 Ontario Crags Calendar NOW!

By Uncategorized

Itā€™s that time of year again!Ā  Our call for photo submissions for the 2025 OAC Ontario Crags Calendar is now OPEN!!

The Ontario Crags Calendar aims to celebrate and highlight the wide variety of climbing that Ontario has to offer. We want to showcase everything from as many different crags, seasons, and climbers as possible ā€” ICE, SPORT, TRAD and BOULDERING are all honoured here.  Letā€™s celebrate the diversity of our province and our community!  Valid photo submissions must have LANDSCAPE orientation (i.e. horizontal), and be of climbers at Ontario crags only (of course!).  In order to meet print standards, full size images must be clear and at least 8.5ā€³x11ā€³ at 300 dpi.

Submissions do not need to be dated from this year, but they DO need to showcase your love for Ontario climbing.  So make the most of this tail end of the season, or take some time to venture down memory lane and rediscover some forgotten gems!

The Crags Calendar helps us raise awareness and funds in support of Ontario access.Ā  Please consider donating a photo!Ā  Send your best shots toĀ submissions@ontarioallianceofclimbers.caĀ by SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13TH for a chance to be featured.Ā  Chosen entrants will receive a free copy of the calendar, credit complete with name and website, and a little slice of local fame šŸ˜‰

Please see additional rules of submission here:

Photograph Submission Rules for the 2025 OAC Ontario Crags CalendarDownload
September 30, 2024
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Get your 2024 Ontario Crags Calendar NOW!

By Community, Fundraisers

Just in time for the holidays, our 2024 Ontario Crags Calendar has arrived!

Featuring local climbers shot by local photographers, the OAC calendar is a tribute to everything Ontario climbing has to offer.  With a mix of climbers, crags, and disciplines featured, there’s no better way to celebrate the growing Ontario climbing scene.

Calendars are available for a $25 donation each, plus shipping via Canada Post*.Ā Ā All proceeds from calendar sales go toward promoting, advocating for, and maintaining open access all across the province. Calendars are shipped in an untracked cardboard envelope for protection.

** Online sales are now SOLD OUT. Pick up a copy at a gym or retailer near you! They can be found at:

December 14, 2023
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Fall News: AGM Announcement & Calendar Submissions

By Access, Community, Events, Fundraisers

Save the Date: The OAC Annual General Meeting will be held Tuesday, November 7th, at 7PM! We will once again be holding our AGM virtually.

This is a great opportunity to ask questions about our organization and to share input on our future direction. We’ll also be holding the election for board membership, talking about recent developments, and speaking about what’s on the horizon.

Details for the virtual meeting will be announced October 24 via official email to all OAC members.

If you would like to run as a candidate for the board of directors, please submit your bio to info@ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca by end of day October 22 in order to have your bio included with the formal meeting announcement. You may also submit your name for the election during the meeting on November 7th.

Hope to seeĀ youĀ allĀ there!

Also, it’s that time of year again!

Photo submissions for the 2024 Ontario Crags Calendar are now OPEN!!

We’re looking for a variety of photos showcasing the diversity of Ontario climbing: different crags, different people, different seasons, different disciplines (ice, trad, sport, AND bouldering!). Show us what you got!

Submissions are open until the end of the month, closing at midnight on October 31. Send your photos to submissions@ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca. All entered photos will be subject to the full Terms of Submission, found below:

Photograph Submission Rules for the 2024 OAC Ontario Crags CalendarDownload
October 20, 2023
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Our Letter Campaign is LIVE!

By Access

In response to the recent climbing closures by Ontario Parks, we’re asking you to take 5 minutes of your time to write a letter to government officials to help save climbing in Ontario.

We’re asking you to write David Piccini, Ontario’s Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, as well as your local MPP.

Tell them to allow Ontarians to rock climb in our provincial parks! By doing so, they will help boost tourism, expand recreational opportunities, and collaboratively conserve and care for nature with the community.

Use our pre-written forms found at the campaign site, or copy and paste to send it directly from your own email for a greater impact.

We need EVERYONE on board for this. Fill it out, get everyone you know who climbs to fill it out, and then ask your friends and family to speak up on your behalf! We’ve made it as easy as possible for them to send a letter in just a few minutes.

Make sure you CC climbinparks@ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca on your email if you send it on your own! It’ll help us keep track of how many letters go out. We’ll also be raffling off prizes to campaign participants, and your CC’ed email will be your proof of participation!

Don’t wait, send an email now!

Write a letter at ClimbInParks.ca now!
June 12, 2023
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Register for the Virtual Town Hall Now!

By Access, Events

Registration for our Virtual Town Hall is now open!

Join us this Wednesday, June 7th, at 7pm to hear all about the current state of affairs at Devil’s Glen, and about our campaign toĀ #SaveClimbingAtDG.

We’ll present some preliminary findings from our Economic Impact of Climbers survey. We received a total of 1644 responses — a phenomenal result, thank you everyone! We’ll also share the bigger plan, which will involve more action from YOU ā¤ļø

Register for the Town Hall

Other Recent Updates:

Last week, on May 31, the OAC met with Ontario Parks.

We voiced our concerns regarding the lack of communication or consultation concerning climbing at Devil’s Glen, and emphasized that we maintain SIGNIFICANT concerns regarding access, including the basis for their recent decisions.

Ontario Parks has not yet provided the requested scientific information supporting the closure.

We provided them with the latest ecological studies regarding climbing on the Niagara Escarpment which support rock climbing as a recreational activity. These studies propose that climbing can be supported sustainably by land managers while achieving preservation goals.

Study 1: Kuntz, Larson — Influences of microhabitat constraints and rock-climbing disturbance on cliff-face vegetation communities

Study 2: Sommer — Rock Climbing and Talus Vegetation on the Niagara Escarpment: Impacts and Management Implementations

We also raised concerns about mountain bike trail closures in neighbouring Pretty Valley as additional evidence of Ontario Park ā€œlimiting recreational resourcesā€ to specific user groups.

Emphasizing that a restrictive approach to climbing is misaligned with approaches taken by their Canadian, U.S. and European conservation and management peers, we maintained that the current policy will not lead to their desired conservation outcomes.

Ontario Parks has agreed to review the signage and consider possible alternatives to achieving their ecological goals, and to discuss these with the OAC.

They have confirmed their desire to work with the climbing community towards achieving a balance that includes climbing in some form within Devil’s Glen.

Ontario Parks recognizes that the current situation at Devil’s Glen and their lack of communication with the OAC did not benefit either party. Both Ontario Parks and the OAC are committed to working together in an open and transparent manner going forward.

June 5, 2023
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