Recently debuting in the Olympics for the first time, indoor climbing is often perceived as a physical, demanding sport; while that is true, there is much art and design that goes on behind the scenes. In the sport, competitors climb a series of holds that professional route-setters have designed ahead of time, and in the competitive circuit, the routes conjured must balance a variety of factors. On a technical level, setters must strive to balance risk, intensity, and complexity in movement while forcing athletes to perform the intended move. Moreover, in addition to functionality, route setters must also create a route that looks like an aesthetic line, creating a route that both looks beautiful and climbs beautifully (take the example below – one of the boulder problems in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics). To setters, their process for designing routes is a creative endeavor, perhaps one of the most artistic jobs in sports.
For more information, read this blog post or listen to this podcast by Alex Honnold, star of the Oscar-winning film Free Solo!
