About That UIAA Policy Position Paper

Just as I was casting about for something interesting to write about, Rock and Ice came up with the goods in the form of an editorial denouncing a "bizzare (sic) indictment of sport climbing." Duane Raleigh inveighed against this newly released document (available here in PDF) as reading like "a room of sweaty men drafting legislation for women's reproduction rights." I was struck by the vehemence of the commentary (as well as some feedback I got on Facebook) so I thought I would read the document more closely and see if it justified the attack. I think that in the end, close readers of the paper will be reassured that this is not an indictment of sport climbing but instead a reasoned and thoughtful call to consider the consequences of that approach and a useful prompt to reconsider the reasons that we climb.

In essence the UIAA is revisiting the issue that it had addressed in 2000 in a paper entitled "To Bolt or Not To Be." This document looked in large part at the emerging phenomenon of "plaisir" routes, essentially long multi-pitch sport routes with reliable fixed protection on alpine limestone faces as well as rebolting old classics with improved protection. The objections raised about this style of climbing have never been fully resolved, particularly as climbing has increased in popularity and a more democratic attitude about access to routes has emerged. As Jürg von Känel noted, climbers seem to vote with their feet in this regard, creating an apparent justification for this style of route. This of course comes up against other climbing values such as self-reliance and leaving the cliff as you found it and not altering rock to suit climbers. This conflict undermines one of the later points in the R&I piece, that "You shouldn't apply sport climbing tactics to an alpine climb, and you shouldn't apply alpine standards to sport climbs." Yet this is exactly what has happened in a number of areas in Europe to a degree rarely seen in this country.

Anyway, the UIAA committee preparing this document is concerned that the balance is tipping in favor of pre-protected climbs, stating (but sadly without documentation) that in Hungary, for example, "all available rock for climbing has been drilled and bolted to make sport climbs." Now I agree that this is unlikely but there is little question that Europe has embraced a bolting ethic so widespread as to make traditionally protected rock-climbing something of a curiosity, found in relatively few areas, again something that is not so much the case in the US. So in essence the UIAA is asking local federations to seriously consider the ways in which they can maintain and promote the values of ground-up traditional climbing.

This statement by Duane Raleigh made me wonder a bit what the angle was.

 "I was quickly taken aback, however, by the UIAA's opening statement which included, 'Despite earlier attempts by the UIAA to offer guidance on fixed equipment and the conservation of natural rock, bolts continue to be placed in areas where many climbers wish they were not.' Once again, sport climbers had been singled out as vandals."

My first question was, who else would place the bolts? The second was, where did the UIAA call anyone vandals? A simple statement of fact was made about disagreement regarding bolt placement. Nowhere is it implicit or explicit that climbers have a God-given right to place bolts wherever they like and it makes sense that some climbers might disagree. I did find it curious that in claiming the UIAA was ignoring the voices of younger climbers, Raleigh cited only climbers known as sport climbers. Names such as Tommy Caldwell, David Lama, Hayden Kennedy or Sonnie Trotter come to mind as perhaps more representative of all-around climbers whose published comments on these issues seem to mirror the UIAA position.

One tactic to discredit an argument is to dispute definitions, in this case that of traditional climbing which the UIAA doc describes as climbing in which "the leader places all the equipment necessary to prevent a dangerous fall. This equipment is then removed by subsequent members of the party."

Now it's true that bolts are commonplace in Dresden or that the Bachar-Yerian is mostly "protected" by bolts. Does this invalidate the point? Hardly. In both instances, the placing of the bolts is/was tightly regulated and would hardly compare with the average sport route here in the US where spacing of 4-6 feet is typical. It is worth pointing out that the "tradition" in many parts of the Alps was to leave pitons in place, a tradition that only began to change with American and English influence and the adoption of clean climbing technology. But the fact that Dresden has a tradition of bolts hardly justifies bolting everything else. Is the argument that traditional climbing is not definable? I think it's not that hard to put some parameters on the practice and work from there.

The next paragraph contains quotes that seem to be taken out of context. Here's the full text from the UIAA:

"Climbing thrives on diversity. It is crucial that a whole range of climbing styles are allowed to flourish and co-exist, so more than just one option is available. Climbers can choose between different styles depending on their tastes, moods, and life circumstances. Parents of young children or the elderly may have good reason to prefer sport climbing. Circumstances change, and having a variety of climbing styles to choose between makes climbing stronger. There are those who slot in a few hours climbing at the local indoor climbing wall or easily accessible crag between work and home, or at weekends between other sporting and leisure activities. Such climbers may have little knowledge of the traditions of climbing and its development nor of the debate taking place between sport and ‘trad’.
At the other end of the spectrum there are those who organise their whole life around climbing -- domestically, socially and in their choice of job. These climbers care passionately about the activity’s ethical direction since they eat, sleep and drink climbing."

