How Climbing’s Culture of Blind Trust Led to Sexual Abuse

One of the defining elements of climbing culture is the immediate bond of trust that climbers afford one another upon meeting. Innate trust and everything that comes with it—camaraderie, kindness, and respect—is what sets climbing apart from other sports and creates the climbing community we so love.

However, the downside to this blind trust is the potential for sexual abuse and violence to thrive. If we turn a blind eye to this increasingly prevalent issue in our rapidly growing sport, we risk losing all the unique parts that make our community, culture, and sport great.

Had proper boundaries, reporting, and education been standard and habitual when I was a child, former USA youth climbing​​ team coach Alexander Fritz wouldn’t have had the opportunity to abuse me. His grooming process would have been ineffective, and the continuation of his abuse against other victims would have been nearly impossible. Instead, over six years, he subjected three victims to emotional and physical abuse that reached across various state lines and international borders. Had it not been for his arrest and incarceration, he would still be abusing young climbers today.

Fritz was sentenced to five years in state prison on October 6, 2022, after pleading guilty to four counts of the rape of a child. In no way do the four crimes he was charged with fully reflect the true extent and depth of his abuse.

Accounting for time served before sentencing and “good behavior,” Fritz could be released as early as 2025.

Separate from the criminal charges, Fritz has been added to SafeSport’s disciplinary database, where he is listed as one of the six USA Climbing members who have been sanctioned for unconscionable transgressions against SafeSports policies. Those six climbers represent countless acts of emotional and physical abuse—childhoods ruined, families forever changed—all perpetuated against climbers, by climbers, through climbing.

Due to the conditions of Fritz’s community custody (formerly known as parole), upon his release, he will face restrictions from coaching, mentoring, or working in settings that involve regular contact with minors. Additionally, he will be barred from areas where children’s activities are prevalent, effectively limiting his access to climbing gyms. However, once his five years of community custody are complete, there may be no legal impediment to him returning to climbing gyms. While SafeSport has declared Fritz ineligible to participate in any aspect of sports under the jurisdiction of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, this prohibition only extends to USA Climbing-sanctioned events (programs, practices, competitions, etc.). Climbing gyms, as separate entities, fall outside this jurisdiction. Although he won’t be allowed to coach a team, neither SafeSport nor law enforcement can prevent him from climbing alongside children during practice or offering private lessons. Furthermore, his community custody and SafeSport sanctions do not restrict his ability to climb outdoors.

While six listed abusers may appear minuscule compared to mainstream sports (such as the 284 listed for USA Gymnastics or the 374 listed for USA Soccer), climbing is still a relatively small sport. With the introduction of climbing to the Olympics, the sport will only continue gaining popularity, bringing on more gyms, coaches, and teams across the US. Many mainstream sports have had landmark cases of pedophilia and sexual assault, which significantly increased awareness and preventative efforts in the aftermath—the most well-known being gymnastics coach Larry Nassar’s case, which was an impetus for the creation of SafeSport. Although Fritz’s actions are thankfully not as far-reaching as that case, I believe this needs to be the turning point of climbing.

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