In economics, technology shocks are rapid changes in technology that result in significant alterations in the outcomes that can be achieved for a given amount of input resources. Examples of technology shocks that completely transformed the world are the printing press, the Industrial Revolution and the internet. But technology shocks are not always so grand and all-influencing. Within the world of climbing, technology shocks such as
Mar 10, 2023·edited Mar 10, 2023Liked by Cursed Climbing
So I'm a little more sanguine about it. I think you're right that elite climbers will follow the money (their livelihoods) and things will get even more concentrated on the indoors. But in a sense, that isn't such a radical break from what has already been happening due to the explosion of competition climbing (something I have zero interest in) and of course the olympics (I did enjoy the novelty, I'll admit).
Gym climbing is increasingly its own thing anyway. Climbing Magazine now has a separate publication called (I believe) 'Gym Climber', dedicated to what it sounds like. Now I cannot imagine how you could fill one issue of a magazine with content of that nature, let alone an indefinite number, but it's a big world and it takes all sorts.
What I think may be the silver lining here is that we may just get an increased divergence between gym climbing and real, sorry, outdoor, climbing. And is that necessarily a bad thing? A big worry 4-5 years ago was that all the gym rats would start migrating outside and the crags would become chocker-block and polished to death. (For a brief glimpse of this nightmare scenario, see Harrison's Rocks when lockdown ended but the gyms were still closed.) This largely has not happened. A few weirdos like me made the transition from indoor boulder gym to outdoor climbing, and in my case, I honestly don't think I would climb indoors (much) anymore if it wasn't a stop-gap for (getting better at) climbing outdoors. But most have not. What you describe above will not reverse that trend; probably the opposite. And if anything it will just mean less polish on the rocks. OK, Bosi and Roberts alone aren't going to trash Burden of Dreams, but fewer people eroding the finite resources....is that an entirely bad thing?
Perhaps it's just that we are seeing the final divergence of 'indoor' and 'outdoor' climbing. Is this bad? I'm not so sure. Last August Bank Holiday I went to Dinas Cromlech and expected to queue for routes. Instead there was one other team there, and I was able to climb Cemetery Gates, The Corner and Left Wall Direct no bother. I enjoyed that, even though it is of course also in some way sad to reflect on how it would have been 20 years ago on a sunny August weekend. But then, everything changes and nothing stays the same. Some of us will continue to carry the torch; maybe fewer than there once were, but not enough for the light to go out entirely. Not even close.
So I'm a little more sanguine about it. I think you're right that elite climbers will follow the money (their livelihoods) and things will get even more concentrated on the indoors. But in a sense, that isn't such a radical break from what has already been happening due to the explosion of competition climbing (something I have zero interest in) and of course the olympics (I did enjoy the novelty, I'll admit).
Gym climbing is increasingly its own thing anyway. Climbing Magazine now has a separate publication called (I believe) 'Gym Climber', dedicated to what it sounds like. Now I cannot imagine how you could fill one issue of a magazine with content of that nature, let alone an indefinite number, but it's a big world and it takes all sorts.
What I think may be the silver lining here is that we may just get an increased divergence between gym climbing and real, sorry, outdoor, climbing. And is that necessarily a bad thing? A big worry 4-5 years ago was that all the gym rats would start migrating outside and the crags would become chocker-block and polished to death. (For a brief glimpse of this nightmare scenario, see Harrison's Rocks when lockdown ended but the gyms were still closed.) This largely has not happened. A few weirdos like me made the transition from indoor boulder gym to outdoor climbing, and in my case, I honestly don't think I would climb indoors (much) anymore if it wasn't a stop-gap for (getting better at) climbing outdoors. But most have not. What you describe above will not reverse that trend; probably the opposite. And if anything it will just mean less polish on the rocks. OK, Bosi and Roberts alone aren't going to trash Burden of Dreams, but fewer people eroding the finite resources....is that an entirely bad thing?
Perhaps it's just that we are seeing the final divergence of 'indoor' and 'outdoor' climbing. Is this bad? I'm not so sure. Last August Bank Holiday I went to Dinas Cromlech and expected to queue for routes. Instead there was one other team there, and I was able to climb Cemetery Gates, The Corner and Left Wall Direct no bother. I enjoyed that, even though it is of course also in some way sad to reflect on how it would have been 20 years ago on a sunny August weekend. But then, everything changes and nothing stays the same. Some of us will continue to carry the torch; maybe fewer than there once were, but not enough for the light to go out entirely. Not even close.