(National Post, 12 Oct 2002)
by Liz Clayton
Eli Garret of
Wilson's Fly Fishing in the King Edward Hotel's Crystal Ballroom. Photo: Liz
Clayton.
The city is our playground, and despite what northbound traffic on the 400 may indicate, many Torontonians are taking the great outdoors back to the city. While the quest for fitness and recreation is no new thing to city-dwellers, the possibilities of what one can do footsteps from their home or office are now greater than ever. Think you have to drive to get to the shooting range, climb a mountain or practice your fly casting? Think again.
Strange things are happening at the top of one of the city's most opulent hotels. Tall, bright windows flaking with old paint flood rays of ethereal light on the King Edward Hotel's most handsome relic, the decaying Crystal Ballroom. The weathered room, once one of the premier places to see and be seen in Toronto, is now the premier place to be seen brushing up on one's fly fishing technique.
Fly fishing, an up-and-coming sport growing in popularity with the executive set, was something the King Edward management thought would be of interest to their clientele. The hotel enlisted the expertise of Jim Wilson, who runs Wilson's, a fly fishing outfit on nearby Front street.
Wilson is enthusiastic about being able to provide lessons in such a beautiful downtown location. He wanted a year-round venue where he could instruct novices and where experienced fly fishers could brush up on their skills. Wilson currently offers lessons as well as corporate events at this highly unusual recreational facility.
Toronto's proximity to great fly fishing spots creates a natural demand for downtown lessons.
And there will be plenty of local opportunities next summer to cast that first line once you've perfected your stroke at the top of the King Eddy.
"A lot of people don't know that there's excellent fly fishing in places like the Toronto Islands," Wilson says. Though looking around the Crystal Ballroom, one can hardly imagine a more romantic place to practice the romantic old sport of fly fishing.
***
Next time you're in the great hall at Union Station, look up. You won't actually see anything above the breathtaking ceiling, or hear anything under the rumble of trains, but you can try to picture the targets scooting across the room at the CNRA Handgun Club shooting gallery, hidden in the rafters of the station's rooftop. The gun club has occupied the unlikely space, which few of the tens of thousands of commuters that pass through the station even know exists, for 75 years. Originally set up for use of CN Railway employees as part of their recreation association, the club has gradually expanded to a private handgun club (which still boasts several members who work for the local railways).
The club's shooting range, a dark room a little less than 30 metres long, has 10 shooting bays at which club members can take a little target practice after work. A treated steel backstop sits behind the targets, deflecting the bullets down into a sand pit.
The unique facility has persisted in the station because of its tremendous convenience to downtown, but also for legal reasons. Club president Shreekesh Desai says "Shooting and gun ownership has become a much more restricted sport over the years due to various forms of legislation, so wherever there are existing shooting clubs that continue to meet with federal standards...those clubs tend to continue."
"Every city has to have a diversity of places to participate in various sports," Desai says. His place just happens to be one of the city's best kept secrets.
***
You will have noticed that the city of Toronto is conspicuously mountain-free, but that doesn't stop downtown's rock climbing enthusiasts from honing their skills in the fast-growing King West corridor. Of the many indoor climbing facilities in the city, Joe Rockhead's is favoured for its complex, ever-changing courses and for the quality of climbers that practice there.
The converted bakery that houses Joe Rockhead's unfolds into a series of grey caverns, the walls speckled with footholds like a loose mosaic. Climbers can partake of the varied routes, from lead climbing and top-roping (both of which require a partner) to bouldering (which can be done solo).
Husband and wife owners Sharon McCrindle and Robert Bergman opened the gym in 1990 after Bergman grew frustrated with having to drive all the way to Milton just to get a quick evening's climbing workout.
"Outdoor climbing is usually pretty far out. You want to get a workout, you're not really into pumping weights, you just want somewhere you can jump on a streetcar or subway and be there in 20 minutes," McCrindle says. "A lot of people downtown climb."
Of course, an indoor climbing gym will have some height limitations — the tallest climbs at Rockhead's are about two-and-one-half-storeys — but that doesn't mean your climb won't be challenging. Joe Rockhead's courses, which are redesigned every couple of months, are rated as high as 5.13 on the Yosemite Decimal System — a difficulty level for only the most seasoned climbers.
While some come to climbing gyms to practice or prepare for the outdoors, many simply enjoy the workout. "There are some people who have never climbed outside and have no desire to," McCrindle says. And it's easy to see why: it's a social experience and it's close to home
Plus there are no black flies.