Climbing is growing faster than ever. With new gyms opening across Europe and beyond, more and more people are discovering the joy of bouldering indoors — and naturally, many want to take that passion outdoors. But for new climbers and travellers, one barrier quickly comes up: crash pads.

July could be called turbulent. The summer hustle to refresh ageing gyms was well underway, and reinforces a trend of ‘keeping up with the neighbours’ seen in multiple European cities. We unfortunately saw another wave of gym closures, tempering the joyous highs of the openings.

In the increasingly competitive indoor climbing market, consolidation has come to South West London. The Font, a two-site London gym operator founded in April 2021, has acquired both Hang and Parthian Climbing Wandsworth—two competitors in the area’s surprisingly saturated market. The deal was announced on Friday, July 25th.

The German Route Setting Championship is intended to give routesetters a platform to showcase their skills and prove themselves in a competition for the German Route Setting Championship title.

Germany's best routesetters will compete in a nationwide competition for the first time in October. In three independent qualification rounds, four out of 12 routesetters will qualify for the finals. The top 12 will then compete in the finals for the championship title.

As Malta’s only commercial bouldering gym prepares to close, the country’s climbing community reflects on what it built—and what might come next.

In December 2025, Malta will lose its sole commercial indoor climbing facility. Ġebla Climbing, a small but widely respected bouldering gym founded in 2021, has announced it will cease operations by year’s end.

June offered a wide variety of developments from across the continent, although in a first for us there were no gym entries from Germany!

Consolidation and expansion appear to be a continuing trend, with independent gyms reinvesting in existing sites to remain relevant and competitive.

Last week, just ahead of the IFSC Climbing World Cup bouldering round in Bern, the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) quietly opened the doors to a new national training facility—a purpose-built, athlete-only centre poised to shape the future of Swiss climbing.

Flashpoint Climbing Group has sold its Swindon facilities to local operator Rockstar Climbing, while simultaneously agreeing to acquire The Climbing Academy’s (TCA) two Bristol centres. The twin moves, though opposite in direction, speak to the same trend: consolidation in a maturing and more competitive market.