Crowding at an indoor climbing centre
Peak Climb Centre, Leeds is becoming increasingly popular as a venue for climbing practice. During the winter training season, (17) ________ sessions provide a number of safe opportunities to use the walls. As a result, the sheer number of visitors has brought an (18) ________ problem, potentially even more dangerous than slippery surfaces and damaged equipment — overcrowded conditions. The fact that there are so many climbers, many of them complete (19) ________, means that at times people are queuing for hours to reach advanced routes. This hazard has led to calls for stricter assessments of new indoor climbers, as in their (20) ________ to reach the highest wall such inexperienced climbers are sometimes ignoring the advice of their qualified instructors, which may (21) ________ everyone's safety. Perhaps one (22) ________ would be to make the fees for using the centre so high that only a few people could afford the sessions. Or (23) ________, one could ban the use of automatic ropes and personal instructors, leaving routes to the very best (24) ________. Extreme, maybe, but it may just prove necessary.