The Future of Climbing (2025) Movie Script
The shots we are going to show you
constitute a series of truly remarkable feats
cinematographic. The filmmaker
follows, in their dizzying ascent, the
specialists in big rock climbing.
We are here in the realm of the most tragic fragility.
Nightmare. Absolutely terrifying nightmare.
My name is Cdric Lachat.
And I am what's commonly referred to as a pro
climber.
What does it mean to be a pro climber
? Well, it means traveling around the world from competition to competition,
climbing the highest on a wall in a gym.
It means being the best, better than anyone else, all the time.
Okay.
That was a long time ago.
It's still Danette.
Today, I no longer compete and focus on climbing outdoors.
What does it mean to be an outdoor climber ?
Well, it means traveling around the world from crag to crag.
It means attempting the hardest routes on the planet.
It means pouting when you're not good enough and it's too hot outside.
And whining when your fingers hurt.
I like living the dirtbag lifestyle, spending time alone
outdoors, experiencing adventure, just like my
forebearers who forever made an impression on a generation of climbers.
Yes,
that was 40 years ago.
I spend most of my time in my van, driving from cliff to cliff.
I like the freedom, the calm, and hearing the birds sing.
Climbing creates a genuine bond with nature and the elements that...
Well... That was a
long time ago.
Okay,
Back to work.
In the past few years, climbing has changed at an unprecedented
rate, and we find ourselves at a historic turning point.
With the rapid growth in climbing gyms,
the number of people pulling down on plastic has exploded.
And now, as an official Olympic sport, climbing's
long-time counterculture is currently experiencing
a 21st century transformation.
With the rise in popularity of indoor climbing, the sport has gone
mainstream, while at the same time, managing popular
areas involves increased regulations, and in some cases,
closures.
What legacy will we leave for future generations of climbers ?
Will more restrictions be placed on outdoor climbing areas ?
What will the future of climbing be
?
Hold on a second.
To understand where we're going,
we need to know more about where we've been.
Let's take a quick look back at the history of climbing.
Tree-climbing equipment by the French Alpine Club, which are the starting point of
large expeditions, do not hesitate to risk their lives for
conquer the mountain.
From the end of the 19th century through the middle of the 20th,
mountaineering and peak climbing were the main motivations for climbers.
At the time, only the summit mattered.
Cragging and bouldering served as the training grounds for building the strength
and technique needed for grander adventures in the high mountains.
Many vocations were born in climbing schools, and many of our great
Mountaineers have perfected their technique there to the point of constantly retreating
the limits of their capabilities.
Rock climbing started to develop as its own discipline in England,
Italy, and Germany. Climbers accomplished genuinely impressive
feats with very little gear, where falling was simply not an
optionIn
the fifties, climbers set up camp in Yosemite, where the
valley's now legendary granite big walls saw their very first
descents, all requiring the use of aid technique.
The image of climbing a while back was Camp 4.
It was Yosemite, it was dirt bags, it was drugs, it was
anarchy. It was like the system.
In the eighties, sport climbing became a separate discipline
with its own distinct identity.
It wasn't reaching the top that mattered, but the succession of hard moves
to get there.
The sport earned its wings carried by a multitude of emblematic
figures.
The number of female climbers began to rise quickly.
Once part of the counterculture on the margins of society,
climbing became all the rage and suddenly experienced an
influx of money and sponsors.
The first artificial structures were built to meet the needs of competitions,
giving birth to a new sport where all the rules had to be
invented.
In the nineties, training methods progressed at a blistering pace,
and artificial climbing walls began to appear everywhere.
Since then, it has all moved so fast.
From the turn of the 21st century through today, the number of
indoor climbing gyms has skyrocketed.
Gyms offer kids the opportunity to start climbing at a young age
and have contributed to pushing the upper limits of free
climbing.
Climbing is now a worldwide sport.
Just as sport climbing broke away from mountaineering, gym climbing
has done the same,
creating its own rules and heroes.
But while sport climbing has never been more popular,
what is the current state of traditional places like cliffs and
crags all over the world?
I've
been climbing on cliffs for years now,
and over time, I've seen that there are always more people,
and
that our actions are becoming more and more important.
If we can't change things today, I think our
outdoor sport is really
threatened. To make the
documentary, I went to see lots of
different people: climbers, local authorities,
federations. I went to example locations
and emblematic cliffs. It's complicated to make a film like this without being too
moralistic. So, with my little touch of
humor, I'd like to show our actions and behaviors that can harm our
practice.
New block.
Here you arrive, you don't see
the
hole. So...
Two
fingers. When you want to
aim right, you make the two traits, because otherwise you
aim there, you aim there, you're never on it. There, it's the little finger.
There, it's the big finger. There, it's the middle.
You
see, it's still not precise enough.
There, it's not bad.
Ah! I missed it again! Oh, that's
good.
Fontainebleau is really a forest out of the
ordinary, unique in its
kind, with all its blocks and this granite of a quality
you will find
nowhere else.
This forest is a area south of Paris
that was covered by
the sea 60 million years ago, and when the sea left, it left
sand behind. This sand crystallized into rock.
Over 27,000 hectares, it is covered with rocks,
and indeed, when you observe them, you
can see amazing shapes, elephants,
eagles, faces.
The main problem in Fontainebleau today is
overpopulation.
In some car parks, we counted more than 2,000 vans,
knowing that the car parks have
about a
hundred
spaces.
Oh, it's a campsite.
No, that's not possible. I just bought a van for 60,000 bucks, I'm not going to
Paying another 10 bucks for a campsite.
Okay, I'll go and sit anywhere, it's free.
Margalef is a site that dates back to the origin of
Paleolithic and which evolved over the course of the
time. Today, one of its main strengths
is climbing.
And now we are in the situation that everyone
knows. More or
less, about
Between 60,000 and 90,000 people come to the village each year during these
recent years, including approximately
80% are
climbers.
The forests, and especially that of Meschia, are characterized by these magnificent
chestnut forests where
sandstone rocks are deposited on these soils
musky in very beautiful vegetation.
This creates a harmony between the beauty of nature
and the beauty of these rocks sculpted by millennia of
bad weather.
Initially, what we did, me in particular, was to do
There's a lot of publicity for this place.
