Pennine Lines w/c 2 December 2024
So having witnessed this bewildering rise in standards over the last twenty years or so (much of it actually occurring in the last five-to-ten years) it’s therefore reassuring to find that some things are still the same; The Ace is still quite hard. The holds might have improved, the top jug might have snapped off and been glued back on, the landing might have been extended and improved, the rock in front of it might have been toppled and then put back, pads might be twice as thick now and sequences might have changed, everyone might have been training specifically for it on replica holds now, and it might even have been flashed a few times, but despite all that it’s still quite hard. The baggy S7 strides might be gone (sadly), and Anasazis no longer rule the roost (again, sadly), but one remaining sliver of former certainties still remains; The Ace is still quite hard. It still gives the best a rough ride. No wonder Jim was so pleased.
Pennine Lines w/c 23 September 2024
The culture of considering bouldering as only being worthy as training for routes persisted well into this century, and it carried over into indoor climbing too. In fact it wasn’t until the mid to late 2000s that you could turn up at an indoor wall as a beginner and do any beginner-level or easy bouldering at all. It just wasn’t catered for. The easier climbing was on ropes, and that was that. In retrospect this was odd, but it just reflected the prevailing trends at the time. Bouldering was supposed to be hard, to be training, you were supposed to serve an apprenticeship of “proper” climbing on ropes. You weren’t really supposed to do bouldering to the exclusion of all else.
Pennine Lines w/c 23 October 2023
I will say that since climbers increasingly get into the ‘sport’ (it isn’t a sport obvs) via indoor walls rather than through a sort of casual apprenticeship via peers/friends/family, logically a large part of the moral imperative to ensure climbers are equipped to climb outside responsibly should fall onto indoor walls. And in fact even onto brands and companies who also make money off climbing and growth in participation. It’s also no surprise that most brands associated with climbing do next to nothing to actually take this kind of responsibility on