Surviving The 80's: Good Times at Indoor Climbing Walls

Back in the ‘80’s, The University of Calgary (UofC) had one of Canada’s only indoor rock climbing gyms. It was a dank, dark, smelly hole in the ground, cement lined, with some off-vertical slab walls, one roof feature, and a series of vertical walls. Polyurethane climbing holds were unknown, so the holds on the UofC wall were either river rocks embedded in the cement walls or small incuts or cracks shaped into the cement. Climbers arrived and climbed down a steel ladder into the hole and then either led the routes – on gear (!) plugged into cement cracks – or more commonly scrambled around a small ledge atop the wall to rig their own ropes through steel carabiners. These days, the heads of the safety bureaucrats would explode; not only did we survive but we thrived and no-one needed a trigger warning.

Back in the early days of climbing walls, the only reason climbers went at all was to train to climb outdoor routes. The idea that climbing would become an indoor sport in a controlled environment with ropes set on the routes and auto-belay devices was an anathema and its proponents would be condemned as “girly-men.” Yes, we did use such language back then and, again, we all survived, mostly because our mothers quite rightfully informed us that “names would never hurt us.”

I like modern climbing gyms. Typically, they are bright and airy with impressively high and generally overhung walls. Autobelays are awesome if you are climbing by yourself and the horizontal or overhanging bouldering walls with the big, thick, cushy, impossible to break yourself pads at the bottom are confidence inspiring. Climbfit Gym in Kirrawee, which I recently visited, even has a full gym attached with showers, toilets, lockers that lock without keys or padlocks, friendly staff, good music playing, four autobelays, a kilter board and a bouldering area. Old codgers like myself even get a seniors discount!

The bouldering wall, however, appears to have got “just a bit worse” than it was before. I think it is the trend to volumes and slabs that has dominated world cup bouldering in recent years. It makes little sense to me. Admittedly, some climbers frequenting Climbfit may never go outdoors, but, if they do, they could be in for a surprise because east Australian climbing is about as like bouldering on volumes as Starbucks is to 7-11 for coffee. Not much at all. The ACT has granite cracks, but most Sydney area, Blue Mountains or Nowra climbing is steep walls on small (to large depending on the grade) slopey sandstone crimpers. Jumping from volume to volume, apart from looking cool on your ‘gramme feed, is not anything like outdoor climbing.

It’s odd being the oldest climber in the gym (and female, climbing is still a male dominated sport) by about 30 years, but hey, those young punks didn’t survive the UofC climbing gym nor do they get the seniors discount!