Davis 1 Lauren Davis Ms. Romine English 102/12B 25 March 2022 The Rise of Rock Climbing One of the best things I heard at Vertical View was that “We all start at the bottom.” The idea of rock climbing is to rise or go up the wall starting from the bottom. Who knew that the sport itself would duplicate this pattern in mainstream media? Rock climbing becoming part of mainstream media has made a huge cause and effect chain with the sport and the aspects surrounding it. Even the topic of this ethnography essay is affected by the rising popularity of this recreational activity. Many more climbing gyms are also being made because of this, including Vertical View. Vertical View is a rock-climbing gym in Meridian, Idaho, it opened up about two years ago on January 31, 2020 (“Vertical View”). Stripes and blocks of cement make the outside look like a square castle but in a more modern way. There is also a triangular glass eave in the front of the building that serves as an entrance. In the entryway there is a decent amount of floor that wraps around cement bleachers that go into the ground, usually, a big speaker is sitting on one of the steps wrapped in rope playing eighty’s hits. The bleachers lead down into the main climbing area with sixty-five feet tall walls. On the right of the entryway is the check-in desk. When going into the building people have to sign a waiver basically saying, “don’t sue us if anything bad happens or is unsatisfactory.” When a person goes in first, they, check-in at the front desk; people say they did the waiver (at which point it will be confirmed on a computer that the waiver Davis 2 was signed) and pay for either a day pass or a membership if the person doesn’t have one already. Membership costs about seventy-five dollars a month or $825 a year with certain discounts for being a youth or a veteran. A day pass is also about twenty dollars and if gear is needed it can be rented from the facility. Anyone can also pay to be taught how to belay which is pulling, loosening, or clipping the rope so that the person climbing can be safe. Behind the check-in desk is a rental place, so patrons can rent gear if needed (“Vertical View”). Having memberships and day passes demonstrates the effect of the rising popularity of rock climbing. Because it is becoming more popular, more people are coming, and they are coming more frequently, so they need memberships. Plus, day passes can be used for people trying out rock climbing or people just in the area for a while. Now that the person checked in, they can put on their gear and go climb. The first climbing area is just past the check-in desk and is smaller than the main climbing area, (these walls start on ground level, whereas in the main area they are underground level by about one level). The climbing walls are various shades of gray (some are multiple colored; blue, yellow, or orange). On the wall, at eye level is a little tag by multi-colored handholds in various shapes with the texture of lava rock. The tag shows a number and a color along with a mix of words that sound like cool band names. On the ground by this area is a scenic mural. It shows a canyon from a bird’s eye view. Connecting the two sides of the canyon is one of those rickety wooden bridges, that always add drama to a scene. Scaling up either side of the canyon in the mural is a guy and a girl in climbing gear. Still, on the main level are Vertical View merchandise and a staircase leading to the upper levels of the gym. Merchandise advertises the gym and rock climbing. To the left of the entryway is a relatively small hallway with short climbing walls for Davis 3 teaching people how to belay. At the end of the hall is a vending machine with water and workout liquids in it. The last thing on ground level is metal rails that line the outside of the floor. Desks and backless chairs stand by the railing. In two places there is a break in the railing that leads down to the main climbing area. On the cement bleachers are rectangular sweat proof pillows. Then down further is the main climbing area. At the bottom of the spacious climbing area, the floor is padded. This cushions the climber in case something happens. A lot of people are also really exhausted after climbing and lay down on the pads for a while. The walls are mostly vertical with the occasional section that bulges out, giving an extra challenge. A boy I interviewed named Wyatt (all names used will be pseudonyms for the confidentially of the climbers) said that an outsider might not understand how the slightest incline in the wall can change the entire climb. This can be especially applied to bouldering. The bouldering section is on either end of the bottom level right under the cement bleachers. Bouldering is a sister sport or discipline of rock climbing, it differs from rock climbing because in bouldering no ropes or harnesses are used. (In rock climbing there are two more main disciplines, top-rope climbing and lead-climbing. These courses go straight up, and they differ from each other because top climbing puts the rope at the top while the climber goes up and in lead climbing the climber leads the rope up with them and hooks it in certain spots (“Vertical View”)). Boulder is also another reason why rock climbing is becoming more popular. It is slightly different than regular rock climbing and a few people I talked with said they liked bouldering better. Boulder expands the rock climbing horizons. The walls are significantly smaller in bouldering, about twelve feet high and the padded area is super cushy and almost bouncy like a trampoline. In bouldering, the courses are called “problems” which go more Davis 4 horizontal than up, and the wall in bouldering jut out more. There are also more little tags in the bouldering section. The tags have a color, the color matches the color of the holds needed to be taken to complete a certain course. (Pick the course you want, based on its grade, more on that later, then it will have a color, use the color of the handholds to go up that specific course). The next thing on