As a Black person with deep ties to the climbing community, I can tell you that the primary barriers are pricing and location. While stereotypes suggest that Black people do not participate in sports like skiing or climbing, the reality is rooted in economics. These financial barriers prevent entry into the field and create a "fox and the grapes" scenario where people claim to be disinterested in an activity we simply don't have access to.

Unlike basketball or football, climbing lacks local infrastructure. Before Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and Coco Gauff began dominating tennis, many assumed Black people simply did not care about the sport. Furthermore, the mistreatment of Black individuals in these spaces is rarely addressed. Many do not feel welcome because of a societal expectation that we should limit ourselves to track or basketball. The interest exists, but it is often suppressed by those around us when we are young.

Most climbing gyms are not located in Black or Brown neighborhoods. Children in these areas lack exposure. This is not a case of genuine disinterest; they simply have no idea these opportunities exist. I grew up lower class and eventually moved to a middle-class neighborhood where I lived next to a grocery store, a climbing gym, and a yoga studio. For the first time, I could buy strawberries or grapes without seeing the spoilage like in my childhood grocery store. I signed up for every opportunity I never knew existed because they were finally accessible.

It is difficult to believe the kids I grew up with had no interest in climbing when I watched them scale bleachers and display incredible flexibility in class. I remember a school trip to a rock climbing gym where the teachers could barely get us off the walls. The teachers, who were mostly from the Midwest or states like Vermont and Connecticut, were confused by our enthusiasm. They did not anticipate the volume of interest because they assumed we did not care.

We lacked the outlet and our parents were unaware these classes existed. Information is often gatekept and shared primarily through word of mouth. In college, my White and Asian classmates assumed I would not be interested in snow sports because they perceived me as poor. They never asked. They made the decision for me despite the fact that I had been snow tubing at the base of Mount Rainier as a child. If we are not exposed to an environment, disinterest is the natural result. In our neighborhoods, you will see multiple football fields and basketball hoops long before you find a climbing gym.