Gatekeeping in Outdoor Sports
Gatekeeping in outdoor sports refers to the act of controlling or limiting access to certain activities, locations, or equipment based on arbitrary and often discriminatory criteria, such as one's physical appearance, perceived skill level, or membership in a particular group. This can take the form of exclusionary attitudes and behaviors among more experienced or elite members of a community, who may actively discourage or belittle those who are new to an activity, or who do not conform to traditional norms or stereotypes. In the context of outdoor sports, gatekeeping can be harmful, as it can prevent people from accessing the benefits of nature, enjoying the sports they love, and developing a sense of community and belonging.
Understanding the Effects of Gatekeeping
In my experience, gatekeeping tends to start with well-intentioned desires to promote safety most often, however it often quickly gets over taken by tribalism and ego. I have seen gatekeeping practices go so far as to start excluding beginners simply because they don't know the right people and thus never allowing them to experience even a shred of what we love in the outdoors because there are few if any resources to allow them to experience what the highest-level practitioners are gatekeeping.
A buddy of mine recently shared a book about backcountry skiing in the Lake Tahoe Basin. It is a very pretty book, and it looks like they put a lot of work into it. In my opinion guidebooks and information sharing tend to do more good than harm. On the one hand, I don't want to encourage people to get in over their heads because that means potentially broken relationships, bad press for the industry helping to stoke fear rather than joy, and my professional rescuer friends have to put their lives in danger. On the other hand, I feel that gatekeeping is one of the principal things that causes discontent in the outdoors. When folks in the outdoors protect information about locations for recreation it only serves to create a divide between longtime enthusiasts and new participants.
Surfing is probably the most extreme example I have encountered where people will actually fight you for simply showing up on public lands to enjoy a public right of way. Whitewater boating and climbing are also pretty bad when it comes to gatekeeping and it shows in the use numbers of both rafting and surfing that despite the population increase in the US, we are seeing less user days year over year. Climbing is the exception in at least sport/gym climbing since those have exploded in popularity but trad climbing and mountaineering are notoriously bad for ego fueled gatekeeping and we are seeing year over year declines in use in both sports. The basic message seems to be that people don’t want to be treated like crap regardless of how cool the sport looks, it just serves to drive people away.
Outdoor Industry Association Use Trends in 1,000s of user days
In reality, I think that more information is best since the average outdoor participant has little desire to go out to the most remote austere environments anyway. Seeing one or 2 more groups at this spot or that spot isn't that bad since motivated individuals are going to do it anyway and a certain percentage of the population will fit into that category. As population increases, we'll see more people out there as a function of statistical normality. The question to ask yourself is how would you like your peers in the outdoors to see you? Often times we don’t even realize that we are gate keeping when we get so entrenched in the sport of our choosing. So how do we balance helping to promote responsible outdoor skill development in new practitioners and the tendency to slip into tribalism.
How to Address Gatekeeping in the Outdoors
Encourage interest in your sport: Try to create opportunities for newer practitioners to join you. If you’re rafting purposefully set some time aside to take new boaters on an easier river and invite them to practice their skills. If you’re a kayaker host a roll session. If you’re a backcountry skier, invite newer skiers to a training session on an easy hill and work on basic backcountry skills.
Be a pillar of support: Be a mentor by answering questions for beginners, pass on books, provide extra resources like equipment or suggest training for new practitioners to join. You can also create a system for people to reach out to you and ask questions through a club or even just hosting something like a Facebook group for people in your area to help people navigate gatekeeping barriers.
Advocate for others: reach out to people that you see struggling or show potential and help get them involved. Taking someone under your wing to coach and guide them has long been one of the best parts of the outdoor culture. It is also important to be realistic about the persons skills while helping to push them into challenging their skills even if it is with other people.
Be the person you needed when you started: Being a welcoming figure in your local outdoor community can be challenging as it will force you to change the way you interact with the outdoors and your own skills. Seek excellence in what you do so that you can pass those skills on to others. This may require you to be extremely purposeful in practicing your skills even if you are engaged in an activity that seems mundane or simple like paddling an easier river, climbing an easier rock face, or skiing an easier route.
Personally, I suppose I would rather be known as an enabler rather than a gatekeeper since the kids coming up today will one day be the gatekeeper and I'd rather have them talk fondly of the rafting magazine guy showing them the ropes, welcoming them into the sport, and showing them the spot; rather than a nasty ego who kept them out of learning for years. I had a lot of guys poison the well for me when I was younger and I wanted it so bad that I kept at it to hone my craft in spite of negative experiences. By seeking excellence in everything you do and working together with other high level practitioners on behalf others, you can help to create a more open and supportive community for the next generation.
