The air in indoor climbing gyms is also full of polluting fine particles.
This is supported by a very serious study carried out by researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the University of Vienna, the results of which have been published in the newspaper Environmental Science and Technology Air.
It's bad news for fans of this sport, which has been very fashionable in recent years, who are looking for an escape and an ersatz urban adventure.
According to the brands (around thirty were tested), because of their rubber composition, which is close to that of car tyres, the rubbing and therefore the abrasion of the soles of climbing shoes on the walls of climbing walls would release harmful or even toxic substances into the air in these spaces, which may be quite large but are nonetheless confined for climbers.
The dust is said to contain 6PPD, a rubber stabiliser that ends up in the lungs of the 2 million indoor climbers.
This pollution is partly linked to the success of this discipline, as is unfortunately often the case, as is skiwear.
However, climbing gym managers and owners are already working on better ventilation and air renewal, especially at peak times.
Indoor or not, it's up to manufacturers and brands to become more aware of the problem and show a more responsible commitment, or risk being banned by climbers.
In essence, this is the recommendation of Lausanne-based researcher Thibault Masset, who conducted the study and is a practising cyclist himself.
Beyond urban climbing, it is the entire high-performance technical sports sector that needs to question and challenge itself, particularly in terms of the sourcing of materials and the traceability of the components used, and despite the efforts of many brands, the summit is still high...
BackBoneStudio.
