Introduction

Abstract

Rock and sport climbing is currently evolving from an individual fringe sport into a popular mainstream sport. The worldwide boom of the popular subdiscipline of bouldering (ropeless climbing on low height boulders) is especially contributing to the overall increase in popularity. Indoor climbing centers are becoming more common and are no longer solely training facilities for specialists but have become a meeting place for leisure athletes, “weekend warriors,” and afterwork enthusiasts. The climbing gyms offer activities as children’s birthday parties, amateur competitions, and beginner classes for all age groups. Due to inclusion of climbing as a competition sport into the Tokyo Olympic program and the regular livestreaming of main climbing events such as World Cups, climbing now has a larger audience than ever. This upward trend has been constant over the last decade; there are more than 500.000 active climbers in Germany and more than two million in Europe [1]. Studies from the American Outdoor Industry Foundation report as many as nine million participants in rock climbing in the USA. The number of people who identify themselves mountaineers raise these numbers even higher, although the exact definition of a “mountaineer” can greatly influence the scope of the group [2].