Decoding the Rock: An Outsider's Guide to Bouldering

I was interested in the decoding and encoding of rock climbing, especially as it pertains to the physicality of climbing and the community that surrounds it. Language is a very important aspect, both in a physical vocabulary and a specialized lingo. To understand the climbing community, one must understand the language used. One can only become a member of the community once he or she has mastered both the verbal and baseline technical phrasings. Climbing is tied to what is climbable, so thus centers around specific public and semi-public locations (boulders, climbing gyms), making for a potentially tight-knit community – especially in a dense urban environment with limited climbing opportunity such as New York City. This study was more of the community of climbers than any specific location, though studies were made at Rat Rock in Central Park and Manhattan Plaza Health Club’s climbing gym.