Comments on Mountains and Water: Green 5.14? Not so sure

Oops... "How leading a route on natural gear...

2010-02-22T06:25:45.225-07:00

Oops...

"How leading a route on natural gear after toproping it or climbing it with the bolts that were already there is beyond me."

should read

"How leading a route on natural gear after toproping it or climbing it with the bolts that were already there is 'green' is beyond me. "

I finally got around to reading some of this issue...

2010-02-22T05:32:07.897-07:00

I finally got around to reading some of this issue and I'd have to agree with you Peter. How leading a route on natural gear after toproping it or climbing it with the bolts that were already there is beyond me. Perhaps if any of the green routes had been done ground up the argument would have held more weight.

green is the color of money, or not? great post, ...

2010-02-22T03:12:19.124-07:00

green is the color of money, or not?

great post, i see it going in the right direction of fighting the current trend in climbing media: a lot of marketing, some fairytale telling, and a great deal of hypocrisy, just to cover the lack of solid contents.

The Green Issue coincided with my last issue of a ...

2010-02-21T01:19:34.935-07:00

The Green Issue coincided with my last issue of a 'Climbing' subscription that dates back to 1992. The days of climbing rags inspiring dirtbags and weekend warriors the world over is unfortunately OVER. Blogs, climbing media sites, online guides and possibly online mags are the future and are certainly more green. As for the "greenness" of not bolting a 5.14 ... pfffft ... that article missed the mark by a mile.

I know that climbing and traveling to climbing areas does impact the world, but I'm not sure why the climbers should feel so guilty about our sport. Consider for a moment the lack of any semblance of GREEN in ALL motor racing activities. The impacts of a single race (nascar, open wheel, busch series, truck series, Redbull plane racing, boat racing, motorcycle, drag racing, not to mention the dozens of other smaller races, etc.), much less the practice, manufacturing, R & D, travel are staggering. Consider further that a dirty coal-fired plant opens every day in Asia. Consider that Iran is trying to build nuclear warheads and the United Nations is doing nothing about it except talk about sanctions. The world has big problems and it has nothing to do with clambering around on rocks.

That doesn't mean climbers can't consider our impacts and do better, but at least try to keep this in perspective 'Climbing.'

Absolutely. How f*(^%n stupid. What's next, ho...

2010-02-20T23:46:13.402-07:00

Absolutely. How f*(^%n stupid. What's next, how bouldering is better than sport climbing from a GFC perspective? Stop overthinking, Climbing.

I totally agree with you. There was not any actua...

2010-02-19T21:57:49.593-07:00

I totally agree with you. There was not any actual discussion of environmentalism in the issue, just a list of things to make you feel better.

I think it is interesting that Climbing chose to p...

2010-02-19T20:04:17.972-07:00

I think it is interesting that Climbing chose to print 10,000 more copies of the "Green Issue".

I agree, and I don't like green climbing for o...

2010-02-19T15:56:14.163-07:00

I agree, and I don't like green climbing for one minute. More thoughts here: www.climbingislove.blogspot.com.
Keep up the interesting blogging!

Not really sure how or why his leaving is a loss, ...

2010-02-19T11:40:18.207-07:00

Not really sure how or why his leaving is a loss, he obviously drove the mag into the ground. Restoring journalistic credibility will be job one for whoever takes his place, if it doesn't actually go under...

Yes, it was a bummer to hear that Matt left. He w...

2010-02-19T11:21:53.603-07:00

Yes, it was a bummer to hear that Matt left. He was really dedicated to that magazine -- it's an easy target of the too cool climbing veterans.

Another way to look at that the 5.14 green thing -- think about how many hours, how many trips to the crags it takes to climb that hard. Good point peter -- don't confuse climbing ethics with environmentalism. Two very different things.

Agreed on both points. The "green" iss...

2010-02-19T10:43:40.236-07:00

Agreed on both points.
The "green" issue was pure nonsense, and Samet was one of the few good things left in the mag.
He'll be impossible to replace.

hell, whats the carbon footprint of printing that ...

2010-02-19T09:55:00.720-07:00

hell, whats the carbon footprint of printing that article - X times.

it would be interesting to measure the carbon footprint of climbing indoors vs outdoors regardless of style.

it reminds me of the articles published last year focusing in on U2's impact on the earth by going on tour.

couldn't agree more with you. Take the climber...

2010-02-19T09:15:04.102-07:00

couldn't agree more with you. Take the climber on the cover of the magazine, for example. Likely he flew on an airplane (very green huh!) and then drove to mill creek to climb a rock? What's the carbon footprint for just getting to that crag, from Canada? How about all of the nasty processes required to create the gear he is using? 10 or so bolts really make a difference doesn't it. We can keep pretending we are green though, if it helps folks sleep at night.

Samet leaving Climbing? Oh man, that does not por...

2010-02-19T09:13:07.449-07:00

Samet leaving Climbing? Oh man, that does not portend well for the rag. He's definitely one of the strongest voices in the climbing lit world... Where is he going? Do you know his coming plans, Peter?