Meschia was one of the first places to have suffered a closure
drastic.
I'd like to describe Val Bavona as a very wild
place.
There's something about it here that's really special.
And not only is it a very wild place, it's also a very
raw and kind of intense place.
Valle Bavona is a special place,
magic.
For me, it's definitely a place where it's possible to escape for a little while.
of everyday reality. It me
I really enjoy nailing; it's part of my way of life.
rock climbing.
The major problem that pretty much all development is experiencing is...
Climbing in Ticino in general is that one does not
did not expect in the past that escalation could
attract as many people as possible to our
territory.
The spirit of climbing
is about being free.
It's about being a bit of a rebel,
about going against the grain of society.
If you play basketball or tennis or soccer or
anything, you have lines on the field and
rules. And the beauty of climbing is that it's free.
And you can go and create your own path.
Of course, this is the big dilemma, to make first ascents,
creating a new path. Maybe it's okay if it's one or two people doing
it, but if it's a million people doing it, then it's not sustainable, right?
So how to keep that spirit
while also having some structure, having some regulations.
So one of the things that we're dealing right now with in climbing
is this paradox of how to manage the growth of the sport.
Society mirrors itself through climbing,
and the evolution of climbing is a mirror into the evolution of
humans.
Especially outdoor climbers like myself, we see a
massification in recent years.
I think that at one
At some point, we will have a problem if we
let's not try
to solve this
quickly.
For years, attendance was reasonable at
surface view. For about fifteen, twenty
Over the years, it has accelerated, and today there are sectors that are very affected.
due to erosion, to the point that we are forced to close the
sectors.
The more beautiful a place is, the more easily it will be besieged by
the masses and the more quickly it will be
destroyed.
There are very sensitive areas that will not be able to
Never welcome too many people.
It's a major objective problem in general, if you want
finding a balance between nature and the wishes of the owners
And
the climbers.
Clac, clac, clac.
Try not to put yourself just anywhere, on your right heel.
Come on, lie.
There, perfect.
Just a little higher. Come on,
There, you go up, you go up, you go up, you go to the flat again.
I can't. No, but this sport is too stupid.
It's crazy, I'm not afraid to have a blast when I have a rope.
And then, I fall apart.
Extreme. I'm going to put on some music now.
A little music, guys? We're gonna crank up the volume.
Okay, that's it. Okay, that's good. Now, this time, I'm going to keep going.
Not
Seriously, there
You gave me a flashback. I can hear the pulse in my ear.
Everything about you, right here.
If a very small percentage of people who come here have attitudes that do not
They're not civic-minded; in the end, what they're doing is staining everything
the image of the entire collective that is coming.
One thing is for sure, I'm not here to moralize.
I've done everything I shouldn't have done.
And there are still many things I do wrong.
I need to go to the bathroom, please.
I'm going to shit myself.
Oh, they're everywhere!
I've done everything I shouldn't have done. Guys, I've found the solution.
What you need to do is grab the "poop air" sign.
That way, when you have your private shitty look, you put up your sign.
And this is your part.
Let me use your tub, it's a rest.
I have no resistance.
I've done everything I shouldn't have done.
I think I forgot a line. I'd like to draw another little one.
For fun.
We've gotten into the habit of using plenty of chalk.
And in the Fontainebleau forest, that is not acceptable.
I did it.
Oh, that's still hot!
Then the fences, he
I have occasionally pulled on the maggots.
After that, the cows got away from me, I had to chase after them.
Are the cows alright?
A bit unfriendly.
Everything you shouldn't do,
I did it.
What I really love is barbecues.
Chips, atomic bombs, sausages.
There are people who are used to being able to make a fire in their country without holding
taking into account that we are in a Mediterranean location, what to do
A fire that may seem harmless can ultimately lead to a major disaster.
fire.
In Spain, firefighters continue to fight
against fires
of the forest.
I did it before, yes. That's true.
Before, I did everything I shouldn't have done.
Meschia, after the initial discovery and phase of enthusiasm,
So many people were arriving, more and more each year
year, until one day the owner decided to put an end to it
to free access to this place, because Meschia is located on a
private property with chestnut groves that give life to the
owner.
10 people per day,
That's alright. If you put 100 people a day here walking,
It's all over.
The climbers did nothing more than flock to it.
and go to the toilet everywhere. Sometimes they stole chestnuts,
Sometimes they made a mess. And that thing put an end to it.
free climbing in Meschia.
THE
relationships with the owners, sharing outdoor spaces with others
users, stricter regulations for the areas
protected natural areas in order to protect the flora and fauna
local issues, the return of land to indigenous populations, problems of
parking, political issues, and bad attitudes.
Little by little, the number of climbing areas
impacted by regulations or
of the
closures have increased considerably in the
world.
My skill level varied greatly during those years.
I did my first 6a at age 8. Whereas at
At 9 years old, for example, I did my first 8b.
Now I'm 14 years old and I've already done 9a.
It's certain that route 10a will be possible one day if there isn't a ban beforehand.
of climbing a cliff that is being set up.
The future is open, it will be
created by us and the ideas that will
solutions that will emerge are yet to be invented.
In fact, climbing is at the cutting edge
of this upheaval in the relationship with nature
which concerns all of humanity.
THE
things
have evolved considerably over the years
The last 30, 40 years and the escalation
has transformed into a culture of
consommation.It's not just that we have things to talk
about in climbing. We have things to talk about society.
We have things to talk about humans. Therefore, no one is innocent.
We are all residents. We are all responsible in a certain way.
Everyone looks at their own navel and everyone looks at their own goal.
That selfishness in society. And I think we're losing ourselves in it, because
They all have a justification.
But the worst part is that if you do that, it might get banned.
The climber is the one who loses.
All sports practices are at a point of stress, outdoors.
Mountain biking, trail running, hiking,
mountaineering.
There is a behavioral tendency to go where everyone else goes.
When one summit is overcrowded, there are five surrounding summits that remain unused.
But the one that's fashionable is the one everyone's in.
So, regarding the issue of people who are well-known, who practice, I think that
They begin to call themselves ambassadors.
Today there is a
frenetic use of social networks which increasingly accelerates the
frequenting the most beautiful places around.
