It has been quite a while since I have updated with significant information about what’s been going on in my life. It is safe to say that I have reached some what of a turning point. Upon returning from a successful extended U.S. roadtrip this past fall, I have been forced to start looking at things in some what of a new light. Following a successful, yet disappointing, winter tradeshow I have managed to put together a rough list of some of my recent “realizations”.
1. I am not a professional climber. Meaning that currently I am nowhere near being able to support myself by just rock climbing.
2. I want to be a professional rock climber. And with that I need to find out how to properly become one and also what kind of “pro” climber I want to be.
3. Being a professional rock climber currently has very little to do with how hard you rock climb.
4. In fact, most pro climbers don’t climb as hard as you might think.
5. Some of the strongest climbers in the world are complete unknowns. No 8a, no press, no nothing. Completely unknown.
6. At this point in time, VERY few climbing companies have any clue what they are doing beyond making a decent product that sells enough to keep them afloat. I believe that much of this is due to BAD marketing techniques and BLATANT misuse of key athletes on their climbing teams. Hint to climbing companies-stop doing the marketing by yourself and hire someone that knows whats up.
7. The growth of climbing is vital for progression.
8. More climbers=more people buying climbing shit=climbing companies making more $$$=more climbers climbing full time=progression.
9. Their are 3 types of professional climbers.
I. Bad Climbers-Great Representatives
II. Great Climbers-Bad Representatives
III. Great Climbers-Great Representatives
10. Climber I typically misrepresents their abilities, but generally makes up for it by working hard for their sponsors.
11. Climber II typically thinks he’s just too damn good to work hard for their sponsors. ”I get money and free shit because I climb harder than you”.
12. Climber III is a rare breed these days. Climbs hard (Not just grades, but standard setting accomplishments) and works hard. These type of people need to be rewarded more in the industry. Many are not. These people also need to be better utilized by their sponsors.
13. I aspire to be Climber III and will not settle for being either Climber I or II because these people devalue what it means to be Climber III.
14. Hopefully, in the future, ALL sponsored climbers will fall into category III because that is the best for the future of the industry.
15. Climbing competitions in the US are poorly executed and poorly advertised.
16. Climbing is a selfish pursuit.
17. Their are ways to make it less selfish by giving back to the community.
18. I need to find more ways to give back.
19. Most people do nothing to give back and it only hurts progression.
20. We need to start working together better, as members of the WORLDWIDE climbing community, to progress the sport. This means better recongnition as a sport by the general public. Climbing in the Olympics. We need athletes that are recognized by the general non-climbing public.
I know that a lot of these points isolate the things that are wrong with the climbing industry and I have stated very few ways to fix the problems. Personally, I don’t know how to fix a lot of them. Maybe some of them aren’t even problems. But hopefully by pointing some of these things out more people will start to think. If you have anything to add to the topic please comment. I am not professing these beliefs as absolute truth. All I know is that things aren’t great for pro climbers these days and I would like to improve that. And maybe you just don’t give a shit about any of this and so be it. But climbing is currently my life and I will do whatever I can to improve it.
Aside from that stuff here’s what I’ve been up too. In January I competed in the SCS Nationals in SLC during the tradeshow and managed to take 1st Place! I trained a bit for the comp, but not nearly as hard as I could have trained. I was very suprised that I basically made it through the comp without getting pumped. Rope climbing is beginning to look like a facet of climbing that I could get very good at, and I am excited to pursue this side of the sport for the remainder of 2009. My personal goal is to establish myself as a solid 9a climber and then start searching out new lines. Following ABS Nationals and a possible short trip to Hueco, I will be spending a lot of time at The Fortress of Solitude (for Kryptonite), and the Southern Utah crags. As well as Rifle in the spring and maybe the RRG. Petzl has been so kind to hook me up with some great gear for my endeavors and I look forward to representing them PROPERLY in the coming months.
SCS Nationals
ABS Nationals is this weekend. I have been training boulders in the gym. Almost feeling strong. Almost. We’ll see how it goes. Routes to boulders. Hard to transition. I’ve been climbing with P-Rob a lot and I must say I’m extremely impressed with how hard he is climbing following his ankle break in the fall. He is definitely one of the top contenders for the title this year. I guess more of us need to lock ourselves in the garage with a campus “bored” for a few months.
I have been entertaining the purchase of an HD video camera for the past few weeks. MomentumVM has been for the most part a complete let-down lately and it would be nice to see more large format, HD quality, high-production value climbing shorts on the web these days. It looks like I might get the opportunity to try my hand at it pretty soon.