There is nothing in here to suggest that only the elderly or parents of young children sport climb though the truth is, it works a lot better for many in this situation than traditional climbing. Nor does it say that only traditional climbers organize their lives around climbing. Instead, it argues that the UIAA paper represents the values of all climbers "who value the preservation of rock for adventure climbing– and whose voices are often not heard or articulated." I tend to agree and like to think that there are very, very few climbers who would argue that all rock should be bolted regardless of opportunities for natural protection.

I have certainly placed a few bolts. I have also had a few chopped by ethical purists. I have also done scary trad FAs. So I think I know all the sides of the argument pretty well. In short, I think the UIAA is doing a responsible thing by giving an official voice to a serious concern, that of whether the climbing experience is being homogenized by the widespread use of fixed protection, especially in alpine locales, something that is actually happening right now in Europe.

Here are some links to give an idea of the debate and the nature of the terrain.

http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1999_files/AJ%201999%20157-160%20Wilson%20Values.pdf

http://www.outdoorresearchverticulture.com/2012/11/plaisir-climbing-in-the-swiss-alps/

http://www.summitpost.org/tonis-lust/715771

To conclude, far from being an indictment of sport climbing, the UIAA statement encourages a more self-reflective awareness of the impacts of fixed anchors and their uneasy relationship with a climbing ethic of individual responsibility and heightened environmental awareness. While traditional climbing is hardly immune to charges of serious environmental impact, the UIAA is right to be concerned about the encroachment of fixed anchors across all climbing sectors. I very much respect Duane's work at R&I and think a good debate over these issues is always fruitful, especially given the rapid rate of change in the climbing world today.

Security Risk: What Does Safety Really Mean?

I have been reading more and more reports recently of experienced climbers winding up seriously hurt or killed because of basic mistakes they made while sport or gym climbing. First up was the Scottish tradmaster extraordinaire Dave MacLeod who was lowered off the end of his rope on a 5.11 slab that he had bolted earlier. His injuries were serious enough to warrant surgery and a lengthy rehab process. Then there was climbing legend John Long who decked from 30 feet up at a local gym on account of an unfinished knot. Both are not only serious experienced climbers, but they are authors of classic instructional texts on the sport. Saddest of the most recent reports was the death of a Swiss climber whose rope was cut due to an abraded/sharpened carabiner edge. Again the victim was a experienced and safe climber and also an author, that of the guide to the Ratikon, a place known for its heads-up serious climbing.

Now what all three of this incidents had in common was a failure of the one item in climbing that cannot fail, namely the rope. MacLeod's accident was caused by a short and under-attended rope on a long lower-off. A similar serious accident occurred a while back in Boulder Canyon to a friend of mine. Long's knot should have been completed but apparently wasn't. I have actually witnessed someone's knot come undone about 50 feet at Shelf Road (he clipped into a bolt, but it was close) and the aftermath of an accident on Primeval when a climber fell at the crux around 20 feet up and the knot didn't hold. In the case of the Swiss climber, it would have been better had the bolt or carabiner failed and broken.

What lessons can be drawn from this recent collection of incidents? First, we should remember that sport climbing is a lot closer to rappelling in that climbers must rely on their gear to work correctly at all times. Trad climbing is much less gear dependent in that falling is not seen as inevitable and lowering off is not necessarily part of the climb. One can trad climb all day and never test anything while even the easiest of sport climbs involves trusting the belayer and protection chain implicitly.

In other words, sport climbing exhibits what I might describe as binary safety. It's either all the way on or it's all the way off. Typically, if you have done something wrong, you will not get a chance to correct it, especially if the system is tested by a fall or lower-off. Trad climbing is more fuzzy and indeterminate with a reasonably protected route offering multiple redundancies and a constant feedback loop regarding exposure to danger. That feedback loop is getting more and more attenuated in sport and gym climbing, especially with auto-belays in rock gyms, which a remarkable number of climbers apparently forget to clip into and wind up stranded on top of a route. Fixed draws also enhance this sense of disengagement with climbing reality as climbers outsource personal responsibility onto someone else they probably don't even know.

