It seems to me that the climbing world has been fraught with controversy lately, and that this trend of questioning, debating, calling out and general upheaval won’t be going away anytime soon. Countless blogs and forums about the issues of grading, access, pushing limits and more have been published recently, sparking debate and rapid-fire opinion making in the comment threads. I figured since I haven’t been on any climbing trips to talk about, that I would weigh in on some of these issues myself.
First, let’s talk about access. Recently the main issues of access that have flared up have been surrounding the Red River Gorge, where the Roadside crag was closed, and Endovalley, a “new” bouldering spot in Colorado. Roadside was on private land, and the owners voiced concerns about permadraws, overcrowding, and unauthorized development, which led to the closing of the crag until further notice (read more on
Climbing Narc) This issue is not limited to the Roadside crag, nor to the RRG, but is becoming a frequent scene at crags across America. More people are climbing. Nature is fragile. Some people don’t respect ethics. This is not a simple issue. It is a growing problem that is intertwined with many other things. Before we talk about those things, however, I will mention Endovalley. This is an area in RMNP that was rediscovered recently by big names in climbing (read more on
B3 Bouldering). The rediscovery brought the area instant publicity on the web, as well as drawing large crowds to check it out. This caused friction with locals who were worried about the inundation of people to the fragile area, large crews coming with photographers and videographers, and the loss of their quiet time at this bouldering area. This brings up another slew of issues, including the role of media in climbing, which I’ll get to later.
Ok, so we have access issues. A key factor playing into those issues is overcrowding. Think about it. Imagine the very first time you visited your favorite crag, and think about it now. Even over the past five or six years that I have been climbing, I have noted a drastic increase in the number of people present at crags and bouldering areas. Climbing is gaining popularity, this is certainly true. What we need to figure out though, is whether or not this is a good thing. When you look at many climbing organizations, their mission has to do with popularizing climbing. USA Climbing’s mission is “to ensure the success and growth of the sport of climbing.” The IFSC is working to make climbing an Olympic sport. The Unified Bouldering Championship’s (UBC) mission: “To grow the sport of climbing.” Everywhere you look, people seem to think climbing needs growth. But how do we measure that growth? Have these organizations taken note of the explosive growth of the sport in the past years? Is it necessary to cap this growth? Obviously, if people want to climb, they’re going to climb. There is no way to say, “oops, looks like we’ve reached maximum capacity of climbers in the world, you’re going to have to find a new hobby,” but maybe we don’t need to popularize the sport for the sake of popularizing it.
Obviously, there have to be reasons why people believe that climbing needs expansion. First, there is the Olympics. For climbing to make it into the Olympics (whether or not this is a good thing), it needs to be popular not only among athletes, but also among viewers. Second, there is the push for professionalism. Climbers work just as hard as any other athlete, and there is the belief that climbers should be able to make a living from climbing in the same way that other professional athletes do. The recently formed Professional Climbers International (PCI), is pushing in that direction, and seeks to “increase the value of the sport of climbing for the benefit of its athletes, its industry and the protection of the environment.” (Europe is already far above and beyond where we are in the States in terms climbing being a legitimate sport and athletes being supported by their country, but this is an entirely different topic all together.)
Aside from organizations pushing to popularize climbing, a big reason for the rapid growth of climbing is the proliferation of climbing gyms in the US. Within an hour of my hometown, I can think of at least eight gyms off the top of my head. In Boulder alone there are four gyms, all probably within 10-15 minutes of each other. You get the picture. Lots of climbing gyms have increased the popularity of climbing, and have also gotten a younger crowd into climbing.
Another big factor in the growth of climbing, and the popularization of climbing areas is media. We now have dozens sources of rock climbing media to choose from. From the traditional monthly subscribed to magazine, to online sites like Dead Point and Climbing Narc, to blogs to forums to ranking sites like 8a.nu, there is no shortage of ways to find out about the what’s what and the who’s who in the climbing world.
