The sport of climbing is growing fast. That’s a good thing, in my opinion. More competitive youth are getting into training and finding another way to stay healthy and grow as people. More adults are joining in as well, finding a great social avenue besides sitting around drinking, but we all know that comes after. I always hope that this influx of new people can help the sport, more minds being devoted to it so new endeavors in style, limits, and gear may come about, and friendly competition results in more people climbing hard, keeping that ceiling of hardest this or that moving up.

However, we have seen more news about the negative aspect of the boom of the sports population, accidents. These were usually incidents that many of the more seasoned saw as careless, avoidable tragedies. These are occurring both inside the gyms and at the crags. We poured over the reports of the Tito Traversa tragedy, and the online forums are punctuated by threads of accidents that degenerate into a debate on how all these newbies are pouring out of the gyms and going outside with little to no training leading their argument with variations of “back in my day,” And the blame seems to rest solely on the victim, some does, but I always see a failure of the community as a whole, too. Of course, there is the issue of those going out without any attempt at proper instruction, but what about those who went out having received bad instruction?

I worked for one of the larger indoor gyms for almost 4 years; I worked my way up to a full time slot and was tasked with training staff on their role in risk management, gym safety, and instruction. The hardest part of this turned out to be push back from the managers who placed me in this role. Several of my peers and superiors were case studies in slack risk management in their own climbing, often stemming from unwillingness to adapt from “they way they’ve always done it”. Things such as almost every part in this video with the Gri-Gri, using old worn out harnesses, carabiners, and keeping old cams with kinked stem wires and frayed slings in the gym’s guide’s rack.

I’ve seen enough in the climbing community to have learned that having done something x-times over y-years without injury does not make one an “expert” at anything and assuming so only precludes a vicious cycle.

After this piece from Rock and Ice came out, the roles and responsibilities of us as climbing gym managers became a point of much discussion behind the counter. I listened as many of my coworkers and especially other managers would rant and rave on how there was nothing to be done, all of these people were “stupid”. These would invariably include mentions that someone took them under their wing when they first started, and taught them how to climb smart and that the current crop of newer climbers weren’t respecting that tradition. Maybe, instead the potential mentors were keeping themselves insulated and leaving new climbers to fend for themselves. Furthermore, that even though our facility, among many others, offered classes with qualified instructors, why would the customers pay to take lessons with us, and learn ethics and hard skills, when they could just watch youtube or read a book and call it good?

I was appalled, I had felt that if that was happening, especially when we saw it happening, that we had failed. We weren’t creating an atmosphere stressing the importance of knowing where this information was coming from, checking credentials, or practicing under a keen and watchful eye, skills that need to be felt and done, not just read about or watched. I felt that we were not fulfilling our responsibilities as supposed leaders in the community, isn’t that why we were there? Isn’t that why we were the ones teaching lessons, wearing the uniform? I remember bringing this up and being challenged with, “But, what can we do? They’re dumb.”

I could recall many times when the staff would stand around watching a climber in a tough spot, making snide comments and eventually, maybe, sending someone else down to “handle it.” This in most cases was little more than a scolding, and not taking the time to use the blatantly presented teachable moment, not taking a mentor role. I began to wonder which side was the dumb one, which side was simply unaware. One of the more common debates would be about a client recently passing their lead test, and immediately heading toward project limit routes or to the steepest lead-only section of the gym, the staff watching in horror as draws are shakily clipped and moves barely made, and the question would arise, what can, or should, we do?

It’s a tough spot, to be sure, but it’s also impossible to make a blanket statement that will apply to every such instance. Who among us climbers, claiming proficiency and experience, can say they haven’t at some point bitten off more than they could chew and either had it come back and bite them in the ass, or squeaked by knowing they got lucky? I can think of several of my own. In the case of new leader it comes down to a judgment call, deciding if staff does need to step in and call them down, or let them make their own choices, it is also our duty to let our clientele learn on their own to an extent. That judgment that the staff is using needs to come from experience, learning to spot the differences between calls, and caring enough to put in the effort. That requires a solid education of their own.

Yet, many indoor facilities are staffed with highly unqualified staff that ends up teaching classes on topics such as safe leading when they themselves have barely a passing grasp on the material. Even in these situations I find it hard to fault the ambitious and eager young climber thrust into this situation of teaching one of these classes, especially if the managers putting them there aren’t respecting the potential repercussions themselves. Were those in charge creating these dangerous situations from position several times removed?

If these were outdoor trips, one would be hard pressed to justify letting these less experienced staff take on these roles, and take the responsibility for their students. So, why is it done in an indoor facility? Gravity still works just as well, and even at the same rate, indoors and out, and falls from above a certain height do extensive damage no matter what surface the climber is landing on. Just as there is a chance of rockfall and holds breaking off outdoors, indoors still has holds break and spinners are quite common in gyms. The potential hazards are mitigated to such a small degree that I am astonished that those in roles of responsibility, who know full well the dangers, take liberties with extra-risky behavior or a lax mindset simply because there’s a ceiling and artificial holds?