What can be done to prevent these kinds of situations? While I tend to agree that a bowline as a tie-in is not the best practice, using figure-8s will not fix the problem alone. Technology cannot be relied on here. There is barely any technology involved in sport climbing to begin with. The solution instead begins with reactivating the feedback loop mentioned above in trad climbing, especially in physically verifiable ways. So every time you tie in, you pull hard on your knot in all directions while inspecting it. Eye contact with the belayer, maybe even a tug on the Gri-gri to confirm it's loaded correctly. Discussion about clipping strategies reawakens a sense of mutual responsibility. Clear communication about taking and lowering is a must. On longer pitches, tie a big knot in the end of the rope. Basically climbers should do things that interrupt the convenience-oriented cruise control "sport" mentality that too easily leads to disaster. A visceral awareness of the risk of the sport needs to be maintained if we want to remain safe climbers.

Andrew Bisharat wrote an excellent analysis of the safety issues linked with fixed draws in the most recent issue of Rock and Ice, making points that I entirely agree with. Laissez-faire crag maintenance is a relic of the past when climbers were few and perhaps more aware of the risks involved in trusting fixed gear. If the decision is made to fully equip a crag, then that comes with real responsibility for the lives of those who follow. Personally I am against fixed draws precisely because they distance climbers from looking after themselves. Bolts are relatively redundant but, as the Swiss incident makes plain, clipping-in points have lethal potential if they fail the wrong way, the way that we don't expect them to.

One of the things that I find so interesting and compelling about climbing is this relationship between mind and technology. There is no question that gear can enable incredible athletic achievements on the rock. And very few enjoy entirely relying on their mental strength in potentially lethal situations. There is, or should be, a balance between the two extremes. When we let technology drive our actions too much, the chances are good that we will soon wind up in the ditch, or worse.

PS: I saw this note about a sport climbing crag in Japan.

"Rules and regulations: Climbers are not allowed to leave quick-draws hanging from the routes overnight. According to the priests in charge of the many shrines on Mount Horai, this would greatly upset the numerous spirits that visits the forest; therefore, all QDs have to be taken down before nightfall. For the same reason, stashing of ropes is frowned upon."

I think the forest spirits have the right idea

January First 2013

I really have been putting off writing more than I should, though not because I am not climbing. Of course most of my climbing has been on obscure local rocks, the rusty grains of the "Staff" being convenient to anyone tethered by work and family. That said, I had a great session back in mid-December on a freezing afternoon, finally doing a Pat Ament highball (dating from 1967)north of First Overhang that I have wanted to do for years. After a little bit of recon from the side and installing my Organic Big Pad underneath the problem, I found myself perched on the final crimps at about 20 feet up with no worries, no fear, just a moment of pure climbing. I felt like continuing in the same mode on the other formations and filmed them in the video below. I couldn't be bothered to add a soundtrack so pick your own or just watch in silence, which is what it was like that afternoon.





I find that the best conditions for climbing are often between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit on a cloudy winter day. These are days where few others are out on the mountain and more often than not the session is stopped by a vigorous shower of snow coming down from Green Mountain. Though some may chuckle in disbelief, I have numerous uncontrived or minimally contrived double-digit projects up here and am looking for a break in the weather and an uptick in strength going forward in to spring. After a few weeks of lower intensity climbing, training in earnest begins tomorrow.

Saying Farewell to the 80s: Why Have So Many Climbers Died Young?

The recent death of Patrick Edlinger at the age of 52 came to many as a sad, even tragic surprise. Edlinger was the face of rock climbing to many when the sport was just beginning to find its public identity in the early to mid 1980s. There is no question that Edlinger had a truly remarkable personal style coupled with incredible climbing ability, both with a rope and without. Gifted in all disciplines of free climbing, he made his most lasting impression in the USA with his 1988 win at Snowbird, the first really publicly significant climbing comp in the country. I reflected that his death meant that many of the publicly known male rock climbers from this period are no longer with us, something that struck me as extraordinary.

