Climbing Date Ideas That Don't Involve Actual Climbing

Let's be honest: sometimes your fingertips are too shredded for another session, or maybe you're trying to impress someone who thinks a V2 is a type of engine. Fear not! Here are some climbing-adjacent date ideas that'll keep your relationship as strong as your crimping game.

Watch a Climbing Competition Together

If watching grown adults chase a ball around a field can be considered quality date entertainment, then watching climbers defy gravity on plastic holds definitely qualifies as a sports date. 

No local competitions near you? YouTube has entered the chat. Fire up a World Cup replay and watch climbers like Sorato Anraku or Oriane Bertone make everyone else look like they're climbing in molasses. Plus, you get to be that couple loudly explaining beta from your couch like you could totally flash that finals boulder (you cannot).

Partner Yoga at Your Climbing Gym

Step out of your comfort zone in, ironically, your safe space. There's something beautifully meta about doing partner yoga poses in the same building where you usually scream at plastic holds. Plus, if you can trust your partner to spot your sketchy dyno, you can probably trust them not to drop you in Warrior III pose. Probably. From beginner classes to advanced acro yoga, we've got you covered.

Plan Your Next Climbing Trip (Even If It's Hypothetical)

Ah, trip planning – where relationships either flourish or combust over arguments about whether you really need seven different guidebooks for one climbing area. Spread those guidebooks across your coffee table and dive deep into the logistics. Where will you stay? (The answer is always "somewhere with a shower, please.") What will you eat? (Ramen and cliff bars, let's be honest.) What will you do on your rest day? (Argue about whether it's actually a rest day if you hike to scout tomorrow's routes.)

Even if your bank account is currently giving more "local crag" than "international expedition," planning imaginary trips is free and infinitely entertaining. Dream big – today Mineral Wells, tomorrow Fontainebleau!

Climbing-Themed Arts and Crafts

Remember that rope that died a noble death protecting your whippers? Time for resurrection! Channel your inner Pinterest influencer and transform that retired dynamic rope into something beautiful. Melt those ends together with a lighter (safely, people!) to create rope bracelets that scream "I'm outdoorsy but also crafty." Feeling ambitious? Weave a rope purse that'll make other climbers simultaneously jealous and confused about your life choices.

Train Together

Nothing says romance like suffering through core workouts together. Whether you're at your local gym making questionable grunting noises or attempting to follow along with YouTube fitness videos in your living room, shared suffering builds character (and abs). Plus, someone needs to count your planks when you inevitably start lying about how long you've been holding them.

Go on a Gear Shopping Spree

In the mood to make some questionable financial decisions? Hit up your local climbing gear shop and splurge on that gear you've been "just browsing" for months. You deserve that new crash pad. That puffy jacket sitting in your online cart since last winter? Buy it. Your bank account might cry, but your climbing kit will thank you.

wATcH FrEe sOLo (Yes, Really)

And of course, there's the classic: watching Free Solo together. Yes, every non-climber has asked if you've seen it. Yes, you've probably watched it seventeen times. But honestly? It's still a phenomenal film, and watching your date's reaction to El Cap's exposure never gets old. Just prepare for the inevitable "would you ever do that?" conversation that follows.

These dates prove that climbing culture extends far beyond the wall. Whether you're planning imaginary adventures or crafting with dead rope, you're building something stronger than any plastic hold relationship – assuming you survive the gear shopping trip, anyway.