Born in Slovakia, Peter Slivka started mountaineering in the High Tatra at the age of 14. Later he switched to sport climbing and after couple of years he started to climb with the Slovak national team and was also a member of a national team training committee.

After leaving Slovakia in 1989, Peter came to Ottawa, and founded Vertical Reality in 1993. The gym has been in its location on Victoria Island since spring 1998.

After 22 years of living in Ottawa Peter has decided to retire and return to Slovakia. The Ottawa Climbing Communnity would like to thank Peter for all of his dedication, time and effort spent on development and safety, but most importantly for his love of climbing which will always stay with us.

The torch has been passed on to his daugher Petra who has taken over at Vertical Reality.

We all thank you Peter and wish you all the best!