And then the increasingly frenetic and continuous production of climbing guides, which
They make it easier for anyone to access any place.
It's a bit of a vicious circle: the more advertising you do,
the stronger you are, the more visible you are and today everyone sees you, so
everything becomes much more famous and all the people
they are ready to go and experience that kind of life too
experience in these places.
Since climbing has become so modern, I think all athletes
start to wonder: "What can I post?
Is it okay to show that I'm in the Calanques?
Won't everyone come to climb outside afterwards?
"So, our behavior must be more than responsible, we must be
copy.
Encouraging the practice of outdoor sports on social media, for example,
Yes, but the whole question is in what practice, how do we
practical ?
Are we focusing on the 25 meters of the
route and on the sequence, etc., and on the problems of
skin of gentleman's little finger or of
Madam? Or are we focusing on which one is
the history of this place
What species live there? What local people live there?
How do people live there? How do you get there?
How can we approach this in a respectful manner?
Machine.
I will never be able to do what you do.
In fact, the problem isn't talking about it, it's how we talk about it.
And what are the stories that are put on social media?
This is not overcrowding in 100% of sectors.
It is in 10% of sectors where, yes, there is overcrowding.
And there are lots of small cliffs completely
Set aside. It's also a matter of fashion.
And the networks, they're there.
They are fully contributing to this overcrowding.
I think that in the end it's not a problem of numbers.
Ultimately, it's a behavioral problem, since a very large number can come.
of people who have exemplary behavior and not even finding out, what's more, contributing
many positive things for the town, both for the local economy and for the
people who live in it.
Since the 2000s, there has been this kind of idea of outdoor sport
where "the earth is our playground".
Outdoor playground. But no, we're not the ones who are going to
in the mountains or on cliffs or on trails to set our Strava records or
To string together our performances. No.
Typically, what is Bioux molasse?
These are sediments from living things that lived 20 million years ago.
And every time we travel a meter, we go back in the geological history of the Earth and
In fact, we're climbing on living things, but just very old ones.
It might seem very poetic or very far-fetched, I don't know,
but in fact, it's
all these little changes in attitude that make you...
behave differently.
Okay guys, I've recorded some sound.
Let's have some fun, because when I climb, I need
the potatoes.
And sorry, I'm still really deaf.
That's nothing new. So, I still turn the sound up high, I put on a
something that rocks.
Last year, the pair of eagle owls settled in an area.
And to create and implement a bubble of tranquility to allow
It seemed that this couple would be able to settle down and successfully reproduce.
to be relevant.
Therefore, there is a major issue on cliffs due to the presence of these species.
protected rock art.
So it was a joint decision that was indeed successful.
to a closure and I find that it is exactly
the model that needs to be continued to be worked on at other sites
possibly those who would be affected by excessively intense activity
all these outdoor activities.
The challenge is to succeed in protecting this space while maintaining these
uses-there.
And also to bring about acceptance
among outdoor sports enthusiasts, and not just those involved in climbing,
but even the average hiker.
The end of the 20th century led to an approach to nature that was
very free and that today, we must
to re-examine without placing absolute freedom at the center of the debates
man in that nature.
Adjusting this freedom so that the impact is
less in relation to nature, because we have this awareness and this capacity to
be aware of that.
If we want to find solutions, we must not think like a
individual, but
like a community. We probably need to think with the
local climbers, with the population, with the
naturalists, along with those who manage the territory.
We need to create teams where there are different perspectives.
It's not just those who want to climb.
We really need to seek a dialogue.
so that we can find concrete solutions.
In the field, federations, land managers,
non-profits and NGOs, state and national parks have now
come up with well-adapted solutions to better managing climbing areas.
This can include paid parking,
designated campsites and parking lots,
cooperation with landowners,
waste management, signage,
building awareness,
and closures during fire season or during nesting seasons for
birds of prey and other endangered species.
Certain overly popular areas, such as Yosemite National Park
in California and Waco Tanks State Park in Texas,
set up quota systems to limit the number of visitors per day,
and in some cases, require hiring an official guide to
go climbing in the park.
This method of regulating the number of climbers could one day
be applied to certain popular climbing areas in Europe.
But as outdoor climbing areas go through these natural growing pangs,
indoor climbing and bouldering gyms continue to increase in popularity
at a breakneck pace. Every week, a new climbing structure is
built somewhere in the world.
The future of climbing.
The real climbing will begin.
This is the future of climbing.
Now young people have become too stylish.
They remain the best, as if you had distilled them.
We're no longer from the Catherine Destivelle generation.
We want to climb to some heavy sound with maximum decibels.
And if one day the cliffs overflow, we can always count on the kilter.
board. One thousand eight at full speed on a three square meter space.
That's more than full capacity on a thousand hectares of forest.
No more pros overpaying to keep their sponsors.
To make a living from climbing, there's no choice, you'll have to be strong.
The real climbing will begin.
There's something extraordinary about wall climbing,
It's because we are the ones who create the movements.
There, there is a certain gestural quality, a creativity,
a world that trailblazers exploit
and that when we go to the theaters, we have an experience of it
direct.
There is a creative side to it that is limitless.
It's a musical score, it's a painting.
With one stand and three sockets, you can create millions of movements.
They
Those guys are crazy. Did you see how heavily fortified it is?
Back then, people used to go to the mountains. What would they say now, Ribuffa?
Look, you've piled them all on top of the other one there, making slippery plastic.
A climbing gym is a bit like a fitness center.
Ultimately, it's a relatively expensive subscription.
So, we are necessarily in a segment of the population that has the means to
pay for a gym membership.
I like climbing because it's a good combination of mental and
physical exercise, and there's definitely that social aspect
too. So it's a good combination of all the things that I love,
and it keeps you healthy, keeps you strong.
I fought through way too much on this lonely road.
I lost blood, not their tears, but I won't lose my soul.
What's interesting about indoor climbing is its ephemeral nature.
because it allows one to work towards a certain form of detachment.
This is the new generation.
When you've been trying a boulder problem in the gym or a route in the... for 15 days
room
and you can't do it and then you arrive, they've changed the lanes.
Something is happening.
And that's interesting too.
What we want to propose,
It's an escalation that stimulates both intelligence,
both the gestures
and at the same time, aesthetics.
