Josh Russell, president of the Nunavut Rock Climbing Collective, climbs a rock face at Sylvia Grinnell Park in October 2024. (Photo courtesy of Josh Russell)
Iqaluit has no commercial climbing gyms but plenty of rock — and one homegrown facility.
That’s where the Nunavut Rock Climbing Collective sees opportunity.
“Some misconceptions about climbing are that it’s always remote or in extreme conditions, but it’s quite versatile,” said Joshua Russell, president of the collective.
“There’s bouldering, where you don’t go high off the ground and use crash pads for safety, and there’s lots of opportunity for that around Iqaluit.”
The collective, formed in September 2024, is working to grow the sport in Nunavut and make it easier to take part. And on Sept. 5 it will host a free screening of the movie Girl Climber at 7 p.m. at the Astro Theatre in Iqaluit to cap off its first summer of programming.
Russell has been climbing for nearly two decades. He said he was surprised to find the activity wasn’t already established in Iqaluit despite Baffin Island being a well-known destination for top climbers to test themselves.
What started with him and his friends heading out on the land has grown into a small organization with fewer than 10 members in Iqaluit but dozens of occasional participants. About 50 people turned out last year when the group held its first screening of a climbing-related movie.
The group ran youth-focused programming this summer for the first time, drawing about 10 middle school and high school students to outdoor bouldering sessions.
“We had a tremendous amount of respect for them for trying something new and learning with us,” Russell said.
“It’s dealing with falling and failing and getting up and trying again. Then having your colleagues and friends around you, supporting you through that.”
Safety is emphasized from the get-go with demonstrations, equipment orientation, and spotters on hand to help.
Russell said climbing helps build resilience, teamwork and problem-solving skills, which are qualities the collective hopes will benefit youth beyond the rock.
The group also faces challenges.
“The biggest barrier is knowledge and perception of the sport,” he said.
“Not many people know what rock climbing really is, or they might have this idea from maybe a movie they saw about some guy climbing a big wall with no rope. But that’s a very narrow part of the sport.”
Lack of equipment and few specialized training opportunities also limit access.
With no retailers selling climbing shoes in Iqaluit, the collective organized a shoe try-on event last year with gear supplied by Mad Rock, a California-based supplier, so participants could find their right size.
A $10,000 Sport for Life grant from the Government of Nunavut helped the group purchase crash pads, climbing shoes and insurance. For new climbers who have yet to catch the “climbing bug,” Russell said, the equipment is shared.
Partnerships have been key, Russell said, including one with local climber Mark Aspland, who built a “climbing cave” out of an old sea can in Iqaluit years ago that the collective sometimes still uses for events.
As for where to climb outdoors, Russell said options are everywhere in Iqaluit — from Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park to rocky outcrops right in town, now documented on the open-source website The Crag.
Iqaluit locations listed there include Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, boulders near the Aqsarniit hotel and Black Heart Café, the water plant boulder field and Apex Trail Island.
Looking ahead, the collective hopes to expand to other communities and perhaps one day train climbers competitively in an indoor facility.
“Rock climbing is now an Olympic sport, with regionals and nationals, and will debut at the Canada Games in 2027,” said Russell.
“We’d like to try to bring and build that in Nunavut and have some Nunavummiut climbers. We think that would be really cool.”