Just a few thoughts

After a few lighter weeks there’s plenty happening below today. Insights and tips for owners and managers. Stories from non-traditional gyms. Commentaries on data, gender, and Honnold. Preserving crags and boulders. Olympics qualification. Activism. New holds.

Community & Culture

• Podcast: Rachel Carr, Team GB Coach (That’s Not Real Climbing)
• Alex Honnold on Netflix: “It’s not climbing, it’s a circus.” (Matthew Amaré, Vertige Media)
• Can 3D printing preserve a potentially eroding V17 boulder? Or a stolen beloved mini-problem? (Steven Chua, Gripped)
• The Middle Man (Taylor Mckenzie Gerlach, Access Fund)

Activism in Climbing

• Climbing Businesses Show Solidarity With Immigrants and Protesters (CBJ)
• Climbing Companies Halt Operations for National Shutdown Against ICE (Maya Silver, Climbing-dot-com)
• In the United States, the difficult positioning of escalation in relation to government violence (Martin Baudry, Grimper)
• Municipal elections 2026 and antifascism – the FSGT comes out of the woodwork (Pierre-Gaël Pasquiou, Vertige Media)

Comp Scene

• Feb 21-22: Ice Climbing World Cup & Festival in Colorado (Climbing Collective)
• Records Fall as New Champions Rise at the 2025–2026 Speed National Championships (Christiane Marceau, CEC)
• Qualification System for LA28 Released (World Climbing / IFSC)
• Frankenjura – World Cup feeling in Europe’s largest bouldering hall (Lacrux)
• Aleksandra Miroslaw to Retire At The End Of The 2026 Season (World Climbing / IFSC)

Gym & Industry Stories

• Video: Building a Sustainable Climbing Business – The Story Behind Clip ’n Climb & Quay Climbing (EP Climbing)
• Climbing together – the world’s first fully co-managed climbing gym (Matthew Amaré, Vertige Media)
• Sports disengagement – climbing is losing its teenage girls (Matthew Amaré, Vertige Media)
• Climbing Observatory – Figures and Illusions (Pierre-Gaël Pasquiou, Vertige Media)

For Managers & Owners

• Tips for a Successful Climbing Gym in 2026 (Gavin Heverly, Rise Above Consulting)
• How to Actually Write a WAH Plan (Foxman McCarthy-James, CWA)
• Advocating for Routesetting Budgets (Ashley Routson, CWA)
• How Wall Layout Shapes Culture (Elevate Climbing Walls)
• Video: Budgeting for Flooring, Holds and Equipment with special guest Mike Palmer (Maverick Climbing)

For Routesetters

• New Climbing Holds and Volumes: February 2026 (CBJ)
• Routesetting Demographic Survey (Vortex Routesetting)
• Video: Breakdown of complex extended dynamic sequence (Impact Route Setting)

Training Tips

• Podcast: Dr. Tyler Nelson – Stronger Wrists, Stronger Climbing (The Struggle)
• Podcast: A Kind Approach to Overcoming Fear of Falling (Emma McAdam, TrainingBeta)
• Podcast: Board Talk #8 (The Testpiece)

Many of the links above are from third-party sources, and the views expressed at those links do not necessarily represent the views of the CBJ editorial team. We share this content to help readers stay informed about what is happening in the industry and the community of climbing.