In the recent access issues, media sites were accused of 1. Over popularizing areas and routes with pictures and stories, and 2. Not doing enough to instill a good set of ethics into young climbers. (Read a bit about this and more on Endo at
DPM) While it is true, that media exposure has certainly done a lot to increase the popularity of climbing areas, I don’t think that this is something that is necessarily wrong or that needs to be stopped. I think timely reporting of sends, new areas, and cool problems is normal and legitimate and within the realms of responsible media in the climbing world. I also think it is unfair to completely accuse media sites of not doing their job in educating the young public on climbing ethics (because it isn’t necessarily their job), however I do think that they hold SOME responsibility. In the past, when people started climbing, they may have started outdoors, and they may have had an older mentor teaching them the ways of the rock. This is how most climbers learned ethics. We were taught to leave no trace, how to be responsible in nature, and other normal ethical practices that we don’t even think twice about. However, with the younger generation growing up in the gym, and then venturing out on their own, they have often missed those important lessons about what is appropriate in the outdoor environment. Because youth look so intently to sites like Dead Point for their information, I think it would be wise to mention ethics on these sites and in climbing media in general. What many people don’t realize is that their actions do have adverse effects on the environment, a problem, which is compounded when there are thousands of people visiting a single area. Over time the landscape will start to deteriorate and then the access problems and closures begin (not to mention that we could permanently destroy the natural landscape).
In the theme of media, I have also heard complaints (mostly during the Endovalley debate, I think) about the presence of photographers and people taking video while others are climbing. Some people are annoyed by the large posses that show up to climb and think that all the photos and videos are unnecessary. This relates back to professionalizing climbing. Climbers need cool shots and videos to show to their sponsors, to rep their sponsors’ products and to post on their blogs. For sponsored climbers, this media is necessary to sustain their lifestyle.
While people complain about the presence of cameras at the crags, we also have the other end of the spectrum, where people won’t believe you’ve sent a problem unless there is proof, preferably in the form of a video. One example is Paul Robinson with Lucid Dreaming. There is not a video of the actual send, which led some people to question whether or not he had actually done it. This could also lead into a debate about grades, because Robinson proposed the controversial V16 grade. Had the problem been a V10, I doubt anyone would have asked for a video. While this is only one example, there are many more times when ascents have been called into question because there wasn’t proof. It almost seems that today, your ascent doesn’t count unless it is on video. So on one hand we could argue that increased media at the crag leads to overcrowding, but on the other, there are climbers fighting to legitimize themselves by providing videos and photos of their work. And then there many others like me, for whom videos provide a tremendous amount of psyche : )
Anyway, back to growth. Is this a good thing, and is this what we want. I think that if growth is going to happen, there needs to be a very clear directive towards positive growth. We can’t simply funnel more people into the sport of climbing and wait and see what happens. The sport needs direction. Today’s theme seems to be finding the next big thing, pushing the limits. People are constantly in search of the hardest problem, even the hardest single move. Perhaps we need to be just as concerned with preserving the natural environment and being good stewards of the land that has so generously provided us with perfect rocks to climb on.
Speaking of rocks, is there a delineation between indoor and outdoor climbing? Should there be? If climbing were an Olympic sport, would it really be rock climbing? Or would it be so warped to please the crowd that it resembled something much different? Comp climbing is about hype and excitement and often about big gymnastic moves. Outdoor climbing is often a personal quest to test one’s limits and to find beauty in nature. In which form can we properly display the spirit of our sport?
The next issue of controversy is of course grades. And that is one topic that I won’t even get into. The subjectivity, different styles of climbing, different rating systems in different countries… It’s just madness!
This is what happens when school lets out for the summer and I have nothing to do. I realize I’ve said a lot, without actually saying much. I haven’t actually offered many solutions but just tried to present some issues without too much bias. What do you think of these issues or any other issues in climbing? What does the climbing world need to focus on? Where is climbing headed? Please post in the comments section!