The first to go was perhaps the most impressive talent of all, Wolfgang Gullich, who died in 1992 in a car crash, reportedly from falling asleep at the wheel. Patrick Berhault died in 2004 in a climbing accident in Switzerland. John Bachar died more recently in 2009. Derek Hersey in 1993. Dan Osman in 1998. Todd Skinner in 2006. These are the ones I can think of at the moment. There are probably more. When I think of prominent survivors, a few that come to mind are Peter Croft, Jibe Tribout, Jerry Moffat, Ben Moon, Ron Kauk and Stefan Glowacz, Glowacz being by far the most currently active. For women, interestingly the mortality rate seems much lower.

 Obviously this is not a rigorous statistically valid study but I find it curious that so many expert climbers from this time have died young, and many of them in completely preventable circumstances. (Edlinger was in particularly difficult circumstances owing to alcoholism and depression and though the circumstances of his death have not been conclusively stated, it has been reported that a fall down the stairs at his home may have been the cause.) The question ought to be asked about whether climbing at very high levels could have a tendency towards higher mortality in early middle age, even outside of traditionally dangerous disciplines such as alpine or Himalayan climbing. I traditionally think of climbing as a force for keeping people young, engaged with the outdoors and alert, but the recent deaths of so many prominent climbers has me wondering about a darker side to the sport, especially for male climbers. Being not much younger than Edlinger myself, I see his passing as a reminder to all of us to be thankful for the time that we have and the extraordinary experiences that climbing can give us and yet be aware of the costs.

Elkland Explorations

I finally got some time to get at least a little bit out of town over the Thanksgiving break and decided to scope out some bouldering I had seen images of at various sites including B3 Bouldering. This was the spot variously described as Elkland, Nicky's Boulders or The Billiards. (Although I usually go with past precedent, Elkland seems a better name so I will use it for this post.) There has been a lot of recent activity in the area resulting in some impressive projects going down and unlike the alpine areas, they are accessible over the winter. So I thought I would look around.

 After a bit of a thrash wandering around looking at dozens of huge round and mostly blank orange globes, I found the boulder with Carefully by Hand on it. I was looking for a problem called The Real Deal Peter Beal, a crimpy face that was originally rated V9 but apparently had broken. I found it northeast uphill about 100 yards above Carefully by Hand. I looked over the holds and it was pretty obvious that a mid-height crimp was gone. However the wall was covered in small holds and after a little bit of searching I discovered a small pocket on the left that allowed progress by trending just left on the same holds. With some brushing the problem was set to go and I did it in a few tries. I like the idea of calling it the New Deal.

 The problem is very reminiscent of crimpy problems at Flagstaff Mountain with orange grainy rocky of middling quality. I think the grade might be soft V8, maybe less but a fun problem and worth doing if you like that style of climbing.

I looked over Dreamclimb V8 or V10 SDS which is just east. A rising traverse across a steep boulder, it looks quite good. The big kids version of the problem is Pocket Frogs, uphill about 50 yards from Carefully by Hand, and rated V13. After doing the New Deal and looking around, I texted Chad Greedy and got the directions to Memory is Parallax which is in a different sector, just to the west. This problem is very impressive and beautiful with an easy layback intro to four very hard moves to topout. Definitely worth checking out if you are climbing in the V13/14 range. In a sightseeing mood, I continued into the park proper and scoped out Mirror Reality, another instant classic. For the grade, this problem looks like one of the easier ones on the Front Range, on immaculate stone and 2 minutes from the road.

Dreamclimb Boulder

Pocket Frogs V13

Smile for the Blade V10

 A couple of days later I went back up to Elkland to work a little more on Carefully by Hand. This problem involves a tricky move off a small crimpy hold to a good break, then a very difficult sequence left along a sloping seam to a crux slap to an edge. While I was able to do the other moves quickly, I found it very difficult to get across the last gap. While sharp, the rock is very good and the features make for an obvious line on an otherwise relatively smooth and featureless boulder. Since this area is very feasible in winter, I see this problem as a good project in coming months. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a crimpy technical problem at the grade. While Elkland may not be to everyone's taste, my visits reminded me that the Front Range is stacked with possibilities in all grades from V0 to V15. Get out there!

