To the uninitiated, climbing seems a simple enough task: Plant your foot, reach for a hold, repeat as necessary. But the nuances and challenges of the sport are many and varied— and this is the precise reason why people get involved with rock climbing in the first place.
As a nine-year-old growing up in North Vancouver, Alannah Yip discovered climbing, thanks to a family friend, and found something in it that no other sport had.“ The sport of climbing is more than just physical,” she explains.“ There’ s a mental aspect, too, in that you’ re always trying to solve challenges.”
Not all footholds and grips are the same, nor is there one right way to climb a boulder or scale a wall. The variety in movements and difficulty of climbs gives the sport enduring appeal for athletic types, as well as those who gravitate to more thought-based pursuits and manoeuvres.
Alannah competes on the International Federation of Sport Climbing( IFSC) world cup circuit and, at the tender age of just 24, ranks as one of the world’ s very best in bouldering. This discipline requires climbers to navigate low-height ascents within a given time limit and in as few moves as possible. If the laws of gravity prove especially immutable, the only safety equipment in place is a mat.“ Every competition is different,” she says.“ You see the wall for the first time moments before you start and [ then ] have five minutes to climb it.”
In 1987, the first climbing gym in North America, the aptly named Vertical World in Seattle, opened its doors; its gravitational pull remains strong to this day. First conceived as a way for outdoor rock climbers to practise their skills indoors, the modern rock climbing gym has evolved into a social and recreational community hub, equipped with fitness facilities, coaches, trainers, and even event rooms for hosting truly unique kids’ parties.
Since 2010, the growth in commercial climbing gyms has been six per cent annually or more, according to the Climbing Business Journal. The rise of gyms in Canada has proven astounding. In 2016, new gym openings increased by over 18 per cent, year over year. Last year saw an increase of nine percent. The Outdoor Industry Association reports that urban climbing gym users account for $ 1 out of every $ 3 spent on outdoor apparel and equipment, compared to just $ 0.51 for the purely outdoor climbers.
Over his more than two decades of mostly outdoor climbing, Sonnie Trotter, one of Canada’ s true rock stars, has witnessed this transformation firsthand. It’ s gone from a pursuit once restricted to thrill-seeking athletes to an activity that attracts people of all athletic abilities and personalities, drawn in by the sport’ s rare combination of challenges.
“ It’ s now more accessible for a lot of people,” Sonnie reports.“ For less than $ 20, you can meet up with friends in a centrally located gym and give it a shot. These days, the
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