We want our buildings to be beautiful to look at.
We want our bouldering problems to be interesting to climb.
And we want our blocks to be intellectually complex to
decipher.
Climbing is trying to find its place among all the other sports.
So, we had to imagine new movements, something that would be
Highly visual, something that makes you want to go, something spectacular.
Ultimately, I think this might be the place for climbing.
modern.
It's been interesting for me to discover is when I come to a climbing gym,
I'm not thinking about some big achievement.
I'm not trying to climb La Dura Dura,
or I'm not trying to climb Biographie,
or Espantas,
or something that is important. It's more just enjoying the
movement of climbing.
In this way,
I found that I have some very pure climbing
experiences, even sometimes the most pure when I'm in the climbing
gym because I'm just in the moment enjoying
this connection with my body moving.
And it's not connected to my ego so much.
So I think it's really interesting because for so many years, I only
promoted outdoor climbing as the pure way.
And in fact, it's even possible to have a more pure
experience somehow indoors.
And so I think it's an interesting paradox, I guess.
The incredible success of indoor climbing gyms has led to an
exponential increase in their numbers.
Today, there are an estimated 30 million gym climbers around the
world.
This boom means more holds,
more smartphone apps, more wall structures,
and even integrating artificial intelligence into the route-setting process.
Indoor climbing gyms have now become the largest segment of the climbing
industry.
Long gone are the days of the simple basement training wall.
Modern private gyms offer a wide range of services far beyond
just climbing.
This is typically the ability to create places
where we will practice a sport. And by practicing this sport, we create
of social connection. And we will continue to spread this social connection throughout the rest of
the room with, in quotation marks, the related services.
You can enjoy a meal or a drink after your session,
take a yoga or a weightlifting class, relax in the sauna, or
even use co-working spaces.
Gyms feature dedicated play areas for kids, film screenings,
and other evening events, offering a whole new take on the
traditional climbing gym experience.
Two, one, go!
Skinny.
Yes, but I'm not going up there to attack my base.
Yes, I do the chicane too. Come on.
Three,
Two. Okay.
Okay, that's it. Look.
Very good.
I think majority of the people that come to our gyms or that go to
most gyms, it's like
they're not going to become rock climbers.
And I can see it for myself, too. The amount of effort
and time that I need to go rock climbing to try my project in Oliana,
I have to spend all day to drive two hours
to make two tries.And then to drive two
hours back, I get home super late.
Compared to the convenience of coming to a climbing gym, I can come
here and in two hours I can climb so much.
It really fits into my lifestyle with my family and everything so much
easier.
We must reflect on the fact that life is at the
border between worlds.
There is the natural world, and there is the artificial world.
We always live between the two. It's a construct
mental and cultural. We are nature
And we are artificial.
But what's interesting is seeing the conversations between the two.
What are the links between the climbing we are going to
artificial and natural climbing
?
But you cannot put people all in the same box all the
time. When it comes to saying climbing is climbing, climbers are
climbers, indoor climbers are outdoor climbers, it doesn't
exactly all align.
As I said, it's not linear. It's multidimensional.
These are things that are very three-dimensional.
It's climbing, but they are very different things.
There's swimming in a pool,
and there's swimming in the ocean.
Then there's swimming in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
There's swimming in a lake, there's swimming in a river,
there's swimming in a pool inside.
There are many forms of swimming.
There are many forms of climbing.
Indoor will definitely be a big part
of the future of climbing because nature will not be ready for it
to accommodate ever-increasing masses of climbers.
So surely big investors will build big temples for
climbing and entertaining people.
Of course, there will be a change happening in the next decades
because virtually everything has been climbed already.
There's not so much left to explore.
So in my point of view, climbing will be as
an activity more centered about indoor
climbing in the future.
There will be still a lot of outdoor activity, but
less pioneering-wise,
but more like go out there, go to the
climbs and just have a nice day.
I already love being outside, in nature.
I like the freedom one can have.
There are so many paths to explore that are historical or involve gestures
specific, magnificent, with a frame, etc.
Before thinking about the huge performance or the path of the
future, already climbing everything around us a little bit,
That could be a great goal.
If climbing is my profession,
That means I spend a lot of time climbing and training.
And so all my energy,
Professionally, too, she goes in one direction and at the end, there is my
navel.
And so, for me, that was fundamentally problematic because I think that by
Our work requires us to contribute something to the world.
There comes a point where we need to redefine performance.
That means what has value
What can the community value?
to help us grow as climbers
?
Today, I'm going to do a 9a
or an 8c, if every time I have to try the route, I have to do 80
Personally, I'm not interested in driving kilometers.
That's not what makes sense today.
The value is there, it's in the meaning, in the coherence and above all
in the experience and in the embodiment of what I say.
For me, from the moment I live what I say,
No one can take that away from me, because I lived it.
When I experience cycling from Saint-Lger to Bioux, it...
takes 5 hours instead of 1 hour 30 minutes by car.
but in fact,
I see a number of wonderful things that I have
I want to defend it and I want to be a part of it.
It's so real, since I'm experiencing it myself.
No matter how much people tell me, "Yes, but it's your bus," I know it works.
I know that this is what fulfills me more.
And I think it's not just because I'm an alien.
But if doing what we love destroys what allows us to do it,
It's going nowhere.
What you're doing is great, Eline, but I can't manage the bike.
I can't do it, it's just too hard.
Honestly, Eline, for me, either I go to the gym, or I quit.
Rock climbing. It burns my legs, my bags, everything.
But what you're doing is really good.
But I think I'm too old.
Exactly, that's it.
Come on, Cdric. Yes, you're coming down. Great.
Exactly. This movement is still tough.
You really need to stay calm.
What I dare say is that I am not perfect and
I will never be perfect.
But I'm trying. And for me,
In the future, we must all try to do
It's good for it to work, quite simply.
We just need to become aware of our actions, and that alone is enough.
will be a big step. I'm just saying to listen to everything
That,
to realize that our actions have great importance.
If everyone thinks about it, try it a little, things will change.
This is going to change drastically.
Right, I cross to the left, I turn right again.
Vinegar water, diluted.
Luckily I have a real brush.
