Has The Game
Changed?
Will indoor climbing
gyms take over from
outdoors?
Photography credit (top
left, bottom left, top
right) Juliet Sawyer
Climbers have always
been seen as the wild type. Keen
to be outdoors and ‘get close to
nature’. Other outdoor hobbies
such as mountaineering, hiking and
scrambling go hand in hand with
climbers, and can often lead onto
other outdoor or extreme sports.
There’s nothing like a good old day
out in the sunshine at your local crag,
with all your climbing buddies around
you. You spend all day there; even the
ones when it’s freezing cold. As you
stand around you can see the clouds
your hot breath makes in the cold
air, your numb hands clinging to the
belay device. You complain it’s too
cold, but secretly there’s nothing else
you’d rather be doing right now than
climbing some rock. That’s how it is.
Or is it? Nowadays, especially
the younger generation, seem more
drawn to indoor climbing centres, with
their warmth and cafés and squishy
boulder mat floors. And sure, indoor
walls are great. They all come with
their own clubs and squads, where
you can meet lots of interesting
people, all with the same passion.
There is definit [ H