Runout #37: Male-Dominated No More

The face of climbing looks very different today than it did 20 years ago. The words “sausage party” come to mind when thinking about how to succinctly capture the typical crag scene of the recent past—only it was less of a party and often more of a sausage-measuring contest that played out through downgrading each other’s projects and boasting about stupid shit like headpointing sport climbs on trad gear.

Fortunately, climbing has changed and you only have to visit any crag in America to see that the sausage plate of yesteryear’s party is but one of the many tasty hors d’oeuvres in the cornucopia of our climbing community buffet.

For as long as I can remember, one of the biggest questions in climbing was just how damn many of us there are. For years, that question was anyone’s best guesstimate until the Outdoor Industry Association began taking serious strides to find out. And what they found in their latest report was pretty incredible.

This is Andrew Bisharat, and I’m here with my co-host Chris Kalous. And today we’re speaking to James Rein from the Outdoor Industry Association, to share their latest, striking report about climbing and our new demographics. Spoiler: climbing is no longer a male-dominated sport.

Yes, there are more climbers—a lot more. And in this conversation, I sort of make a lame, cliche joke about being bothered by this mass influx of people. But the truth is, I think it’s great. The strength and vitality of climbing is a direct reflection of the diversity of people who climb. Climbing actually is one of the most equal-opportunity sports in the outdoor industry. The fact you can go crags all around the country and find men and women climbing together, on the same routes, as equal partners in every sense, is something to be really proud of.

So, brace yourselves, for the latest stats on our sport, from Mr. James Rein.