She's a mass, there.
Disgusting.
That's great. What's really great about Spain is
that they make poop areas. I love Spain for the
Private poop areas. But it's your private toilet.
It's driving me crazy. I've done this scene 50 times, I can't do it, my battery's dead.
I tried it every which way. So, the only solution,
I'm taking the sign with me.
With algorithms, the codes will be organized.
There will be no more smoke and mirrors to make you believe you've made progress.
Finally, in the gyms, we'll be able to have cool blocks and we'll never again have
Steps that don't work. No more sharp, arched steps, no more freezing afternoons.
the rush, the wobbly holds, the old belays on bolts, the holds
polished surfaces and routes where you can't see the summit, challenging moves, the
stones that can knock you out, the weird eliminations, the paths that make
The crossing, the annoying locals and the bitter cold that gives you frostbite, the stairs
endless approaches, air travel, conditions, ratings, the
conventions will soon be a thing of the past if we hold firm.
The real climbing would begin.
constitute a series of truly remarkable feats
cinematographic. The filmmaker
follows, in their dizzying ascent, the
specialists in big rock climbing.
We are here in the realm of the most tragic fragility.
Nightmare. Absolutely terrifying nightmare.
My name is Cdric Lachat.
And I am what's commonly referred to as a pro
climber.
What does it mean to be a pro climber
? Well, it means traveling around the world from competition to competition,
climbing the highest on a wall in a gym.
It means being the best, better than anyone else, all the time.
Okay.
That was a long time ago.
It's still Danette.
Today, I no longer compete and focus on climbing outdoors.
What does it mean to be an outdoor climber ?
Well, it means traveling around the world from crag to crag.
It means attempting the hardest routes on the planet.
It means pouting when you're not good enough and it's too hot outside.
And whining when your fingers hurt.
I like living the dirtbag lifestyle, spending time alone
outdoors, experiencing adventure, just like my
forebearers who forever made an impression on a generation of climbers.
Yes,
that was 40 years ago.
I spend most of my time in my van, driving from cliff to cliff.
I like the freedom, the calm, and hearing the birds sing.
Climbing creates a genuine bond with nature and the elements that...
Well... That was a
long time ago.
Okay,
Back to work.
In the past few years, climbing has changed at an unprecedented
rate, and we find ourselves at a historic turning point.
With the rapid growth in climbing gyms,
the number of people pulling down on plastic has exploded.
And now, as an official Olympic sport, climbing's
long-time counterculture is currently experiencing
a 21st century transformation.
With the rise in popularity of indoor climbing, the sport has gone
mainstream, while at the same time, managing popular
areas involves increased regulations, and in some cases,
closures.
What legacy will we leave for future generations of climbers ?
Will more restrictions be placed on outdoor climbing areas ?
What will the future of climbing be
?
Hold on a second.
To understand where we're going,
we need to know more about where we've been.
Let's take a quick look back at the history of climbing.
Tree-climbing equipment by the French Alpine Club, which are the starting point of
large expeditions, do not hesitate to risk their lives for
conquer the mountain.
From the end of the 19th century through the middle of the 20th,
mountaineering and peak climbing were the main motivations for climbers.
At the time, only the summit mattered.
Cragging and bouldering served as the training grounds for building the strength
and technique needed for grander adventures in the high mountains.
Many vocations were born in climbing schools, and many of our great
Mountaineers have perfected their technique there to the point of constantly retreating
the limits of their capabilities.
Rock climbing started to develop as its own discipline in England,
Italy, and Germany. Climbers accomplished genuinely impressive
feats with very little gear, where falling was simply not an
optionIn
the fifties, climbers set up camp in Yosemite, where the
valley's now legendary granite big walls saw their very first
descents, all requiring the use of aid technique.
The image of climbing a while back was Camp 4.
It was Yosemite, it was dirt bags, it was drugs, it was
anarchy. It was like the system.
In the eighties, sport climbing became a separate discipline
with its own distinct identity.
It wasn't reaching the top that mattered, but the succession of hard moves
to get there.
The sport earned its wings carried by a multitude of emblematic
figures.
The number of female climbers began to rise quickly.
Once part of the counterculture on the margins of society,
climbing became all the rage and suddenly experienced an
influx of money and sponsors.
The first artificial structures were built to meet the needs of competitions,
giving birth to a new sport where all the rules had to be
invented.
In the nineties, training methods progressed at a blistering pace,
and artificial climbing walls began to appear everywhere.
Since then, it has all moved so fast.
From the turn of the 21st century through today, the number of
indoor climbing gyms has skyrocketed.
Gyms offer kids the opportunity to start climbing at a young age
and have contributed to pushing the upper limits of free
climbing.
Climbing is now a worldwide sport.
Just as sport climbing broke away from mountaineering, gym climbing
has done the same,
creating its own rules and heroes.
But while sport climbing has never been more popular,
what is the current state of traditional places like cliffs and
crags all over the world?
I've
been climbing on cliffs for years now,
and over time, I've seen that there are always more people,
and
that our actions are becoming more and more important.
If we can't change things today, I think our
outdoor sport is really
threatened. To make the
documentary, I went to see lots of
different people: climbers, local authorities,
federations. I went to example locations
and emblematic cliffs. It's complicated to make a film like this without being too
moralistic. So, with my little touch of
humor, I'd like to show our actions and behaviors that can harm our
practice.
New block.
Here you arrive, you don't see
the
hole. So...
Two
fingers. When you want to
aim right, you make the two traits, because otherwise you
aim there, you aim there, you're never on it. There, it's the little finger.
There, it's the big finger. There, it's the middle.
You
see, it's still not precise enough.
There, it's not bad.
Ah! I missed it again! Oh, that's
good.
Fontainebleau is really a forest out of the
ordinary, unique in its
kind, with all its blocks and this granite of a quality
you will find
nowhere else.
This forest is a area south of Paris
that was covered by
the sea 60 million years ago, and when the sea left, it left
sand behind. This sand crystallized into rock.
Over 27,000 hectares, it is covered with rocks,
and indeed, when you observe them, you
can see amazing shapes, elephants,
eagles, faces.
The main problem in Fontainebleau today is
overpopulation.
