Passionate about pushing the limits – indoors or out

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Sport climbing

Even with the Swiss Alps in their backyard, many young climbers in Switzerland now see what they do as a mostly indoors, urban sport. One of the best Swiss sport climbers, Sascha Lehmann, is an example. 

Climbing in all its varied forms – including bouldering, rock and ice climbing, and fast-and-light alpinism – is more popular than ever, in Switzerland, much of Europe and the United States, and many other places with rich mountaineering histories. But in recent years the tendency among youth to learn the sport and to train at indoor rock gyms is helping fuel the rise of sport climbing, which is poised to hit the Olympic big-time.