the tag is a name and a grade. The names are random like “scattered thought” and “no time for sitting around.” The grade is there so that people can choose the best course for their skill level (bouldering and climbing use two different grading systems but there is a chart that shows the two in relation to each other). Top-rope and lead climbing use the Yosemite Grading System and Bouldering uses the V system. These systems look complex but are fairly straightforward, they were explained to me by a nice, helpful, forty-ish-year-old staff member named Michael. He explained that the grading system goes from 5.0, which is the easiest to 5.1, 5.2, etc., until 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d, 5.11a, etc., up until 5.15d which is the hardest climb in the world. The easiest climb at Vertical view is 5.4 (Denver Climbing Co.). The V system goes V0, V1, etc., up to V16 which is the hardest bouldering problem. To boulder, a person needs to be able to do at least a 5.10a course according to Vertical View rules. Other rules in the gym are for etiquette and safety. Etiquette rules consist of things like no running, yelling, and eating food in the padded area. Although, some employees had food in the padded area when they were changing the courses (they get drills and new hold to make new courses). Other rules are for safety reasons like gear has to be in a certain condition. Another rule is that children under the age of twelve have to be supervised. There are a lot of other rules all there for the safety of the people. This is one of the reasons that rock climbing has become Davis 5 mainstream, because “thanks to the availability of indoor climbing gyms, which make climbing safe and accessible to novices and experts alike.” (Harmer). New safety techniques and safer devices make rock climbing more widely available. When there is a big risk involved in a sport, the sport gets labeled as extreme and fewer people are likely to do it. Rock climbing used to be an extreme sport and its history and new developments have helped make it what it is today. Rock climbing started as part of mountaineering. In mountaineering there are five classes (called the Sierra Club Classification System); class one is a steady walk, and the incline increases through the classes with class five being a vertical climb. This is why the Yosemite Grading System starts with five. At the start of the twentieth-century rock climbing started being recognized as an independent sport and as such, it started developing a grading system so that people could take the right climb for their skill level. This was done by adding a decimal to the five of the vertical class. At Yosemite several climbs were given a rating with a decimal, based on how hard they were, all other climbs are relative to these climbs and their ratings. Outdoor and indoor climbs alike are graded by the first people to climb a new course. The climber then thinks about how hard the climb was and compares it to other climbs they have taken and gives it a grade, more people also grade it before a grade is agreed on and set (Denver Climbing Co.). This makes a “vast network of relative rated climb so spread across the United States kind of like a giant game of telephone but we all know what happens in the game of telephone.” ( Denver Climbing Co). So based on geographic location, ratings can be different, two climbs rated the same could feel entirely different. Even though the Yosemite Decimal System has its flaws, in some ways it solidified the sport and allowed for rock climbing traditions to grow. Davis 6 A newer tradition is indoor gyms, they provide more safety, training, and accessibility. Now that the sport of rock climbing has been sealed people have traditions in the sport and common influences. A tradition some rock climbers have is to go on summer trips. A woman named Holly said that she knows people who go on summer trips to mountains to climb. Another influence was said in the interview with Wyatt another boy, Jim who was also being interviewed said that he skis. Later a girl named Ava said that a lot of people who rock climb do other outdoorsy sports. While there are still outdoor courses it is a little ironic that people who go to indoor gyms tend to be outdoorsy people. Ava’s whole family rock climbs and her family has a lot of family friends who rock climb, they all like to ski, kayak, and camp. There are also other sports that go hand in hand with rock climbing. The prominent one is yoga. Yoga studios are commonly found in rock climbing facilities because they help build strength and flexibility. Yoga also teaches breathing which is helpful and it is not explosive energy just like rock climbing. Other sports that rock climbers tend to do are gymnastics and cheer. Both use flexibility which is important for rock climbing. I used to think that rock climbers needed just upper body strength, but I am told that it is a full-body workout and flexibility also helps a lot in climbing. There are also other sports that some rock climbers do or used to do like volleyball. Holly said that she used to play volleyball. When I first approached Holly, she seemed reserved but she opened up a little during the interview, she also didn’t want to be digitally recorded so out of respect I wrote down her answers by hand. Holly has been climbing for about two years, she started because her husband needed a reliever from work and she now does rock climbing with him. He works as a counselor and oftentimes works with suicidal people. Rock climbing is a great way for them to do physical activities and rock climbing also has great mental Davis 7 health benefits. Holly told me about some research she did about the benefits of rock climbing. According to CNN rock climbing can “reinforce those neural pathways that can enhance our movement, enhance our cognitive function and make it much easier to attain goals.”