Climbing walls are often filled with bright climbing holds, climbers covered in chalk, and music playing in the background. However, they haven’t always been this way. Climbing has its roots in much more thorough and demanding activities than the sport that exists today.
Long before climbing walls became a social night out at the gym, climbing was a serious business. Climbing and obstacle courses were included in military training programmes to prepare soldiers for the physical demands of military life. Climbing walls that existed in these programmes were not the same as modern climbing walls; they were not as welcoming and were not built to entertain people who climbed them. For Climbing Walls, visit https://www.270climbing.com/climbing/
Over time, though, the use of climbing gyms started to take on a more recreational nature. Climbers who spent a lot of time outdoors began to look for ways to continue to climb while they were indoors. So, what started as a way for climbers to maintain their skills during periods when they were unable to climb outdoors began to attract people who had never climbed a mountain in their lives.
What’s remarkable is how much of the original DNA is left over from the training grounds. Despite the changes in the environment surrounding the organism, the qualities required to survive – such as problem-solving skills and focus – are still reminiscent of those qualities developed during its training grounds origins.
Here is a rare example of something created to serve discipline changing into something people do for joy. The wall remained the same. What changed was who came and why.
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