In some car parks, we counted more than 2,000 vans,
knowing that the car parks have
about a
hundred
spaces.
Oh, it's a campsite.
No, that's not possible. I just bought a van for 60,000 bucks, I'm not going to
Paying another 10 bucks for a campsite.
Okay, I'll go and sit anywhere, it's free.
Margalef is a site that dates back to the origin of
Paleolithic and which evolved over the course of the
time. Today, one of its main strengths
is climbing.
And now we are in the situation that everyone
knows. More or
less, about
Between 60,000 and 90,000 people come to the village each year during these
recent years, including approximately
80% are
climbers.
The forests, and especially that of Meschia, are characterized by these magnificent
chestnut forests where
sandstone rocks are deposited on these soils
musky in very beautiful vegetation.
This creates a harmony between the beauty of nature
and the beauty of these rocks sculpted by millennia of
bad weather.
Initially, what we did, me in particular, was to do
There's a lot of publicity for this place.
Meschia was one of the first places to have suffered a closure
drastic.
I'd like to describe Val Bavona as a very wild
place.
There's something about it here that's really special.
And not only is it a very wild place, it's also a very
raw and kind of intense place.
Valle Bavona is a special place,
magic.
For me, it's definitely a place where it's possible to escape for a little while.
of everyday reality. It me
I really enjoy nailing; it's part of my way of life.
rock climbing.
The major problem that pretty much all development is experiencing is...
Climbing in Ticino in general is that one does not
did not expect in the past that escalation could
attract as many people as possible to our
territory.
The spirit of climbing
is about being free.
It's about being a bit of a rebel,
about going against the grain of society.
If you play basketball or tennis or soccer or
anything, you have lines on the field and
rules. And the beauty of climbing is that it's free.
And you can go and create your own path.
Of course, this is the big dilemma, to make first ascents,
creating a new path. Maybe it's okay if it's one or two people doing
it, but if it's a million people doing it, then it's not sustainable, right?
So how to keep that spirit
while also having some structure, having some regulations.
So one of the things that we're dealing right now with in climbing
is this paradox of how to manage the growth of the sport.
Society mirrors itself through climbing,
and the evolution of climbing is a mirror into the evolution of
humans.
Especially outdoor climbers like myself, we see a
massification in recent years.
I think that at one
At some point, we will have a problem if we
let's not try
to solve this
quickly.
For years, attendance was reasonable at
surface view. For about fifteen, twenty
Over the years, it has accelerated, and today there are sectors that are very affected.
due to erosion, to the point that we are forced to close the
sectors.
The more beautiful a place is, the more easily it will be besieged by
the masses and the more quickly it will be
destroyed.
There are very sensitive areas that will not be able to
Never welcome too many people.
It's a major objective problem in general, if you want
finding a balance between nature and the wishes of the owners
And
the climbers.
Clac, clac, clac.
Try not to put yourself just anywhere, on your right heel.
Come on, lie.
There, perfect.
Just a little higher. Come on,
There, you go up, you go up, you go up, you go to the flat again.
I can't. No, but this sport is too stupid.
It's crazy, I'm not afraid to have a blast when I have a rope.
And then, I fall apart.
Extreme. I'm going to put on some music now.
A little music, guys? We're gonna crank up the volume.
Okay, that's it. Okay, that's good. Now, this time, I'm going to keep going.
Not
Seriously, there
You gave me a flashback. I can hear the pulse in my ear.
Everything about you, right here.
If a very small percentage of people who come here have attitudes that do not
They're not civic-minded; in the end, what they're doing is staining everything
the image of the entire collective that is coming.
One thing is for sure, I'm not here to moralize.
I've done everything I shouldn't have done.
And there are still many things I do wrong.
I need to go to the bathroom, please.
I'm going to shit myself.
Oh, they're everywhere!
I've done everything I shouldn't have done. Guys, I've found the solution.
What you need to do is grab the "poop air" sign.
That way, when you have your private shitty look, you put up your sign.
And this is your part.
Let me use your tub, it's a rest.
I have no resistance.
I've done everything I shouldn't have done.
I think I forgot a line. I'd like to draw another little one.
For fun.
We've gotten into the habit of using plenty of chalk.
And in the Fontainebleau forest, that is not acceptable.
I did it.
Oh, that's still hot!
Then the fences, he
I have occasionally pulled on the maggots.
After that, the cows got away from me, I had to chase after them.
Are the cows alright?
A bit unfriendly.
Everything you shouldn't do,
I did it.
What I really love is barbecues.
Chips, atomic bombs, sausages.
There are people who are used to being able to make a fire in their country without holding
taking into account that we are in a Mediterranean location, what to do
A fire that may seem harmless can ultimately lead to a major disaster.
fire.
In Spain, firefighters continue to fight
against fires
of the forest.
I did it before, yes. That's true.
Before, I did everything I shouldn't have done.
Meschia, after the initial discovery and phase of enthusiasm,
So many people were arriving, more and more each year
year, until one day the owner decided to put an end to it
to free access to this place, because Meschia is located on a
private property with chestnut groves that give life to the
owner.
10 people per day,
That's alright. If you put 100 people a day here walking,
It's all over.
The climbers did nothing more than flock to it.
and go to the toilet everywhere. Sometimes they stole chestnuts,
Sometimes they made a mess. And that thing put an end to it.
free climbing in Meschia.
THE
relationships with the owners, sharing outdoor spaces with others
users, stricter regulations for the areas
protected natural areas in order to protect the flora and fauna
local issues, the return of land to indigenous populations, problems of
parking, political issues, and bad attitudes.
Little by little, the number of climbing areas
impacted by regulations or
of the
closures have increased considerably in the
world.
My skill level varied greatly during those years.
I did my first 6a at age 8. Whereas at
At 9 years old, for example, I did my first 8b.
Now I'm 14 years old and I've already done 9a.
It's certain that route 10a will be possible one day if there isn't a ban beforehand.
of climbing a cliff that is being set up.
The future is open, it will be
created by us and the ideas that will
solutions that will emerge are yet to be invented.
In fact, climbing is at the cutting edge
of this upheaval in the relationship with nature
which concerns all of humanity.
THE
things
have evolved considerably over the years
The last 30, 40 years and the escalation
has transformed into a culture of
consommation.It's not just that we have things to talk
about in climbing. We have things to talk about society.
