Sendtrain Heating Up In Hueco Tanks

Good points Narc. The Hueco scene seems to me to be like popular surf breaks in California and Hawaii have become; they are a place for media and “professional” athletes to congregate to feed off each other. Very little that is original or really interesting is happening and making the image is everything. What the economy is going to do to this artificial ecosystem is an open question.

more of the same: i’d actually argue that the sending dynamo phenomenon is actually much more important to rock climbing than, say, a lone climber projecting the hell out of a futuristic route hidden away in some obscrue corner of the world. adam ondra’s rampage of established route seems to be doing more to motivate climbers than the establishment of rouhling’s ‘akira’, for instance.

also, while sending FAs is always important to the community, i’d argue that sending some sikk hard FA that is remote from much other climbing is substantially less important than the establishment of entire new sectors of climbing. the locust mentality of the current bouldering scene favors the latter. even though it is frustrating for a developer to have the secret spot blow up, as long as access issues are properly managed by the locals AND non locals, it seems that the publicity does much more for the community and progression of the sport.

if under the radar strongmos like this gaskins dood are indeed establishing insanely difficult boulder problems, well, great. so far, however, his lines have seemed very unimpressive in photos and any repeats would be merely to confirm or reject his grades… not because they are particularly worthy enough to travel across the globe for.

now, if they were smack dab in the middle of a new sector of rock with climbs of more impressive stature for all levels… THAT would have much greater worth.

just opinions.

Interesting stuff. I read the post, read the comments, started to write a response, and ended up with more than 500 words. Oi.

Here’s the summary:

What does progress mean in climbing?

Hard repeats are cool to hear about/watch. I think they can help create energy like Socky says. I hope that it leads to more opportunities for others to climb (and not more access problems).

I’m conflicted about exactly how important that is.

If you want more (don’t know why you would), you’re welcome to become the third visitor to my blog ever.

I saw some of this repeat and spray mentality on my last trip to Hueco. It was my first time visiting the feather, and I was pretty psyched to see it. I had no chance of climbing it, but I wanted to at least see it. While there, a climber who will remain nameless, pulled out his ipod touch before looking at the climb, watched the beta from Best of the West four or five times. Got up almost flashed it, then sent after a couple more tries. I was impressed, but at the same time I was dismayed. I have been climbing at Hueco for twenty years, and I have always loved the scene there. Unfortunately this was a huge downer for me. I wonder is this person a good climber? or are they merely strong with a good memory?

I personally do not see many new problems coming from this generation. A few of them will break out of the look at me mentality, but not many. Hueco may be better for it though, as it will leave projects for the people who really care about climbing.