The last crux on Carefully by Hand V12

(Just a side note: since other posts do not describe the approaches, a quick description is posted here. For the problems in the vicinity of Carefully by Hand, park off the road across from Nicky's Resort on Route 34 west of town. The large dirt lot is posted so avoid using it, or the private road just west. On the east end of the lot is a dirt path that heads north for a few yards before you encounter a fence with an opening. Go through this and then head east on an obvious path/old road that eventually winds around a small ridge before heading steeply uphill northwest. Soon the obvious boulder with the Plague and Carefully by Hand will appear. Other problems in the vicinity are Smile for the Blade, Pocket Frogs, and Dreamclimb as well the New Deal (Real Deal Peter Beal) For Memory is Parallax, Mind to Motion, and Desperate Houseboys walk (or park) about one hundred yards west from the Nicky's parking lot and head up an open wide wash/meadow to a saddle just east of a group of houses. Head up and right towards an obvious rib of rock. Memory is Parallax is right at the base of this rib in a deep slot. Allow about ten minutes for both approaches.)

And if you have descriptions and ratings for other problems, email me or put them in the comments.

Time for a Change

It's been about a month since I last wrote anything and it's been great. My primary reason is that my time has been spent either working (something that no one else I read about on the Internet actually has to do), family stuff, climbing, or learning guitar. The last activity has actually been really helpful in refocusing my mind away from the ceaseless flow of non-events in the climbing world, reaching its logical culmination in the news from the Red River Gorge, news that is truly non-news. Please, no more reports of ascents of Southern Smoke, even if your dog climbed it. And the same goes for all boulders in Switzerland, South Africa, as well as speed ascents of anything anywhere. If you became an "athlete" on a "team," nobody cares. If you actually care about climbing being in the Olympics, you are part of the problem. I am wondering what something actually original and interesting will look like in the world of climbing

My other pursuit, which I file under work, is coaching climbing. Not 11 year-olds who climb 14c but people who want to do the best they can under the strictures of age and real schedules. This has proven to be a really valuable experience for me, pressing me to get to the essence of what it means to be a better climber. For me this consists of understanding yourself and what you really want to do. And the more smoke and mirrors imagery that is pumped out by the publicity machine (harnesses that are also shorts? No wonder Jakob Schubert looks so unhappy) the more confused everyone is about climbing well. In short, you don't need to train on a Beastmaker or a Moon Board or whatever  gadget of the week is just out. You need to to think clearly about what you are doing. Maybe you need to buy a guitar and an amp. It's OK to have a life with purpose outside of climbing. In fact it helps. You certainly don't need to watch the latest sponsored video of 20-something climbers on permanent vacation.

If you want to do something productive climbing-wise, you might sit down for a few minutes and ponder the questions that my friend Brady Robinson is raising in a TEDx talk he gave in Boulder. The essence of his thesis is the need for conservation groups to engage with outdoor recreation groups, especially those with younger participants. While I agree with the basic drift of the argument, I am increasingly concerned that climbing has become an extractive industry with companies and individual entrepreneurs focused on mining the "outdoor space" mostly in a figurative sense, with negative consequences down the road primarily for the environment. While I agree that climbing is not as blatantly destructive as say ATV riding or building a new ski lift, the shift towards a consumerist approach to the sport is a defining feature of the past decade. I am especially struck by the lack of concern expressed by climbers about this trend. As Brady points out, there was once a strong undercurrent of resistance to societal and economic norms in the earlier vision of the sport. Now climbers enthusiastically accept marketing and a entrepreneurial approach to the sport, proving that capital can co-opt and colonize just about anything that has perceived value.

My primary concern in all this is that climbers have begun to fundamentally lose sight of the deeper environment in which they move, perceiving instead a kind of artificial theater in which they act, separated from any real consequences, organic or personal, a theater defined by symbols and imagery that are increasingly the product of capital. While in the short term, this approach can seem to promote an interest in the outdoors, in the long term, unless a deeper understanding of the environment emerges, it can reverse the equation, making the human element seem more important and shifting the balance towards convenience and well, access. We see this in the use of perma-draws and pad-stashing for example, as well as a constant push for "development" of  new crags without any regard for the ambient environment.

If I gave a TED talk, which I never will, I would urge climbers, and humans in general, to pull back a bit more, to give the landscape some room to breathe, to recover. In time we would see the bolts rust away, the trails grow over, the chalk wash away and the cliff renew itself and become real again, not just a screen for ephemeral human desires. Given the horrendous impact that humans are placing on the environment in general, this may be misplaced idealism. I don't care about that so much. If we depend on a natural environment to give our sport meaning (and I am not sure how climbers today really believe that) we may have to give up access to some parts of that environment, letting it alone to be as natural as it can be in an increasingly unnatural time. UPDATE: BAM!! Adam Ondra Flashes Southern Smoke Direct. Should have seen that coming! :)