Climbing Walls Emerge as Unexpected Hubs for Romantic Connections

Megumi and Gordon McKillop’s initial encounter did not occur via a dating application, professional setting, or through a shared acquaintance. Instead, their meeting took place at their local bouldering facility while Megumi was tackling a challenging climbing path and, by her own account, was “falling off the wall.” Gordon, an experienced climber of over 10 years, offered Megumi some guidance. Later that day, when Megumi, who was relatively new to the sport, sustained a cut on her hand from the wall, Gordon promptly provided an antiseptic wipe. That evening, Gordon, aged 42, sought out Megumi, 33, on Facebook to verify the spelling of her name, inadvertently sending her a friend request. This event transpired in November 2021, soon after Megumi had moved from Canada to Scotland. Within ten months, they cohabited. In February 2024, the couple exchanged vows, with their wedding celebrations notably featuring climbing. Their wedding reception was held as a picnic at Dumbarton Rock, a well-known climbing location in western Scotland; their photographer was a climbing friend of Gordon’s; and they spent their honeymoon in Kalymnos, a renowned rock climbing spot in Greece. Currently, they continue to climb at the Newsroom in Glasgow, the specific climbing wall where their paths first crossed. They have also formed friendships with several other pairs who similarly connected through bouldering. The avenues through which individuals discover romantic partners are continuously evolving. Dating applications, a prevalent method for encountering a partner, have experienced a notable decline in user figures this year, according to the communications regulator Ofcom. However, other more conventional routes to romance, such as meeting colleagues at work or during social outings, have also undergone considerable recent upheaval. Evolving perspectives on remote work are widely perceived as beneficial for work/life equilibrium, yet reduced interaction with colleagues can also diminish chances for new social connections. This autumn, ONS data indicated that over 10% of Britons were working remotely and more than a quarter adopted hybrid work models (combining home and office work), figures substantially surpassing those from before the pandemic. Concurrently, NHS statistics reveal a slight decrease in average weekly alcohol consumption in the ten years leading up to 2022, and the Night Time Industries Association cautions that UK nightclubs are shutting down swiftly. If dating applications, workplaces, and nightlife venues are progressively becoming less central to individuals’ social interactions, what alternatives are emerging? According to managers of climbing centres throughout the UK, their establishments are unexpectedly becoming locations where people encounter prospective romantic partners. Sarah Moran, who manages Climbing Works in Sheffield, shared that she has gone on dates with individuals she met through climbing. She stated, “They’ve come up to me and we’ve chatted a little bit, maybe climbed a little bit together, and at the end we exchanged numbers.” These managers attribute the sport’s surge in popularity since the pandemic primarily to its inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, alongside British rock climber Toby Roberts’ victory at the Paris 2024 Games. The British Mountaineering Council reports that approximately 400,000 individuals climb at least twice monthly. The UK currently hosts over 400 climbing gyms. Climbers describe the activity as a “hyper-social” sport due to the continuous close interaction with other participants. Gill Peet, manager of Onyx, a climbing wall in Blackburn, compares climbing centres to a “grown-up youth club.” She explains that climbers are “almost forced” to socialise during the intervals spent on mats between ascents, as they recover, strategise their subsequent path, or seek guidance. This social interaction frequently extends beyond the workout session, with climbers often sharing coffee or pizza, as many climbing centres feature their own cafes. Rose Henderson remarked, “I do more talking at the climbing wall than I do climbing.” Rose encountered her partner, Mark Garbe, in 2015 at a climbing group arranged via the social networking application Meetup. The couple, both 33, rapidly connected and now reside together in Ayrshire. Mark stated that their social life is “based entirely around climbing.” They have taken group vacations to Fontainebleau, a prominent climbing location in France, and have cycled the Hebridean Way with their climbing companions. Their holiday choices are influenced by the proximity of climbing centres, and they watch climbing world cups together. Numerous climbing centres organise social gatherings, such as women’s and LBGT nights, enabling climbers of varying skill levels to interact. Kaloyan Galev, 21, met his partner Samuel Prentice, 22, at a student climbing event in early 2020. Kaloyan has competed in multiple sports but noted that climbing is the sole activity he is aware of that hosts dedicated “LGBT nights.” He described climbing walls as “very accepting.” Millions of Britons engage with dating applications; a recent Ofcom report indicates that approximately 10% of UK internet-using adults, totaling 4.9 million individuals, utilised online dating services in May. However, following a surge in popularity after Tinder’s launch in 2014, user figures are currently declining. Ofcom’s report reveals that the four leading dating applications in the UK—Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr—all registered a decrease in UK users between May 2023 and May 2024. The count of UK adults using Tinder decreased by 23%, while Bumble saw a 26% reduction in users. Hinge, which caters to the youngest demographic among major dating apps, recorded a 9% decline in its user base. Mariko Visserman, a psychology lecturer at the University of Sussex specialising in romantic relationships, suggests that “choice overload” contributes to some individuals’ fatigue with online dating. She adds that this phenomenon, coupled with certain users’ “very high expectations and standards,” frequently results in disillusionment. Prior to meeting Kaloyan at a climbing gathering, Samuel had experimented with dating applications. He commented, “I find it just hard to get something going with a stranger just through an online profile.” He further described it as feeling “Almost feels like squeezing water from a stone sometimes.” In contrast, climbing offers “such a low pressure place to meet,” according to Gill. She elaborated, “You’re not specifically there to find someone, you’re just there to climb.” Furthermore, when climbing alongside someone, one can “quickly learn a lot about someone,” stated James Lister, marketing manager at Depot Climbing, a network of climbing walls. He noted that observers can gauge how individuals respond when encountering frustration on a route, celebrating an accomplishment, or interacting within a group. He characterised it as a process involving considerable “red or green flag ticking.” Kellie Burston, 35, a planning and permitting manager, expressed, “I’d find it hard to be with someone who didn’t climb.” She recounted telling friends, “I couldn’t date someone who wasn’t a climber.” Despite populating her dating profiles with images of her climbing and engaging in outdoor pursuits, hoping to attract a partner with shared interests, she had not found success. Kellie encountered her partner, Jack Toon, 32, an HGV driver, at Depot Climbing in Sheffield. Both were enthusiastic about the sport, and as Jack stated, “we just kept seeing each other.” Subsequently, Kellie and Jack initiated a conversation on Instagram. Their inaugural date involved climbing together, which Kellie described as a “cheap date” given that both possessed memberships. Kellie mentioned that she had always wished to meet someone in this manner, but had considered it a “pipe dream.” The couple has now been together for four years and plans to marry in Las Vegas next year. They typically climb together approximately four times weekly and reside merely a 15-minute drive from the climbing wall where they first met. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.