Presentation Slide
References
Ana Puinova. (2014). Chris Sharma Climbing. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/vUOtBCyd-O/.
Presentation Script
Preface
As someone who could never even do the monkey bars growing up, I’ve always been impressed by climbers. To me, their strength was super-human, and their daring in the face of danger, inspirational. So, when my roommate began telling me about her experiences climbing at UNC, I decided to research about the culture of the Ram’s Head Climbing Gym. I assumed that many of the climbers would have a similar look and personality, and that they would be very competitive and skilled. My goal was to understand what makes people interested in climbing, and to see if these motivating factors created a unique gym culture.
Background
According to a 2017 study from the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, climbing programs provide a healthy means for stress relief and improvement of physical fitness on college campuses (Andre et al., 2017, p. 15). Research by Drifter found that climbing is egalitarian, with anyone having the proper equipment being encouraged to participate (Drifter, 2018, para. 23). Additionally, another study showed that climbers are usually goal oriented and stress resistant people (Tukaiev et al., 2020, p. 469). Knowing all of this, I was curious whether these facts would prove themselves true in my observation.
The Ram’s Head climbing gym at UNC is one of two rock walls at the school. A membership is required to use the facility, but they offer free climbing trials before you sign up. The gym also offers climbing classes, and has knowledgeable staff who ensure that it remains a safe environment. (UNC Campus Recreation, 2022, para. 1-3).
Observation/Analysis
Observation 1:
The first time I observed the Ram’s Head climbing gym was during Hurricane Ian, which may have affected who came that day. Everyone I met was friendly, both to me and to their fellow climbers, who I watched playfully banter back and forth between attempts at the walls. They were all persistent, never complaining or giving up, but trying again as soon as they failed. The stereotype of the typical “climber guy” that is shown on my slide was definitely true on this specific day. The majority of the climbers were college-aged white guys with long hair dressed very “outdoorsy.” However, there were also several women and people of color, so it was not a totally homogeneous environment.
Observation 2:
For my next observation, I interviewed my roommate, Sofi Brantley, who is part of the climbing club and uses the Ram’s Head Climbing gym often. Sofi explained that the reason people love climbing is that it lets them overcome challenges and improve themselves. According to her, people also love the community, because everyone is supportive and positive. She also confirmed my observation about the stereotypical climber guy being somewhat true.
Conclusion
Overall, the main things that make people interested in climbing are a desire to challenge themselves and the climbing community itself. This creates a very supportive culture, where climbers are focused on bettering themselves and not on beating anyone else. Considering how often sports are toxic and competitive, climbing offers a model for how to create a more positive environment. This research adds to the data of the benefits of climbing on campus, and might encourage more schools to add such programs.
Explication of Research
Preface
As someone who lacked the courage and skills to even do the monkey bars as a child, climbers have always impressed me. When I would watch them at their sport, their strength seemed super-human, and their daring in the face of danger, inspirational. This interest only grew once my roommate began telling me about her experiences climbing at UNC, which then motivated me to research the culture of climbing. There are two climbing gyms at UNC: the Rams Head Climbing Wall and the Fetzer Climbing Wall (UNC Campus Recreation, 2022, para. 1). Due to its closer proximity to my dorm, and the fact that it was the gym that my roommate went to, I decided to observe Rams Head. Before ever observing the facility, I assumed that many of the climbers would have similar looks and personalities, and that they would be very competitive and skilled individuals. My overall goal was to understand what makes people interested in climbing, and to see if these motivating factors created a unique gym culture.
Background
Climbing is an activity with many benefits, both physical and mental. According to a 2017 study from the Journal of Outdoor Recreation, climbing programs on college campuses are enormously beneficial for students. Climbing not only allows students to improve physical fitness, but it is also an excellent stress reliever, and improves students’ mental health (Andre, Williams, Schwartz, Bullard, 2017, p. 15). According to Christopher Drifter, one of the main reasons for climbing’s growing popularity is its egalitarianism. People of all skill levels are encouraged to participate, and there is very little interpersonal competition (Drifter, 2018, para. 23). After learning all of this information, I was excited to see whether these statements would prove true in my observations.
Observations and Analysis
My first observation took place on the afternoon of September 30th, 2022 in the middle of Hurricane Ian. Unfortunately, due to the weather, the gym was a little less crowded than usual, but there were still a decent number of people there. When I first walked into the room that held the climbing wall, I was quickly greeted by a woman at the front desk, which made me immediately feel welcomed into the space. The time I began observing was shortly before a practice of the climbing club was set to start, so more and more people began coming in over the next several minutes. One of the first things I noticed was how amiable all of the climbers were towards each other. Their lighthearted banter filled the room as they began warming up, talking both about climbing and the other things going on in their lives. Participants did not separate by age or experience when talking, with beginners chatting with seasoned experts. To me, this showed that building a welcoming and supportive community was a very important part of climbing. This was proven when the leader of the club came up to me to see if I needed help climbing, which made me feel very included, despite never having been there before.
