The diary of Charlie Holmes

If you’re a member of indoor climbing’s largest demographic – white males aged between 18 and 35 (although gender parity and racial diversity is on the rise) – it’s likely that you or someone you know has recently taken up the sport.

Analysts say its popularity is thanks to our obsession with Instagrammable experiences and self-improvement. There’s been a lot to inspire prospective climbers, too, from its upcoming Olympic debut in Tokyo to hit films on Netflix.

In 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson made history when they completed the first free-climb (that’s with ropes, though not assisted by them) of El Capitan’s Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park – perhaps the hardest climb in the world. Two years later, Alex Honnold succeeded in a hair-raising rope-free climb up a different route on the same rock face. Both were made into films, The Dawn Wall and Free Solo, released in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Climbing has even turned into a full-on lifestyle choice: these days you can find climbing walls at gyms, cafes and co-working spaces. It’s less an alternative to outdoor climbing than it is to a traditional gym workout – climbing indoors is far more social than jogging away on a treadmill. Indoor climbing gyms are full of friends figuring out how to solve a route together. In many cities, you could now – quite literally – live, work and play at indoor climbing gyms.

Allez. Regular climbers will know this: your hands get destroyed. There are a number of specialist skincare brands to cater for dry, cracked and rock-worn skin. One recent addition is Allez, founded by a climber with a decade’s experience in the skincare industry. Products include the Recover hand salve, infused with CBD, ginger root, willow bark and arnica – and free from sulfates, parabens and other nasties.

Orumm. Bringing Seoul street-chic to the climbing wall, Orumm – which means ‘climbing’ in Korean – is a lifestyle brand that’s riding off the country’s bouldering boom. Its colorful range spans comfy trousers, bright bucket hats and stylish, upcycled chalk bags.

ÉCH. Stylish bouldering apparel with innovation in mind, ÈCH was founded in 2019 by a climber who wanted to solve the problem of scrabbling around for your chalk bag midway up a rock. The result is a range of climbing leggings and shorts that feature a built-in chalk pocket you can pat to dry your hands.

This article was first published in Courier issue 42, August/September 2021. To purchase the issue or become a subscriber, head to our webshop.

If you’re a member of indoor climbing’s largest demographic – white males aged between 18 and 35 (although gender parity and racial diversity is on the rise) – it’s likely that you or someone you know has recently taken up the sport.

Analysts say its popularity is thanks to our obsession with Instagrammable experiences and self-improvement. There’s been a lot to inspire prospective climbers, too, from its upcoming Olympic debut in Tokyo to hit films on Netflix.

In 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson made history when they completed the first free-climb (that’s with ropes, though not assisted by them) of El Capitan’s Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park – perhaps the hardest climb in the world. Two years later, Alex Honnold succeeded in a hair-raising rope-free climb up a different route on the same rock face. Both were made into films, The Dawn Wall and Free Solo, released in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Climbing has even turned into a full-on lifestyle choice: these days you can find climbing walls at gyms, cafes and co-working spaces. It’s less an alternative to outdoor climbing than it is to a traditional gym workout – climbing indoors is far more social than jogging away on a treadmill. Indoor climbing gyms are full of friends figuring out how to solve a route together. In many cities, you could now – quite literally – live, work and play at indoor climbing gyms.

Allez. Regular climbers will know this: your hands get destroyed. There are a number of specialist skincare brands to cater for dry, cracked and rock-worn skin. One recent addition is Allez, founded by a climber with a decade’s experience in the skincare industry. Products include the Recover hand salve, infused with CBD, ginger root, willow bark and arnica – and free from sulfates, parabens and other nasties.

Orumm. Bringing Seoul street-chic to the climbing wall, Orumm – which means ‘climbing’ in Korean – is a lifestyle brand that’s riding off the country’s bouldering boom. Its colorful range spans comfy trousers, bright bucket hats and stylish, upcycled chalk bags.

ÉCH. Stylish bouldering apparel with innovation in mind, ÈCH was founded in 2019 by a climber who wanted to solve the problem of scrabbling around for your chalk bag midway up a rock. The result is a range of climbing leggings and shorts that feature a built-in chalk pocket you can pat to dry your hands.

This article was first published in Courier issue 42, August/September 2021. To purchase the issue or become a subscriber, head to our webshop.