You know, yaar, I’ve been watching this gym-to-rock conversation from my little balcony here in Shimla, and I think we’re overthinking it. Last month, a kid from a fancy Delhi gym clipped into a bolt at Badami, froze halfway up a 5.10, and I had to talk him through it—turns out he’d never felt real granite under his fingers, only textured plastic. Bohot maza aaya when he finally topped out, but it made me wonder: we spend so much energy arguing about “proper” belay technique or bolt-spacing, but who’s actually checking if the new climber can hold a fall without panicking? That’s the real project, not the gear.