THUNDER BAY – There's no official word from the operators yet, but the Boulder Bear Climbing Centre appears to have shut down without notice to either the public or the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition.
Patrons of the facility, located in a building leased from the CLE, recently found the doors locked.
Dougall Media has made several attempts recently to contact the business's owners but has received no response.
The climbing walls and other apparatus were observed being dismantled last week, however there there have been no updates on the centre's social media pages.
Danny Mosa, president of the CLE board, said Tuesday that the lease for the building is due to expire this week.
He said unless the board hears from the operators, the locks will be changed.
The climbing centre became a focus of attention this summer after an eight-year-old girl was injured in a fall.
The Ontario Labour ministry said it received a health and safety complaint regarding Boulder Bear on Aug. 2, 2024, and assigned an inspector to investigate.
Subsequently, the ministry issued two orders and three requirements to the employer including:
- one order for training
- one order for proper incident reporting
- three requirements for documentation
The ministry told Dougall Media last week that the orders and requirements were all complied with, and that it had closed its investigation.
With files from Jodi Lundmark and from TBT News
