THE BUSINESS OF ROUTE-SETTING

ifteen years ago climbing gyms saw most of their revenue coming from school groups and birthday parties. To the annoyance of many regular climbers this resulted in many gyms ‘following the money’, which meant priority wasn’t given to the ten to 15 socially awkward climbers that dwelled in the dark corners of the gym four nights a week. Setting fresh routes was not a priority. If you were lucky, one of those socially awkward climbers may have spent their Saturday nights shaping wooden holds to put on a 40-degree splatter board but that was likely the extent of ‘fresh routes’ for that week. Gyms also had a more ‘natural’ aesthetic, attempting to recreate an outdoor atmosphere, with concrete walls shaped like rock and holds that impersonated rock texture. Now climbing gyms are far removed from attempts to remake the