Also, BIG props to my little brother Giovanni or “G” for his somewhat recent ascents of Haroun and the
yo, appreciate the post.
I think Dave, Fitz, Justin and Chance for Real all made super solid points.
Something related to things other posters said, I think climbing blowing up could be a bad thing in terms of attitude. One of the great things about climbing and differences from surfing is how much more chill and welcoming the vibe is. People who get pulled into the climbing community individually are more likely to absorb that good-natured vibe and transmit that to others, the culture remains intact. If people come from the outside in gobs(i've seen this happen in other scenes) I think its more likely that they will bring mainstream culture intact, which is more competitive, people defining themselves by emphasizing their differences from others, rather than what they share.
As far as progression, I'm curious as to what your take on the role of progression is, for both proclimbers and climbers who will never climb 5.13+. Personally I love that we have pro climbers that I can watch travel around the world climbing dream routes that I will never get a chance to get on; it doesn't matter if every year things jump up a letter grade. Pros continually raising the bar is something that ultimately plateaus and not something you can stake the meaning of climbing on. The hardest routes are not always the most inspiring, (or worthwhile to climb I imagine) and an individual's personal progression and their attitude and philosophy about it is vastly more important and interesting to me than what Climbing's max progression is.
I think the best way proclimbers can give back is 1. by doing what they need to do to stay stoked (If that means having reservations about having to travel to a comp I think thats natural because from the onset we aren't climbing for money, and some days you don't feel it and I notice this with the young rippers in the gym that they don't always seem stoked and I think it says something that I may never be as good as they are but I am allowed to choose my own terms and create my own personal meaning for climbing rather than have to force myself to climb when it feels wrong thus making it seem hollow. Money and Competition have perverted so many of our social relations I think we will all rue the day when(if) climbing becomes a money sport, or an olympic sport(people climbing to make a(n irrelevant) statement about their nation rather than because they love it)(think about russian and chinese gymnasts.).
2. For people who take advantage of the outdoors to the extent that climbers do I don't notice much of an emphasis on the priority of maintaining the environment. Its really easy and self-serving to say don't leave your trash in front of the crag but true environmental stewardship goes much deeper than that. A lot of climbers are lucky to not live in places where the consequences of our society's ignorance of whats on the other side of everything it consumes are facts/features of daily life. As climbers we know how simple it can be to find happiness, just need a rock, some trees, and a sky, we are so close to enlightenment, being taught these unknown potentials in our bodies by the oldest things on the planet. We get stronger, weaker, we die, the rock remains. What do we leave behind? Thats our choice.
Carlo,
If you don't mind me digging up the past, I was hoping to pick your mind regarding a number of points you made in this post. As you mentioned, you may not yet know how to fix a number of these issues, however some months have elapsed since you originally wrote this and your opinions would be insightful nonetheless.
I decided to write after reading the article 'Squeezing Blood from Dry Fingertips' in the last issue of Deadpoint magazine, which again addresses the somewhat dysfunctional relationship that exists between climbers and industry sponsors here in America.
Particularly interested in your thoughts regarding #8:
More climbers=more people buying climbing shit=climbing companies making more $$$=more climbers climbing full time=progression
From the standpoint of a climbing gear company, the sponsor-sponsoree relationship seems a simple one: We give you: money & gear. You give us: more climbers who want to buy our gear.
But how exactly do pro climbers increase the total number of climbers? It sounds fun and easy to take the free gear, travel the world, and be seen using the gear–but how much does this really help the gear company?
How much of an effect would the same company see from sponsored athletes who regularly put together and participate in climbing outreach programs through schools and other youth organizations?
How many more youths would join local climbing teams if the same stars and starlets whose faces appear in the climbing media were coaches, or were on some sort of rotating schedule to drop-in and work with numerous climbing teams throughout the season?
As a climber myself, I agree with the general sentiment that climbing is a selfish pursuit. However, for a sponsored athlete I believe it becomes the person's responsibility to their sponsors to open themselves up to the community and actively share their time and resources — discovering ways to inspire those who have already taken up the sport, and discovering how to effectively leverage their image and reputation to reach non-climbers.
All this talk of course begs additional questions:
Should it be the responsibility of the sponsor or of the climber to organize such events?
Should a schedule of events for the coming year be drafted by the sponsoring company and offered as a condition of sponsorship to the climber?
Or should a company simply stipulate a total number of 'community hours' or such and leave responsibility to the climber?
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This post is already longer than I expected it to be, but any thoughts would be appreciated.