Combating ‘Crag Guilt’ (Climbing Inside When You Could Be Climbing Outdoors)

Let me take you back, way back, to when I started climbing regularly in 2002. Lancaster, in the North of England, a student with the University Mountaineering Club. Not the most progressive of social scenes but I would argue, one that captured the zeitgeist of the time.

Our climbing was all focused around outdoors. Outdoor trad, if you want to be specific, but specifically outdoors. There were climbing walls – Kendal Wall and Ingleton being our two ‘local’ walls at the time, plus the “greasy sweat pit” wall at the University leisure centre – but you’d never select one over rock. NEVER. To do so would be to risk being socially shunned.

Fast forward back to the present day and the world, and climbing, are both very different. ASD…

‘Crag Guilt’ Explained

This is not an academic term and while I’m sure I could potentially dig into the psychology of it and find some sort of academic backing, I figured I’d simply stick to a simple ‘I’ve made up a term’ approach on this one. After all, it’s something I’ve personally felt for many years and have merely now named it.

It’s not as if it’s completely out of the blue (no pun intended). For many Brits, there seems to be a cultural expectation that when it’s sunny, we should be outside; even if it’s not what we actually want to do. That’s why you see people sat in a city park on a sunny day… under the shade of a large tree. (There’s a fascinating book called Watching the English by Kate Fox that is well worth a read on this topic).

But back to a climbing context, Crag Guilt refers to:

the feeling you get from climbing inside when you could be climbing outdoors instead

I genuinely think it’s a thing and something that I feel we should be calling out. After all, why shouldn’t we be able to pick an indoor wall if we want to?

Social Pressure

It’s all to do with something called ‘social pressure‘. We’ll all be aware of social pressure, it’s the same thing that drags us out to the nightclub in our 20s when we just want a night in or forms us into orderly queues and while that may sound fickle, “the idea that what other people and social groups might think about YOU is ‘incredibly important’ which can have a direct impact on the way that you feel” (according to Transform Psychology).

As I started, the historical ‘norm’ in climbing was for heavy preference for rock over plastic and I have no doubt that attitude still pervades in certain circles. That said, the norm is becoming less so, with one study reporting that indoor climbers now more than double outdoor climbers in the US (Leung, Petrin and Southern, 2023).

But with many of us still suffering with this historical ‘crag guilt’ on sunny days, let’s see if we can think of some reasons why indoor climbing might actually be more appealing once in a while.

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Why CHOOSE to Climb Indoors?

There are, in fact, many reasons why we may choose to foresake rock in favour of plastic. Here are just some that sprung to mind.

Logistics

On the day this phrase was coined, I was not the only one in the wall. Mostly regulars, our particular version of ‘weather speak’ was to ask “what are you doing here on such a nice day?” (After all, this is North Wales and most climbers aren’t exclusively indoor climbers around here.)

Three of the climbers gave the same answer: we don’t have the time. They could’ve gone outside but it was a simple case of logistics.

One explained it brilliantly. He told me this had minimal walk in, an abundance of options to choose from and a cafe on site. Another said that they only had time for a short session, not long enough to head to the mountains, set up and get a decent session in.

Like it or not, with a few notable exceptions of mostly roadside limestone caves, indoor climbing gives us one thing that outdoors simply can’t: convenience.

Training

Another climbing pair hiding from the sun indoors that day (both of which AMI members) told me they’d chosen to go inside to get their requisite training in. They both had bigger projects and going indoors was better for their physical development.

It is impossible to deny that phsyical training for climbing is not easier when the facility is designed for that very purpose. From Kilter/Moon/Tension boards, to campus and fingerboards right the way to the modern trend of a gym in the wall, getting stronger and fitter are significantly easier to achieve when one reduces the variables.

And while we wouldn’t necessarily want to eschew outdoor climbing entirely in order to train, occasionally one may wish to look at the bigger picture and take a day inside in order to go bigger outdoors later. Think of it as separating ‘training’ from ‘performance’.

Learning

The other thing we can separate from ‘performance’ is ‘practice’. Much like with physical training, honing one’s technique is again much easier in a purpose-built facility.

The learning aspect is particularly significant for me. Other than adding context to a climber’s projects or conducting specific outdoor drills, it is almost always easier for me to coach technique, tactics or make psychologial interventions in an indoor wall than at a crag. As above, there are more options, an abundance of choices and stable conditions that mean that the learning environment is far superior for learning to climb outside by going inside.

Lest we forget, the indoor wall is a replica of outside; even with the advent of competition style climbing. Indoor holds were originally replicas of outdoor holds – including this literal replica of the main hold on Cortomaltese at Bas Cuvier, Fontainebleau – and movement is movement anywhere.

We can practice drills and interventions inside and the climber can recreate them outside at their leisure. Trust me, it works incredibly well.

The Social Scene

For many, the climbing wall/gym isn’t just somewhere to climb but also somewhere to meet like minded people. Granted, if arranged properly, one can achieve much the same at the crag; often an even better experience.

But that requires planning and organisation; something indoor climbing does not. Indoor walls tend to be a visible hub that allows people to congregate in the same place. Again, take North Wales and we have countless crags and two major climbing walls (four at a push).

Yes, you might bump into a friend at the crag. But you will definitely find one in the climbing wall. Even on a sunny day.

Preference

Whisper it quietly around traditionalists but there now exist a tranche of climbers who are dedicated to indoor climbing. They have no interest in going outside or at best, have dabbled occasionally but doesn’t really have the same appeal.

Even for those who do occasionally head outdoors, sometimes there is simply a desire for the simpler option. Sometimes, the idea of going to the brightly coloured holds, the stable conditions and the familiar styles can mean that indoor climbing might simply be the preferable option. And why not?

Granted, this piece isn’t really written with the dedicated indoor climber in mind – after all, they’re not likely to suffer from ‘Crag Guilt’ if they have no desire to go to the crag – but their influence has been such that even the most ardent outdoor climber might sometimes simply prefer the idea of going inside for a change.

The Case for the Defence

It is at this point that I would like to make one thing abundantly clear: I much prefer outdoor climbing!

Please do not mistake me to think that I am advocating for us all to forgo our bouldering pads and start becoming dedicated indoor climbers. Given the choice, chances are I will try and make sure I am outside; especially as it is fairly rare to get a good outdoor day.

So why am I arguing the benefits of indoor climbing? For several reasons.

Firstly, because people should be free to make the choice. My values centre around outdoor bouldering, that is what I choose to want to do. Should somebody hold different values, that does not affect my values, does not diminish them and are not mutually exclusive. Far too much of British climbing’s history has seen some climbers try and force their own personal values onto others. Thankfully this seems to be changing.

The other reason is for those who would prefer to be outside but have made the difficult choice to go inside instead. For them, it is because of the ‘Crag Guilt’. While we do need to be careful not to get too complacent and only ever taking the ‘easy, convenient option’, there is nothing wrong with going inside if the circumstances suggest it would be better.

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Summary

Many outdoor-focused climbers feel social pressure – often then becoming internalised – to take every opportunity possible to climb on rock; even if it is not the best option to pick. Going against this can lead to something I’ve called ‘Crag Guilt’ or that feeling that eats at you for being inside on a sunny day.

Yet there are plenty of reasons why you may wish to choose indoor climbing despite the opportunity to do otherwise.

The key is to consider our broader goals across the season, to resist following convention purely because that is what we think we should do and to select what is best for us on any given day. Do what is best for you, even if that’s made of plastic.

If You Enjoyed That…