There are organizations such as the Climbing Wall Association and even the American Mountain Guides Association that have Climbing Wall Instructor certifications. This is a huge step toward solving some of these problems, but the CWA program is in its infancy. These have such potential, and the organizations’ ability to oversee and start to enact change has so much room to grow. As climbing expands we need to recognize the damage that can be caused by poorly qualified instructors indoors, where most climbers begin their journey in the vertical world. These programs need to instill responsibility and possibly even humble those taking them, instead I’ve seen too many touting certification and passing poor skills onto more unsuspecting students, the newly certified instructors too comfortable with their own abilities and becoming downright arrogant. There are even instances of students being allowed to partake when not meeting the prerequisites for these certifications. So this brings up the wonder on what is keeping the providers of these programs in check?

Perhaps these organizations should introduce more oversight and take on a role of accreditation for climbing gym as the AMGA does for guiding organizations. As such, there may be penalties for not adhering to these practices. Accredited facilities could sign a contract and be fined if they are found furthering these practices. A lazy manager may re-think the easy way out if it may cost his business a chunk of profit, and if they don’t, their bosses may start to re-think having said manager around. Losing accreditation could also make the area’s climbers choose to take their business elsewhere when looking for instruction. We would see some gyms lauded for their integrity and professionalism, we may see others’ dirty laundry.

If you were take a lesson with a guide, building top rope anchors or learning to lead traditionally, you would expect that your instructor can answer any of your questions, and have the experience to not simply recite an outline. I would hope that, for the most part, managers for guiding companies would not allow this. But, then one would watch classes on belaying, leading, etc. or coaching youth teams, taught by people with little to no training or experience. Being in that position and carrying on is without a doubt, a misrepresentation of abilities and knowledge. This can only beget more climbers with an over inflated assumption of their capabilities.

To be clear, I am not saying that gyms should not hire these ambitious, eager young climbers looking to expand their skills and get a steady paycheck. The biggest error that I have seen in many indoor climbing gyms in this regard is letting these people step beyond their abilities with the roles in which they are taking, and the people they are being left responsible for. The people that come through those doors, the newest climbers especially, carry with them an assumed regard and expectation of abilities for those teaching, orienting, and supervising their time on the wall, and have expectations about what that person is capable of if things go south. Someone there must be capable of and comfortable with handling any of the issues that could come up in a single pitch outdoor scenario. The managers should also be spending their resources to grow the abilities of their less experienced staff, investing in the continued growth of their fledgling employees to get them to that level of competence.

As a community we need to break down this attitude that separates indoor and outdoor climbing, and recognize that many of the hazards are still present, especially given the prevalence of the human element that causes many accidents. Staff needs to understand that the product they create is the climber that goes out to the cliffs and crags, we are responsible and judged for that, by them. Those being trusted with leadership roles are responsible for quality control. This was a point that became clear to me after numerous belay tests from climbers from local walls or larger gyms across state lines. They lacked basic skills in terms of belaying, no understanding of what was actually happening, they were told to pull this rope through the Gri-Gri (they didn’t even have to load themselves), and then how to lower with this device. Now, in the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor course the instructor mentioned several times, as it was in the course book, that Gri-Gri’s were NOT tools for beginners. Yet here was a group that was under the opposite impression, and they were unsure even how to properly attach the rope to their harness, and these same climbers had even sport led outdoors.

This is the inherent failure with a climbing community’s core. It isn’t the unseasoned climbers at fault; they simply never knew anything else. It is up to the staff of a gym to produce a quality product that they are proud of, creating an atmosphere where the people coming to them are comfortable entrusting the staff with their education to this sport, and the instructors need to be aware of the gravity their lessons have on the community. To better ensure that, as a whole we need those who really understand that process to begin to hold facilities accountable, the CWA and such organizations should look into finding ways to police the police, so to speak. It could only help the community to keep misinformation from ending up at the crags by expecting and ensuring a level of competence of instructors, and more so those instructing the instructors. These standards should come from the input of many, looking to those who have put years into establishing safe and well delivered instruction indoors and out. It is also up to the community to begin to take responsibility for finding and demanding qualified instructors for their own education. Know who you’re signing up with, and check their credentials, if the instructor isn’t up to snuff, back out. It’s your safety on the line, take your business elsewhere.

The same can be said for those we trust to be on the other end of our ropes, leave behind those who don’t take advantage of ensuring the quality of their instruction. If the climbing community as a whole can realize we need to fix things at the basic level, and work as one to enact change, who knows how many lives and limbs may be spared from foolish disasters. And who knows how the sport may grow as a whole. It is time to stop expecting things to happen and hoping someone else fixes it, it’s up to every last one of us to prune things properly before the sport grows into something that chokes itself off.