We have things to talk about humans. Therefore, no one is innocent.
We are all residents. We are all responsible in a certain way.
Everyone looks at their own navel and everyone looks at their own goal.
That selfishness in society. And I think we're losing ourselves in it, because
They all have a justification.
But the worst part is that if you do that, it might get banned.
The climber is the one who loses.
All sports practices are at a point of stress, outdoors.
Mountain biking, trail running, hiking,
mountaineering.
There is a behavioral tendency to go where everyone else goes.
When one summit is overcrowded, there are five surrounding summits that remain unused.
But the one that's fashionable is the one everyone's in.
So, regarding the issue of people who are well-known, who practice, I think that
They begin to call themselves ambassadors.
Today there is a
frenetic use of social networks which increasingly accelerates the
frequenting the most beautiful places around.
And then the increasingly frenetic and continuous production of climbing guides, which
They make it easier for anyone to access any place.
It's a bit of a vicious circle: the more advertising you do,
the stronger you are, the more visible you are and today everyone sees you, so
everything becomes much more famous and all the people
they are ready to go and experience that kind of life too
experience in these places.
Since climbing has become so modern, I think all athletes
start to wonder: "What can I post?
Is it okay to show that I'm in the Calanques?
Won't everyone come to climb outside afterwards?
"So, our behavior must be more than responsible, we must be
copy.
Encouraging the practice of outdoor sports on social media, for example,
Yes, but the whole question is in what practice, how do we
practical ?
Are we focusing on the 25 meters of the
route and on the sequence, etc., and on the problems of
skin of gentleman's little finger or of
Madam? Or are we focusing on which one is
the history of this place
What species live there? What local people live there?
How do people live there? How do you get there?
How can we approach this in a respectful manner?
Machine.
I will never be able to do what you do.
In fact, the problem isn't talking about it, it's how we talk about it.
And what are the stories that are put on social media?
This is not overcrowding in 100% of sectors.
It is in 10% of sectors where, yes, there is overcrowding.
And there are lots of small cliffs completely
Set aside. It's also a matter of fashion.
And the networks, they're there.
They are fully contributing to this overcrowding.
I think that in the end it's not a problem of numbers.
Ultimately, it's a behavioral problem, since a very large number can come.
of people who have exemplary behavior and not even finding out, what's more, contributing
many positive things for the town, both for the local economy and for the
people who live in it.
Since the 2000s, there has been this kind of idea of outdoor sport
where "the earth is our playground".
Outdoor playground. But no, we're not the ones who are going to
in the mountains or on cliffs or on trails to set our Strava records or
To string together our performances. No.
Typically, what is Bioux molasse?
These are sediments from living things that lived 20 million years ago.
And every time we travel a meter, we go back in the geological history of the Earth and
In fact, we're climbing on living things, but just very old ones.
It might seem very poetic or very far-fetched, I don't know,
but in fact, it's
all these little changes in attitude that make you...
behave differently.
Okay guys, I've recorded some sound.
Let's have some fun, because when I climb, I need
the potatoes.
And sorry, I'm still really deaf.
That's nothing new. So, I still turn the sound up high, I put on a
something that rocks.
Last year, the pair of eagle owls settled in an area.
And to create and implement a bubble of tranquility to allow
It seemed that this couple would be able to settle down and successfully reproduce.
to be relevant.
Therefore, there is a major issue on cliffs due to the presence of these species.
protected rock art.
So it was a joint decision that was indeed successful.
to a closure and I find that it is exactly
the model that needs to be continued to be worked on at other sites
possibly those who would be affected by excessively intense activity
all these outdoor activities.
The challenge is to succeed in protecting this space while maintaining these
uses-there.
And also to bring about acceptance
among outdoor sports enthusiasts, and not just those involved in climbing,
but even the average hiker.
The end of the 20th century led to an approach to nature that was
very free and that today, we must
to re-examine without placing absolute freedom at the center of the debates
man in that nature.
Adjusting this freedom so that the impact is
less in relation to nature, because we have this awareness and this capacity to
be aware of that.
If we want to find solutions, we must not think like a
individual, but
like a community. We probably need to think with the
local climbers, with the population, with the
naturalists, along with those who manage the territory.
We need to create teams where there are different perspectives.
It's not just those who want to climb.
We really need to seek a dialogue.
so that we can find concrete solutions.
In the field, federations, land managers,
non-profits and NGOs, state and national parks have now
come up with well-adapted solutions to better managing climbing areas.
This can include paid parking,
designated campsites and parking lots,
cooperation with landowners,
waste management, signage,
building awareness,
and closures during fire season or during nesting seasons for
birds of prey and other endangered species.
Certain overly popular areas, such as Yosemite National Park
in California and Waco Tanks State Park in Texas,
set up quota systems to limit the number of visitors per day,
and in some cases, require hiring an official guide to
go climbing in the park.
This method of regulating the number of climbers could one day
be applied to certain popular climbing areas in Europe.
But as outdoor climbing areas go through these natural growing pangs,
indoor climbing and bouldering gyms continue to increase in popularity
at a breakneck pace. Every week, a new climbing structure is
built somewhere in the world.
The future of climbing.
The real climbing will begin.
This is the future of climbing.
Now young people have become too stylish.
They remain the best, as if you had distilled them.
We're no longer from the Catherine Destivelle generation.
We want to climb to some heavy sound with maximum decibels.
And if one day the cliffs overflow, we can always count on the kilter.
board. One thousand eight at full speed on a three square meter space.
That's more than full capacity on a thousand hectares of forest.
No more pros overpaying to keep their sponsors.
To make a living from climbing, there's no choice, you'll have to be strong.
The real climbing will begin.
There's something extraordinary about wall climbing,
It's because we are the ones who create the movements.
There, there is a certain gestural quality, a creativity,
a world that trailblazers exploit
and that when we go to the theaters, we have an experience of it
direct.
There is a creative side to it that is limitless.
It's a musical score, it's a painting.
With one stand and three sockets, you can create millions of movements.
They
Those guys are crazy. Did you see how heavily fortified it is?
Back then, people used to go to the mountains. What would they say now, Ribuffa?
