The Feeling Of Belonging In Climbing Spaces

Do you ever feel like you don't belong in climbing spaces? Or maybe you don't quite feel like a "climber" yet? This episode explores cultural reasons why this happens and what you can do if you want to "belong."
This one was definitely a deeper more emotional episode, and I was happy to have the opportunity to discuss this one!

[@simonwilliams9850]

Thank you for this episode. There is a related issue in outdoor climbing which I would headline as 'elitism'. Apart from the basic safety concerns, there is often an idea that beginners should jump straight on harder routes and that route development should not include low grades, or that beginners should be able to 'navigate' to the crag without any benefit of rock cairns for example. Some sort of heroic elitism that seems rather silly to me as someone who is very comfortable in outdoors context but also spends a lot of time supporting beginners to access that space. Outdoor climbing isn't some prepper survival game, it's just a nice way to connect and develop a sense of place and community and to be comfortable moving our bodies and interacting with other folk and with the landscape and exploring 'safe' risk-taking. There is also often scapegoating of beginners when accidents arise in media, even though these accidents more often involve more experienced climbers (probably mainly the probability of experienced climbers being more exposed to frequency and complexity of risks but also potentially due in part to the elitist attitude itself which can be ironically unreflective and dismissing of basic procedures)

[@MercedesPollmeier]

Thanks so much for this perspective and for sharing it. I also notice this with bouldering development. Some areas are better than others for beginners, but most areas lack the entry level climbs. Of course, there is a lot that goes into route development, but I think it would go a long way for our community if there were more accessible climbs.