Climbing Gym Community

I know I am biased in saying this, but Toprock has some of the best members you could ever ask for. They are kind, caring, supportive, positive people. Regardless if you are a new climber or an experienced one, when you enter the gym they are happy to socialize with you and be your friend even if they just met you.

The reason I love climbing is because it has allowed us to create a community like this. We bring like-minded individuals together who can share in the experience of climbing. My wish is that we can continue to grow our community so more people have the opportunity to experience this environment.

My call to action is: Who do you know that might enjoy climbing and appreciate our community?

Growing up, I played every sport possible: hockey, soccer, baseball, etc. But participating in these sports, even though they are team sports, I was never able to build the same kind of friendships that I have built in a climbing gym. It was actually the total opposite — when I played hockey, I got bullied a lot since I was small. I didn’t enjoy being there. There were days I loathed being around the other members of my “team” because they were cruel. They hardly embodied the spirit that comes to mind when you think of “teammates”. I’m surprised I didn’t give up on hockey altogether due to that environment. Movies romanticize team sports, where everyone eventually bands together and becomes best friends — but it just doesn’t happen like that in real life.

Now you may ask yourself, why is climbing so different from other sports? In my opinion it is because climbing is inherently non-competitive. Excluding climbing competitions, when you’re at a gym you are only competing against yourself. I would say people are actually supportive of your climbing, rather than competing with you. Seeing you succeed might give them motivation to push themselves harder, as well as provide them beta in order to finish the climb themselves. This in turn will create an atmosphere where people cheer you on or give you props when you get to the top. Compare this to a regular sport where people are pitted against one another, and it’s a whole new world. Additionally, when you’re playing a team sport, your own teammates will fault you for your mistakes because they are affected by them. In climbing, your performance affects only you - there’s no one else you’re letting down. The vibes in the gym are just consistently more positive because of this.

I have said this to many people: I can go to any city in the world that has a climbing gym, and I have no doubt in my mind that I will be able to find friends there. The reason I say this is because we are all active individuals - we share the common interest of climbing, and the “climbing” conversation is an easy ice breaker to get to know someone. If I have a consistent gym schedule I will probably see the same people over and over, and it will help to foster a relationship with them. I cannot guarantee that you will make friends, though it is far more likely in a climbing gym.

My commitment to our members is to always try my best to grow our community, and to grow the gym. I will try to host as many social gatherings as possible, and special event nights so that everyone can maximize the enjoyment they get out of being part of our gym.

I want to thank all of our members at Toprock Climbing for being there for us. It has been a long road to get to where we are today, but none of it could have been possible without your help. Keep climbing stong, and if you ever need anything don’t hesitate to ask!

Happy Climbing!