(Prior). That is why Holly and her husband wanted to rock climb. Along with them, most people came into the gym as couples or groups the people who came along either auto-belayed or did bouldering (this might be because group membership is also cheaper than a single person membership. While rock climbing is a mostly individual sport, it also has a group side. While rock climbing, with the exception of auto-belays and bouldering, the climber needs someone to belay them, building a team sense of trust (belaying requires trust). Almost every person I talked to said that they love cheering other people on. Wyatt told me that he thinks that this sport is way more of a group sport than it was intended to be. While this idea isn’t shared with everyone, they all agree that the people in rock climbing are super nice and that there is a definitive social aspect. The climbers I interacted with were super nice people despite there being a variance in their demographics. Also, competitions are becoming more prevalent in the sport. Last year in Tokyo, 2021, rock climbing made its debut in the summer Olympics games. People in rock climbing are super excited about this and it is giving more fuel to the rise of rock climbing. Showing rock climbing in the Olympics introduces people to the possibility of climbing and it gives people extra excitement about the sport. Another similar impact on the growth of rock climbing is the film/documentary Free Solo. Free Solo shows Alex Honnold climb the nine hundred-meter tall El Captain’s climb at Yosemite without gear. Activities like these are both a result of the growth of rock climbing and a cause of the growth (Harmer). Rock climbing’s rising popularity coupled with the fact that the sport is becoming safer and is a great workout is a reason why a lot of kids are also starting the sport. Wyatt and Jim are Davis 8 about twelvish-years-old and both started climbing about two years ago. The gym itself has lots of kids in it and summer programs. Starting kids young boosts their ability in the sport and a lot of the time, their love for the sport. At the gym the youngest person I saw climbing looked about four years old and had an extra harness across her chest. Most harnesses are wrapped around the waist and middle of the thighs with clips in the front and a bag for chalk in the back. Chalk is used to coat the climbers’ hands for a better grip. There were lots of kids climbing and doing really well, most of them stayed on the smaller wall by the floor mural. There was also a decent number of young adults, middle-aged people, and even a few older people. This shows the sport’s versatility, another reason why it is getting popular. Even with lots of people, there is still an individual side to the sport. While the sport is growing and has a definitive social aspect the sport also has an individualistic side. When climbing people figure out the best way to make it to the top and use their bodies; it is a puzzle exercise, it is “incredibly enjoyable… which is one of the main reasons for its popularity.” (Harmer). Ava and Holly both said that they love how when they climb, they can do their own thing and many other people said how they enjoy being free on the wall. But just because climbing feels nice doesn’t mean it is easy. Being on the wall also has its challenges, a few people said that the most discouraging this is doing a course and knowing that they’ll not be able to make the next hold. At the same time, though they said that once the climb has been conquered it feels a whole lot better than a regular climb. It is like a reward, saying, hey that was hard and I just did it. Another discouragement that was said was the idea of being compared to others, which is a hard thought to cope with. But people in rock climbing are also unified. Davis 9 Being in the sport of rock climbing gives people a common goal and a community. Being in this sport comes with the mindset of trying to get better and that unifies people. Hard work and trying to do the best work possible can not only unify people but it is a way to gain respect. Plus, “everyone starts at the bottom.” In the gym, it was common to hear people congratulate each other on doing something. Another part of the community is the online one. Online communities are a new tradition because of technology becoming more widespread and convenient. There is an app that has a clean sporty aesthetic, the logo looks like a person with three limbs (or one of the limbs is hiding, it is hard to tell because it is a colorful silhouette). When I asked how tall the bouldering wall was one person got out the app and said the exact height of the wall. Some of the staff people were talking to me about it and how it relates to the grades and names they put on each ascent. It seems like this app, or artifact has the virtual aspect of the rock-climbing community. Rock climbing’s growing popularity and communities are going to keep growing. Because of the Olympic debut of rock climbing and other reasons “rock climbing will gain even more exposure and likely more popularity in the years ahead.” (Harmer). I found some cool stuff out in my research about rock climbing and it started because of rock climbing becoming more popular. My family has wanted to get to Vertical View for years, but it opened during covid which made it a struggle for us to get there. Because of the gym opening and rock climbing becoming more prevalent I was able to find out about rock climbing’s culture. Davis 10 Works cited Ava. Personal Interview. 8 March 2020. Denver Climbing Co. The Yosemite Decimal System. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOZx5Ln-_6M. Accessed 24 Mar. 2022. Harmer, Jake. Why Is Rock Climbing So Popular? – Scoutorama. https://scoutorama.com/rockclimbing-popular. Accessed 24 Mar. 2022. Holly. Personal Interview. 8 March 2020. Prior, Ryan. “How Rock Climbing Can Help Overcome Fear, Defeat Depression and Change Your Life.” CNN, 27 Sept. 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/27/health/staying-wellrock-climbing/index.html. “Vertical View Climbing Gym.” Vertical View, https://verticalview.com. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022. Wyatt and Jim. Personal Interview. 8 March 2020.
