[glasss]

Related, the Adaptive Climbing Group does great work: https://www.adaptiveclimbinggroup.org/

Every Wednesday at my local gym I have the pleasure of seeing people who normally use a cane or wheelchair to get into the building climb better than me.

[urxvtcd]

How does that work? Do they climb on routes specifically prepared for them? I'm a (bad) climber and it's a pretty intense whole-body workout.

[glasss]

Yes, there some specific routes set in the gym intended for the ACG group where legs / feet aren't necessary. They'll also set similar routes nearby each other, and another volunteer from the group will climb alongside and help the other climber as needed. But a lot of routes are accidentally set in a way that works for wheelchair users as well. Especially if they are allowed to cheat a little bit and grab a nearby hold from another route when needed.

Related to the article, people with impaired vision may have a volunteer use that person's cane to point out where the next hold is, or they just need to be led to the wall to start and they can handle it from there.

For people with a bit more mobility issues they also have an ascender seat / chair (not sure what the proper name is). You sit down, get strapped in, and pull a handle down from overhead repeatedly to "climb". It's not climbing a wall with holds, but you get the same workout and still end up 60 ft in the air.

[smolder]

They can't do all the same climbing routes, but keep in mind that having your strength concentrated in 2 or 3 limbs instead of 4 doesn't necessarily mean you have a worse power-to-weight ratio. An athletic wheelchair user will have incredibly strong arms IME.