ClimbOut is the UK’s first LGBTQ+ outdoor climbing festival
Participating in outdoor activities can be daunting for everyone, but queer people can find it especially difficult. According to statistics from joint research by Public Health England and National LGBT Partnership, only 42% of LGBTQ+ people meet the level of physical activity required for good health, compared to 59% of people in the general population.
ClimbOut is here to change that. Marketed as combining outdoor climbing with queer joy, the festival will be the first of its kind in the UK. The dedicated group of volunteers were inspired by climbing groups such as the US-based Flash Foxy and the Women’s Bouldering Festival in France to bring their own version to the UK. So far, there are expected to be around 200 attendees. Everyone is welcome; you do not have to be queer to attend. The festival is an inclusive space for everyone to feel comfortable and free to be themselves.
We spoke to founder AJ Guardiola and the volunteers behind the festival to find out more.
Why do you think LGBTQ+ people have felt less supported and able to enjoy outdoor activities?
Visibility is the major factor. Not being able to see people being openly queer in the outdoors doesn’t fill one with confidence to participate. Despite an increase in queer presence and representation in indoor climbing in recent years, outdoor climbing is still lagging. Historically, outdoor activities are associated with macho culture which can be quite intimidating for queer identities.
We are told implicitly and explicitly from school level that sport is a place for grit, aggression and hypermasculinity. Studies find time and time again how normalised homophobic language still is in sporting contexts.
What do you aim to achieve with the festival?
Combining traditional climbing, sport climbing, and bouldering with queer joy outdoors, we want to celebrate LGBTQ+ climbers and create a community centred on the intersection between queer joy and climbing. We want to inspire more queer folk to get into outdoor climbing, providing them with equipment, training, and visible role models, so we can reduce some of the barriers present in accessing outdoor climbing.
Do you think there will be more LGBTQ+ inclusive events and groups such as this in the future?
We really hope so. There are more and more local collectives, clubs and communities springing up and hopefully this event will signal that there is a demand for these dedicated spaces. We are hoping to make this an annual event. Across the outdoors community, these types of events are becoming a lot more frequent and bigger, both in and outside of the UK.
The festival will take place at Thornbridge Outdoor Centre in the Peak District from 19-21 May, and you can take a look at ticket options here.
To read the full story on ClimbOut, check out the next issue of GORP magazine (out March 28).