Alberta has always drawn outdoor enthusiasts looking to surmount its peaks and boulders. But the energy found within the transcendent outdoors can also be found within certain indoor environments, which are meant to be equally as challenging and motivating, says Jason Day, manager at Vertically Inclined Rock Gym.
The struggle to be recognized for its own, unique merits, both as a sport and a recreational activity, is as old as indoor rock-climbing itself. But, since the gym first opened in 1996, now there are fewer misconceptions about what indoor rock-climbing is all about.
“When we first started, there was a wall at the university, mostly for students,” says Jason. “And so, not many people had been exposed to [indoor rock-climbing], so they came in thinking of all the places they had learned of climbing – which are not the best – movies like Vertical Limit or Cliffhanger. And, if you ever hear about climbing in the news, it’s always when something has happened to somebody.”