Another characteristic of climbers that I noticed during this observation was their persistence. Many of the routes were obviously difficult, and it was not uncommon for the climbers to fail at attempts at the wall fairly frequently. However, during my entire time there, I never heard one complaint. If anyone fell, or was not able to complete a route, they simply dusted themselves off and tried again. This was even more impressive to me considering the great heights they ascended to – it made my stomach turn just watching them. To me, all of this showed that the climbers are very dedicated and brave individuals.
In the popular consciousness, there is definitely a stereotype around climbers, being that they are mostly “hippy white guys.” For my observation, this was somewhat true. Around half of the participants were white college aged males, and, while not necessarily hippies, they did have long hair and wore “outdoorsy” clothing. However, the participants were not totally homogeneous, as here were quite a few women climbing, and there was also a sizable population of people of color. These observations could also have been skewed by the fact that there was a hurricane on the day I observed, meaning that fewer people were likely there overall, so it was not the most representative sample of the usual climbing attendance.
For my second observation, I decided to interview my roommate, Sofi Brantley. Sofi is a member of the climbing club at UNC, and uses the Rams Head Climbing Wall around two or three times a week, so I figured that she would be an excellent person to ask about the gym. I began by asking Sofi about her past experience with climbing. She explained to me that she tried climbing for the first time when she was ten and fell in love with it, but was unable to participate very much due to the lack of climbing locations in her hometown. However, as soon as she found out that she was accepted into UNC, she knew that participating in the climbing opportunities at the university would be one of her top priorities.
Sofi and I then talked about the Rams Head gym itself. She told me that the reason she enjoys going to the club practices instead of going to the wall on her own is because it provides more structure and allows her to improve easier. According to her, one of the best parts of the gym is that they offer climbing classes that are actually very helpful. When we began talking about climber stereotypes, Sofi laughed and said that, at least in her experience, the stereotypes were usually somewhat accurate. However, she explains that even with the mild lack of diversity, everyone at the gym is very inclusive, and does not exclude or compete with anyone.
When we talked about what makes climbing appealing, Sofi became very excited. She explained to me that one of the best parts of climbing is how it allows you to solve challenges in a nonjudgmental environment, which is very satisfying. According to her, every time she climbs, she finds a way to improve, which keeps her motivated and encourages her to climb more. “The only thing I don’t like about [climbing] is that I have to limit how often I climb so I don’t get injured,” she told me with a grin. Additionally, Sofi explained that many people love climbing because of the community it creates. Since everyone is so supportive, it really feels like a place where they can be themselves and forget the stress of college.
Conclusion
Based on all of my observations, I found that people climb mainly because of a desire to improve and challenge themselves, and a love for the community that climbing creates. Climbing most definitely has a specific culture, that being one of openness, friendliness, and support. While my assumption of climbers being competitive was the opposite of the truth, my guess that climbers would be very skilled was somewhat true, as many of the people I observed were obviously talented. My assumption of climbers having similar looks and personalities was also fairly true, as the majority of climbers were white males. One thing that surprised me in my observations was how happy and sociable the climbers were. Just being in the room with everyone having such a good time lifted my spirits, which I did not expect to happen. If I were to conduct more research on this topic, I would spend more time observing the interactions of the climbers in detail, and I would try to interview some of the leaders of the climbing club. Overall, I think this research provides a valuable insight into the culture of climbing, and shows what a positive environment it is, thereby clearly proving the benefits it brings to the UNC campus.
References
Andre, E. K., Williams, N., Schwartz, F., & Bullard, C. (2017). Benefits of campus outdoor recreation programs: A review of the literature. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 9(1), 15-25. https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2017-V9-I1-7491.
Drifter, C. (2018, February 3). The profound art of rock climbing. Medium. https://the-cauldron.com/the-profound-art-of-rock-climbing-explained-a86dc310d996.
Tukaiev, S., Dolgova, O., Tol, V. D., Ruzhenkova, A., & Lysenko, O. (2020). Individual psychological determinants of stress resistance in rock climbers. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 20(1), 469-476. https://doi-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.7752/jpes.2020.sl069.
UNC Campus Recreation. (2022, August 22). Climbing. UNC Campus Rec. https://campusrec.unc.edu/programs/carolinaadventures/climbing/.
Featured Image Source
Salgado, N. (2022). [Image of person on climbing wall]. Chicago Parent. https://www.chicagoparent.com/things-to-do/indoors/rock-climbing-for-kids/.