Table 4 Examples of forum comments for the theme "The importance of context"

4a. Trad climbing is different

your typical trad climber has a beard and a beer belly, brings a six pack to the crag and eats roast dinners. forget about sprouts and vitamin water.

Anorexic soy boys in tight jeans, shirts off but beanies and "ironic" moustaches on, kombucha-in-a-jar-sipping, vegan-protein-bar-munching mf's getting their asses whooped by routes that my 10 year old daughter uses for warming up

There are definitely those anorectic guys who climb hard as fuck but if they tried to, say, lift a kettle bell their arms would just snap. Put them on [a glacier route] during the winter and they'll freeze to death.

4b. Weight less important in bouldering

A low body weight has more impact on sport/route climbing than on bouldering. You see that in comp climbing too. Boulder problems usually involve more raw power and getting pumped really isn't that big of an issue.

Could it be that bouldering has become more popular as a discipline in its own right? Climbing used to be all about being light and having maximum finger strength. Nowadays people just power their way up indoor boulder problems and leanness is not so important.

I've been climbing for decades in this country and elsewhere and I've always found bouldering very inclusive. Be it [indoor climbing center] in the 1990s or [another indoor climbing centre] today, boulderers come in all shapes and sizes and seem to get along no matter what……… and just enjoy themselves. In my experience, lead walls tend to be less inclusive. A friend of mine was never really comfortable climbing at one of the local “big “ walls even though he's [an advanced climber], but he could never quite put his finger on why he felt that way. Just something in the air I guess.

4c. Weight cycling to improve performance

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with cutting some weight when a big competition is coming up or when you're trying to climb a route at your limit.

You should train at a healthy maintenance weight so that you feel alright and have enough calories to build muscle, then cut a few kgs just before you really want to perform well.

During off-season, I eat chocolate and cheese and whatever and when spring is coming up I just quit. This allows me to train with weight during the winter and then lose it when sport climbing season approaches.

4d. Pressure on young climbers

I find it really disturbing whenever I see parents or coaches who encourage kids to drop weight with the purpose of becoming a better climber. They truly ought to know better. It's so important to create a sound training environment and a healthy outlook on food and diet for young athletes. As adults it is our responsibility to promote this.

We shouldn't overemphasize winning in youth athletics. When I ended up on the podium in a climbing comp, I immediately felt more appreciated by my team mates and I received more attention from the coaches. Now as an adult I notice this all the time. We're told that winning is what really matters, we're ready to sacrifice in order to keep on winning and to remain relevant. Unfortunately, this may also include compromising our health and putting our bodies at risk.

Risk assessment and risk minimization is a natural part of climbing, so it seems reasonable to extend that awareness to other areas of our sport besides actually ascending a wall. For me, it is obvious that we should not take cultural influences on body ideals lightly, especially if we see that common approaches to coaching may in fact push kids into eating disorder territory. I have mixed feelings about children in competitive athletics in general, but I do know for certain that we as adults and coaches must protect kids from trauma. It is great to teach kids how to take a fall and try again—dedication and grit will undoubtedly be useful in all areas of life. However, it is not so great to encourage an all or nothing attitude in young climbers.

4e. Remembering reasons for climbing

I agree that climbing outdoors in a fabulous setting with friendly people is, as far as I have experienced, at its core profoundly therapeutic and soothing for body and soul.

Considering the strong focus on beautiful bodies in climbing media, as well as the transformation of climbing culture from experience-based to performance-based, it is hardly surprising if climbers suffer from body image issues and disordered eating.

Just enjoy being on the wall. They say the number one climber is the person having the most fun!