Preserving Outdoor Climbing for Future Generations
December 19th, 2019
As a growing number of people are introduced to rock climbing, there is a concern for the environmental impact. Larger numbers of climbers utilizing these outdoor climbing destinations can cause damage to the surrounding areas as well as increased erosion of rock faces. While there are methods to minimize this damage, most new climbers are not informed of them and are unknowingly causing harm to the natural environment. Indoor climbing can be the solution to preserving those destinations for future climbers. Indoor gyms can lower the number of climbers using outdoor spaces and spread information on preserving the environment for people who do choose to climb outdoors.
The sport of rock climbing has been around for centuries. In the past rock climbing was a sport dependent on mentorship, and that came with a large amount of risk. Andrew Bisharat shared his first experience with a mentor saying
“The first time we shared a rope together, I nearly died… As I desperately inched my way up this fearsome maw, Jon consistently reminded me (in a rather unhelpful way) that if I fell, I would ‘absolutely die!’” (Bisharat)
The increased popularity of the sport has brought with it advancements in technology that has made climbing safer, but there is still serious risk involved. In the 1980s we also began to see the start of a new form of rock climbing, indoor rock climbing (Wilkinson). Over the recent decades, the amount of indoor rock climbing gyms has increased drastically and they have become an important tool for beginners and serves as training and year-round access that outdoor climbing cannot offer to experienced climbers.
For climbers who would like to experience outdoor climbing, indoor gyms can be a great tool for educating new climbers on how to reduce the impact they have on the environment. In Indoor Weekly's article, they note that "Rock climbing gyms… let you start climbing in a safe, controlled, and monitored environment. Climbing gyms are set up and run so that climbers are safe." (Gripped) Indoor climbing gyms serve beginners as a jumping-off point, a place where they can assess their skill level and decide whether they would like to continue with the sport in a relatively safe environment. If new climbers choose to try their skills in outdoor climbing we can use the educational environment at indoor gyms to pass on knowledge and information on how to cause minimal impact on the environment doing it. The Access Fund, a national organization dedicated to conserving climbing areas, agrees there is an opportunity for indoor gyms to "serve as good focal points for information distribution and feedback" (Attarian) By using the fact that most new climbers start off climbing at gyms to our advantage we can make them aware of their environmental responsibility before they start climbing outdoors at all.
Geography also plays a role in the number of indoor rock climbers that will begin climbing outdoors. Indoor gyms are more accessible geographically. Before the creation of rock climbing gyms climbing was something very dependent on where you lived. Ashima Shiraishi, a champion rock climber for her age group, lives in New York City. Without indoor gyms, she would have not been capable of reaching the climbing level she is at right now since she does not live near any outdoor rock climbing and would not have gotten the opportunity to be exposed to the sport (Stokes). This also means that people in areas where outdoor rock climbing does not occur, climbers are less likely to make the transition from indoor to outdoor climbing simply because the option is not readily available for them.
New York Times
99 Boulders
Chris Noble an author and climber with more than 30 years of experience states that "we can continue to build more gyms and introduce ever-more people to a sport and lifestyle we all love, we cannot create more outdoor climbing destinations than already exist in nature." (Noble) Though Chris is correct when he says the number of rock climbers is increasing, we do not need to grow outdoor climbing destinations to match. 99 Boulder's article on the growth of rock climbing points out that "Given time, outdoor infrastructure may catch up to the needs of new crowds." (Kuelthau) An equivalent amount of new outdoor
rock climbing routes do not need to be created to support the added climbers, adjustments just need to be made in the way the increase in climbers is handled in these outdoor areas.
Indoor climbing has for some groups of people become their main form of rock climbing. Rock climbing has become an internationally recognized sport, further solidified by its addition in the 2020 Olympic Games this coming year. The majority of all competitive climbing is done in indoor gyms. And according to Jon Chittenden, the director, of Boulder Central a climbing gym says “many climbing wall owners are finding there are a lot of indoor climbers now who will never go outdoor climbing." (Coldwell) This trend will have a positive impact by reducing the percentage of climbers that utilize outdoor climbing areas on a regular basis and help to preserve climbing areas.
Not every climber wants to climb outdoors Photograph Alamy
With an increasing number of people beginning to climb, informing new climbers to be ecologically conscious will be just as important as education on climbing safety. A safer more formal system of introduction to rock climbing will help reduce the risk to new climbers and can help to educate new climbers on their environmental responsibilities. And with the increased competitiveness of national and international climbing competitions, experienced climbers will need indoor gyms has a tool to remain competitive and many climbers may opt to continue only climbing in gyms. Though there are differences between indoor and outdoor climbing we need to work towards educating new climbers on the differences and use indoor climbing as a tool to accomplish this goal. The first step is being educated and I ask all climbers new and old to find out what you can do to better protect the places you climb so they will still be available for future generations to enjoy.