Canmore Locals
meet the team
Michele began climbing at a summer camp in Ontario and when it came time to go to University, she headed west without skipping a beat. Climbing became a huge part of her life while living in Kelowna and completing her Bachelors degree in Geography and Fine Arts. After graduating, Michele took seasonal work in order to travel and climb all over the world, from China to South America.
Sport climbing is her first true love but she has even been know to dabble in the dark arts of winter climbing. She fell in love with the Rockies while working for Parks Canada in Jasper and Lake Louise. She and her boyfriend Quentin, now live in Canmore with their puppy Bugaboo. She is super excited to be on board with Canmore Climbing Gym and can’t wait to see you all in the gym!
Michele Pratt
Manager
Nick Rochacewich
Co-OwnerNick followed his love for climbing and moved from Newmarket, Ontario to the Canadian Rocky Mountains when he was 18 years old. He started painting to pay for his climbing obsession and today his successful company (NWR Painting) employs a strong team of skilled and hard working specialists.
Nick has been a resident of Canmore for over 20 years and is now raising two beautiful children in the town that has become his home. While his favourite climbing destination may be in Spain, Nick is grateful to have so many beautiful crags close by, including Lake Louise and Grotto Canyon. In the summer of 2020, Nick made a rare repeat of ‘The Path’, 5.14 R and the First Ascent of ‘Convenience’ 5.14, be sure to follow along his journey @nwrpainting
Bart started his Bow Valley climbing career based on a bet he made with his business partner. After hearing his partner talk about “how hard climbing is”, Bart agreed to bump his own personal best from 5.10b to 5.12d in 12 months, win or lose for $2,000. It took him ten. To give his partner a chance to win his money back, they agreed on a new objective; to climb 5.13c in another 12 months, which Bart did as well. Unfortunately, Bart did not get to keep all of this money because on the third bet; to climb one 5.14b or two 5.14a’s, he lost and cut his $4,000 earnings in half.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, Bart followed his older sister to Canmore, Alberta 16 years ago and fell in love. During the recession of 2008, Bart formed a small construction company starting with bathroom and kitchen renovations. Today he is an accomplished custom home builder and general contractor with stunning projects scattered across the Bow Valley. To keep it local, his favourite crag is Acephale, he and his wife live in a home he built in Dead Man’s Flats. You can check it out @bartsconstruction
Bart Urbanski
Co-Owner
Sonnie Trotter
Co-OwnerAlso raised in Newmarket, Ontario, Sonnie Trotter got the climbing bug from an indoor gym called ‘Of Rock and Chalk’. This is where he met Nick for the first time at the bouldering wall. For Sonnie’s 16th birthday his mother purchased a 6 month climbing membership, and he’s been hooked ever since, climbing 5-7 days per week. When he graduated high school at the age of 17, Sonnie and his girlfriend drove to Rifle, Colorado where he climbed his first 5.14 and fell even deeper in love with the climbing and vagabond life. Since that fateful trip, Sonnie has lived out of 6 different vehicles to immerse himself with climbing. He quit competitions at the age of 23 as a national champion and devoted his time and money to travelling and new route development. At the age of 24 Sonnie began getting noticed by media and climbing brands alike, and began working closely with companies like 5.10 shoes, Patagonia Clothing and Sterling Ropes.
Today, Sonnie makes a living by writing, photography, product development, coaching and guiding. As a founder of the Canmore Climbing Gym he knows very well that it would not be where it is today without the passion and support of this team, for that, he is grateful.
Zach Watson
Coach & Route Setter
Matt Lucas
Head Route SetterBen Firth
PartnerBen was born and raised in Canmore and is the son of climbing parents Jack and Georgina who immigrated to Canada from the UK in the early 70’s. He was introduced early to the mountains and climbing and was mesmerized by their stories of adversity and adventure. As a result, climbing would become his life and he has spent much of his 42 years climbing and travelling the world. As a teenager he was a member of Canmore’s first climbing gym, the Canmore Climbing Center, and from there the Vsion and subsequent community climbing gyms the Cave and the Cave 2.0 of which he served on the Board of Directors.
Ben is very excited to be able to be among the ownership group of the Canmore Climbing Gym. He lives in Canmore with his wife Danielle and two children Lauren and Noah. Ben is a certified IFMGA mountain guide and he currently works for Jasper Visitor Safety as a mountain rescue specialist.
In his early twenties Cam and his wife Karina purchased the Rocky Mountain Soap Company and began creating a life together in the beautiful town of Canmore, AB. They have worked hard, smart and consistently over the years to build their business to a global scale. It shows in everything that they do how much they love their work, where they live and their commitment to the environment. When Cam isn’t working or spending time with his children you will probably find him somewhere outside on a steep ridge climb, a biking trail or perhaps the slopes of many surrounding ski hills.