In the past week there has a been a lot of talk about Chris Sharma and his First Round First Minute project in Margalef, Spain. Is it cool for him to decide who can try it? Is it not cool? Everyone seems to have an opinion. What hasn’t been discussed lately is how Sharma’s efforts to actually climb the line are going.
TheLowDown posted a nice interview with Chris Sharma (originally done for the excellent French site Kairn.com) where he discusses in depth his efforts to climb First Round First Minute:
For You, what is lacking for you to do FRFM and this last move?
I’ve fallen a lot of times at this last move. It’s not very hard, around 7B+ boulder, but it comes after 25/30 moves of pure resistance. It’s a bouldery route, with a lot of hard moves you must link. But the problem is more resistance for me. Really extreme, but a perfect project that I dream to realize.Your problem with the route is more mental?
Yes, it’s a mental problem. After 30 falls on the same and last move, it’s a real head fuck… It’s not like falling in the middle. When you fall, you have made all the effort of doing the other moves of the entire route. It’s very frustrating! I need to go away a little from the route, to climb at Oliana with Daila, to bolt new lines. To mix all the things, to regain my spirit. It’s not good to try the same route over and over, for too long… I have spent several months on FRFM. Now, I need to take a break because I’m starting to feel a mental block. It was good for me to climb the left variation, for releasing some of the pressure. I’ve finished a part, it remains to finish the whole route.
Read the rest of the interview here
It seems a little late to being doing damage control. I wish Chris the best but this climb has caused a rift in everything from ideals, to US vs Europe, to the way money is affecting this sport.
I do not wish his any ill will but I ask that since he is idolized by so many climbers, both young and old, that in the future he must understand that he teaches ethics to others through his actions. This lesson was not his best and he should admit that.
Thanks for the interview.
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To quote Jimmy from South Park: “Come on. I mean, Come On!”.
If we are to enforce ethics to each other we would eventually become a church, and what has the the church been up to lately? 😉
This whole issue just really isn’t so big of a deal at all and the “FRFM issue” hasn’t caused any rift in any common ideals between climbers IMHO. If that was the case, Don Whillans would have separated the continents! 😉
I mean “Come On”…to ask for a delay is to steal the time? 🙁
Both of these guys have given more to us in the form of inspiration than what we could ask for.
Let’s allow our idols to be atleast slightly human also, huh?
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i dont even think its the fact that hes an idol that his ethics towards this whole fiasco bothers people. Its more the fact that he is portrayed in videos in such a noble light. So when we see him being like any other normal competitive male, its like hes being a hypocrite.
there is a certain type of pretentious personality that people (like myself) have, that loves to call out other people like vegetarians, or pastors who fail to live up to their own rhetoric. In this case sharma didn’t live up to the omnibenevolent person he is PORTRAYED as in videos. So people with this certain type of personality love to see him being exploited, because we feel we called the bull$hit from the beginning. and we did!
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Never mind that the interview actually took place in early february. Interesting read nonetheless.
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Rift? What rift?
If you think Chris was so wrong for being honest with Nalle and asking him not to climb on his project with him and his buddies, do you also feel that it was wrong of Nalle to behave as if he was cool with this request and then ambiguously state on his blog that he was “not allowed” to climb on the line? This is not such a major issue as you seem to perceive it.
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I’d suggest this blog from BigUP which pretty much ended the FRFM topic and any speculation whatsoever hithertoforth and thusly and all other old english terms I can make up….
http://www.bigupproductions.com/#/blog/1020/
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I think it is pretty interesting that people are talking about this so called rift with chris and nalle. Who cares its climbing lets get over it.
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Just for Shits and Giggles
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?898ac109d3.jpg
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