The COVID-19 pandemic has had a surprising effect on climbers.

Not physically, mind you, but sociologically. Of all times — even as climbing itself has never seemed less significant — now is when climbers should be supporting one another. In fact, the opposite is taking place. We have turned on each other in a way we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.

The fundamental clash is over climbing outdoors and whether it’s acceptable right now. Some folks are judging others on social media for even asking the question.

“After all,” they say, “aren’t there far more important things to be concerned with right now?”

Well, yes there are. There always are more important things than climbing — pandemic or not. But right now is unique. Loads of climbers have more free time than ever, yet climbing gyms are closed nationwide. It’s understandable why outdoor climbing is at least a consideration.

Still, the overwhelming majority of climbers — those willing to speak up, that is — advocate against climbing outside, as do many associated organizations and companies.

Yet there’s also a very quiet, and probably very large, faction of climbers still active outdoors. Some climbing organizations, for example, take the official stance to not climb outside, yet board members of said organizations are out climbing.

Employees aren’t practicing what their climbing companies preach. Countless others are posting Instagram stories of their home workouts, but not of their clandestine cragging days.

Our sport has never seen so much silent dissent.

Of course, climbing is not immune to pissing matches and vitriol. There have been cutthroat debates, bolt wars, even fist fights over climbing “ethics” and “style.” But all of those issues concerned how we should climb, not if we should climb.

The reason there are so many undercover climbers right now is because there’s a dissonance between what the “Climbing Community” is saying and what many of its individual members believe. I can’t possibly get into the nuances of each argument in this article, but here’s the gist:

The “No Climbing” side is saying the extra risk of climbing right now is absolutely not worth taking. Climbing is not socially distant and the sharing of holds and gear can spread the virus. The potential to get injured and put health care workers (and possibly search and rescue personnel) at risk is too high.

Not to mention the strain this could put on our already over-taxed medical system. Those out climbing, they say, seem to think their recreation is more important than the well-being of the health care workers who may potentially have to care for them. “Don’t be so selfish, stay the f**k at home.”

The “Yes Climbing” side is saying, hold on, climbing shouldn’t be demonized. It’s possible to climb in a socially distant manner by choosing empty cliffs and obscure routes with a single partner. This will also mitigate fomite transmission.

Risk can be minimized, they say, such that climbing is no more likely to land us in the hospital than activities like biking, skiing, home improvement projects, driving, etc. And while some regions are suffering from overburdened hospitals, many ERs across the country have been empty and over-staffed. A blanket code of conduct for the entire U.S. is inappropriate, as it oversimplifies massive regional differences in the outbreak.

Whichever camp you’re in, you can’t go wrong by staying at home. It’s what people should be doing most of the time.

Yet it’s not a hard and fast rule. Nearly everyone leaves their house for something, whether for food, gas, medicine, exercise, fresh air, etc. Even state governments encourage people to get outside despite statewide stay-at-home orders. So it’s up to communities and ultimately, individuals, to decide what’s worth leaving home for, provided they’re following social distancing guidelines and local protocols.

As the original “two-week” lockdown measures blend into more weeks and perhaps months, the hard line against outdoor activities will likely soften to become more sustainable. Whether climbing will become socially acceptable anytime soon remains to be seen.

For now, I have one suggestion for climbers on both sides of this dispute: please be kind to each other — it’s always the right thing to do.

Contact Chris Weidner at cweidner8@gmail.com. Follow him on Instagram @christopherweidner and Twitter @cweidner8