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General Climbing Discussion

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The ben thing is not dead (aka. failing ethics) 22-Sep-2004 At 3:05:06 PM REXONASHAKEWELL

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THANKS Mr kyle I'm glad someone agrees that there is a problem that shouldn't be just swept under the carpet.

BErnado I cant disagree with anything youv'e said, I didn't intentionally dis sport climbing just stirring a bit. I love sport and trad and al forms of climbing. Climbers are climbers. I dont think of a superiority between trad people over sport people, (not publicly anyway), thats a style question. People sporting the latest fashion always think they exude the best style but we all know the truth.

I do feel that sport climbing because of its accessibility doesn't only attract people with the purity of endeavour you describe. It's the way cool, gym bred do a lead belay lesson buy a set of draws start climbing which is just all to easy.

Its akin to when you put a big hotel in the middle of an amazing wilderness area and turkeys flock to tick the experience off their list. Climbing is a wilderness pursuit and people are willing to sacrifice comfort for this.

Wilderness people (walkers, climbers etc) as a broad catagory possess a particular ethic set based upon L*** (think i've used that word too much) sure they do damage and behave like dickheads and wankers often, but a tread lightly ethic and intent is there.

Its not about mentoring sports climbers per se. Its just that because the tread lightly rules have been bent a little to allow the use of big power toys a certain minority develop this smugness about being the latest fashion, cool and engage in wholesale urbanisation of the wilderness. This gives the wrong attitude and value set to newbies who would never have found themselves in the bush if not for a climbing gym and a vicious cycle which we see now has begun.

Its flourished in europe to the point where they look at our predominantly trad areas as quaint.

Ok I'm using the sport vs trad shit a bit to fuel this thread, but My real gripe is with the attitude that some people calling themselves climbers have and thats what needs mentoring or plain excluding regardless of how elitist this sounds.