Growth of bouldering locally

Recently it seems like bouldering gyms are popping up everywhere, and fast. Just in the past year 1 gym has opened and one more has been announced to be opened soon. This may sound normal for a fitness gym but not for a climbing gym. Previously the last bouldering gyms that opened in the twin cities and metro area was the Minneapolis Bouldering Project in 2017, and Twin cities Bouldering in 2018.

Many people have theorized why bouldering has been growing so fast, here are some of the leading theories.

Accessibility 

If you participate in normal rock climbing, even if you love it, you know the hassle of the carabiners, ropes, helmets and much more little trinkets and gadgets you need. You would also even need another person to belay the rope for you. What makes bouldering so accessible is that none of that is necessary. Here’s a list of what you’ll need. You, climbing shoes. And that’s it. That’s what makes it so easy. Also when you rock climb on big walls outdoors there’s usually only that one route or a couple more in the surrounding area. With indoor bouldering there’s a variety of climbing routes within reach all with every grade you can think of.

Social aspect

There’s always been a stereotype that climbers are very chill or relaxed maybe. But something that most people don’t realize is how friendly and helpful  most climbers are. This more applies to indoor gyms but when you go to climb there will almost always be a bunch of other people there. Which is actually great because if your trying to climb a route but can’t quite figure out a move, you can ask someone for help and from experience, they will almost never say no. Climbers are almost always open to help any way they can and because people are so open in these gyms it makes it much easier to make friends.

There are many other reasons for the sudden growth of bouldering in Minnesota but these are the most important to keep in mind. Bouldering is a very accessible and easy to make friend sport that could be a great option for anyone wanting to get into a physical activity.

Bouldering in 2025

With bouldering growing every year more and more it’s harder to not know about the sport. With the world cups getting more and more viewership it’s clear that the sport is gaining popularity. Fast.

Professional comps

1. According to the ifsc world cups, the viewership of their world cups has grown exponentially since the last World Cup and is steadily increasing every year.

   

2. Even local competitions around the world are gaining traction. With more and more YouTube videos releasing recently.

Olympic Games 

1. With bouldering now the Olympic, not only is the sport recognized more locally and nationally. But even more importantly it’s gaining more recognition internationally.
2. With this last Olympics, bouldering reached an all time high in viewership with record breaking engagement during the climbing section.

YouTube presence

1. YouTube being as big as it is makes it an awesome resource to document and get eyes on any sport or activity.  There are now several YouTube channels with well over 200k subscribers that are climbing focused.
2. The most popular creator is Magnus Midtbø who has well over a million subscribers and has collaborated with big time celebrities who have never even climbed.

Outdoors

1. With the hardest boulders being outdoors many of the climbing greats climb mostly outside.
2. Not only is gym climbing gaining popularity, so is outdoor bouldering. It may not be gaining as much attention as indoors it’s still growing as current climbers are learning more about the sport they learn more about outdoor climbing as well as some of the best climbers who do it.

Because of all of these factors, many eyes are now on the sport as it slowly gains momentum into hopefully becoming more mainstream in the coming years. Although it will take some time to get bigger and bigger and probably won’t rival sports like Basketball, Baseball, and soccer any time soon it maybe will get there in the future.

History of bouldering and what the future holds

Bouldering is a very old sport with roots that lie deep in the world. It originated as something mountaineers could do to train for their huge ascents in the 19th century.  Like I mentioned, early pioneers like Oscar Eckenstein and Pierre Allain used bouldering to really help train for larger ascents. Over time, the activity/sport gained its own identity, particularly in Fontainebleau, France, Where climbers explored the area to discover more boulders. As time progressed into the 20th century so did bouldering with it then really being recognized as more than just a tool to help you train for longer routes. It really progressed as what it is today which is not just something to help you train for another thing but becoming something unique that many people see as the best and most pure form of climbing.

Bouldering is much easier to get into than other forms of climbing as there are no ropes, harnesses, carabiners, or other people necessary to participate in the sport.

All that one needs is climbing shoes, a crash pad (if you’re outside) and climbing chalk. And that’s literally it. Because the sport is so simple to engage in, this sport has drawn in many beginners who would otherwise be too scared or nervous to try traditional rock climbing. Part of it is also because bouldering does not go nearly as high as other types of rock climbing. For example one of the tallest mountains that was rock climbed is 4,000 ft tall. Quite crazy.

Bouldering being first introduced in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics marked a special day for the sport. This is because for the first time bouldering was displayed on the biggest sporting stage in the world. And hopefully because of this it inspired many new people to try out bouldering, or just in general brought more traction and eyes to the sport which can hopefully help gain popularity for it. What makes bouldering competitions so interesting is that these boulder problems are so tough to figure and just in general physically hard, so it makes it that Olympic viewers were really able to see the sports best tackle some of the hardest problems the route setters have to offer.

Bouldering’s growth is deep within its culture. Which is a deep respect for nature and a very creative approach. The sport is very pure as their are no ropes. It’s just you and the rock. Although I think the growth of the sport is awesome there still are some negative aspects just like anything else. With the outdoor bouldering spots gaining more popularity that means that Increased foot traffic at outdoor bouldering sites can lead to soil erosion, damage to vegetation, and chalk build up on rocks. As well as trash and other items being left at these spots. But still I believe that the positives greatly outweigh the negative, although I may be biased.

There is no sign that bouldering is slowing down In popularity. With advancements in climbing technology, gear, and gyms it continues to make the sport more accessible and enjoyable for everyone who wants to give it a try. Meanwhile the outdoor bouldering scene is still thriving especially with so much climbing content being made about outdoor specific bouldering. Bouldering overall will most likely stand the test of time because of its accessibility, whether indoors or outdoors as the mountains will be there for centuries. As well as because of the physical challenge and puzzle solving challenge that really challenges your mental. Which I think is something very important for humans, to be specific, something that not only challenges your body but also your brain as that is, just in general, something that is great for you