Wow! What a great read! I always thought of this trend as the “jock-ification” of climbing, gamification fits better. I’d have to agree with Daniele that making the climbs harder, in some ways, isn’t degamification in the way one might hope. Increasing the risk to reward difference doesn’t always result in scoring less points. If a climber makes the objective more difficult and then SPRAYS about it, they might earn extra points. If they stay silent though, I think it works. Ticking a bunch of hard routes on Mountain Project without marking “free solo” or mentioning that you had used only knots for pro, would be pretty punk rock :)
On ticks: what if we shifted perspective and imagined ourselves ticking off romantic partners like climbs? Instead of searching for and finding the best lovers, simply trying to tick them all would lead to an empty, meaningless love life. I don’t give a shit about climbing every climb, I’m on a search for the best ones and I reclimb my favorites over and over (Royal Arches I’m looking at you). Maybe that’s why I’ve stayed so stoked on the sport for so long. Thought provoking article!
Interesting! I enjoyed the satire blended with sense-making. I'll be exploring the references.
I work as a climbing guide. In my quest to degamify climbing when clients ask me how hard the routes are we are climbing, I refer to routes as hot sauces- " mild", "medium" and "picante"- and not by their number grade.
Hi, interesting article. As I agree with you in the broad topic of the gamification of climbing, and remedy suggested in points 3/8/15. I do find debatable suggestions like skipping bolts, solo route or blindfolded lead climbing. I do find knowing what you are linking up on multy pitch route is important not for grade, but for safety. It feal confusing between a call for more genuine climbing and pointing finger towards youtubers. Maybe advertising the de-gamification is the gamification of climbing, you are not taking points for the send, but for the read. Nice article that opens a bottomless pit. Thanks 👍
Wow! What a great read! I always thought of this trend as the “jock-ification” of climbing, gamification fits better. I’d have to agree with Daniele that making the climbs harder, in some ways, isn’t degamification in the way one might hope. Increasing the risk to reward difference doesn’t always result in scoring less points. If a climber makes the objective more difficult and then SPRAYS about it, they might earn extra points. If they stay silent though, I think it works. Ticking a bunch of hard routes on Mountain Project without marking “free solo” or mentioning that you had used only knots for pro, would be pretty punk rock :)
On ticks: what if we shifted perspective and imagined ourselves ticking off romantic partners like climbs? Instead of searching for and finding the best lovers, simply trying to tick them all would lead to an empty, meaningless love life. I don’t give a shit about climbing every climb, I’m on a search for the best ones and I reclimb my favorites over and over (Royal Arches I’m looking at you). Maybe that’s why I’ve stayed so stoked on the sport for so long. Thought provoking article!
Interesting! I enjoyed the satire blended with sense-making. I'll be exploring the references.
I work as a climbing guide. In my quest to degamify climbing when clients ask me how hard the routes are we are climbing, I refer to routes as hot sauces- " mild", "medium" and "picante"- and not by their number grade.
Debatable article
Hi Daniele, many thanks for your comment. What did you find debateable?
Hi, interesting article. As I agree with you in the broad topic of the gamification of climbing, and remedy suggested in points 3/8/15. I do find debatable suggestions like skipping bolts, solo route or blindfolded lead climbing. I do find knowing what you are linking up on multy pitch route is important not for grade, but for safety. It feal confusing between a call for more genuine climbing and pointing finger towards youtubers. Maybe advertising the de-gamification is the gamification of climbing, you are not taking points for the send, but for the read. Nice article that opens a bottomless pit. Thanks 👍
Sorry for the grammar,not nativ English here 😁
Also, I loved the concept of "rawsight". I also didnt know I was a GILC hunter until. How wonderful it is to know now!