Look, you've piled them all on top of the other one there, making slippery plastic.
A climbing gym is a bit like a fitness center.
Ultimately, it's a relatively expensive subscription.
So, we are necessarily in a segment of the population that has the means to
pay for a gym membership.
I like climbing because it's a good combination of mental and
physical exercise, and there's definitely that social aspect
too. So it's a good combination of all the things that I love,
and it keeps you healthy, keeps you strong.
I fought through way too much on this lonely road.
I lost blood, not their tears, but I won't lose my soul.
What's interesting about indoor climbing is its ephemeral nature.
because it allows one to work towards a certain form of detachment.
This is the new generation.
When you've been trying a boulder problem in the gym or a route in the... for 15 days
room
and you can't do it and then you arrive, they've changed the lanes.
Something is happening.
And that's interesting too.
What we want to propose,
It's an escalation that stimulates both intelligence,
both the gestures
and at the same time, aesthetics.
We want our buildings to be beautiful to look at.
We want our bouldering problems to be interesting to climb.
And we want our blocks to be intellectually complex to
decipher.
Climbing is trying to find its place among all the other sports.
So, we had to imagine new movements, something that would be
Highly visual, something that makes you want to go, something spectacular.
Ultimately, I think this might be the place for climbing.
modern.
It's been interesting for me to discover is when I come to a climbing gym,
I'm not thinking about some big achievement.
I'm not trying to climb La Dura Dura,
or I'm not trying to climb Biographie,
or Espantas,
or something that is important. It's more just enjoying the
movement of climbing.
In this way,
I found that I have some very pure climbing
experiences, even sometimes the most pure when I'm in the climbing
gym because I'm just in the moment enjoying
this connection with my body moving.
And it's not connected to my ego so much.
So I think it's really interesting because for so many years, I only
promoted outdoor climbing as the pure way.
And in fact, it's even possible to have a more pure
experience somehow indoors.
And so I think it's an interesting paradox, I guess.
The incredible success of indoor climbing gyms has led to an
exponential increase in their numbers.
Today, there are an estimated 30 million gym climbers around the
world.
This boom means more holds,
more smartphone apps, more wall structures,
and even integrating artificial intelligence into the route-setting process.
Indoor climbing gyms have now become the largest segment of the climbing
industry.
Long gone are the days of the simple basement training wall.
Modern private gyms offer a wide range of services far beyond
just climbing.
This is typically the ability to create places
where we will practice a sport. And by practicing this sport, we create
of social connection. And we will continue to spread this social connection throughout the rest of
the room with, in quotation marks, the related services.
You can enjoy a meal or a drink after your session,
take a yoga or a weightlifting class, relax in the sauna, or
even use co-working spaces.
Gyms feature dedicated play areas for kids, film screenings,
and other evening events, offering a whole new take on the
traditional climbing gym experience.
Two, one, go!
Skinny.
Yes, but I'm not going up there to attack my base.
Yes, I do the chicane too. Come on.
Three,
Two. Okay.
Okay, that's it. Look.
Very good.
I think majority of the people that come to our gyms or that go to
most gyms, it's like
they're not going to become rock climbers.
And I can see it for myself, too. The amount of effort
and time that I need to go rock climbing to try my project in Oliana,
I have to spend all day to drive two hours
to make two tries.And then to drive two
hours back, I get home super late.
Compared to the convenience of coming to a climbing gym, I can come
here and in two hours I can climb so much.
It really fits into my lifestyle with my family and everything so much
easier.
We must reflect on the fact that life is at the
border between worlds.
There is the natural world, and there is the artificial world.
We always live between the two. It's a construct
mental and cultural. We are nature
And we are artificial.
But what's interesting is seeing the conversations between the two.
What are the links between the climbing we are going to
artificial and natural climbing
?
But you cannot put people all in the same box all the
time. When it comes to saying climbing is climbing, climbers are
climbers, indoor climbers are outdoor climbers, it doesn't
exactly all align.
As I said, it's not linear. It's multidimensional.
These are things that are very three-dimensional.
It's climbing, but they are very different things.
There's swimming in a pool,
and there's swimming in the ocean.
Then there's swimming in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
There's swimming in a lake, there's swimming in a river,
there's swimming in a pool inside.
There are many forms of swimming.
There are many forms of climbing.
Indoor will definitely be a big part
of the future of climbing because nature will not be ready for it
to accommodate ever-increasing masses of climbers.
So surely big investors will build big temples for
climbing and entertaining people.
Of course, there will be a change happening in the next decades
because virtually everything has been climbed already.
There's not so much left to explore.
So in my point of view, climbing will be as
an activity more centered about indoor
climbing in the future.
There will be still a lot of outdoor activity, but
less pioneering-wise,
but more like go out there, go to the
climbs and just have a nice day.
I already love being outside, in nature.
I like the freedom one can have.
There are so many paths to explore that are historical or involve gestures
specific, magnificent, with a frame, etc.
Before thinking about the huge performance or the path of the
future, already climbing everything around us a little bit,
That could be a great goal.
If climbing is my profession,
That means I spend a lot of time climbing and training.
And so all my energy,
Professionally, too, she goes in one direction and at the end, there is my
navel.
And so, for me, that was fundamentally problematic because I think that by
Our work requires us to contribute something to the world.
There comes a point where we need to redefine performance.
That means what has value
What can the community value?
to help us grow as climbers
?
Today, I'm going to do a 9a
or an 8c, if every time I have to try the route, I have to do 80
Personally, I'm not interested in driving kilometers.
That's not what makes sense today.
The value is there, it's in the meaning, in the coherence and above all
in the experience and in the embodiment of what I say.
For me, from the moment I live what I say,
No one can take that away from me, because I lived it.
When I experience cycling from Saint-Lger to Bioux, it...
takes 5 hours instead of 1 hour 30 minutes by car.
but in fact,
I see a number of wonderful things that I have
I want to defend it and I want to be a part of it.
It's so real, since I'm experiencing it myself.
No matter how much people tell me, "Yes, but it's your bus," I know it works.
I know that this is what fulfills me more.
And I think it's not just because I'm an alien.
But if doing what we love destroys what allows us to do it,
It's going nowhere.
What you're doing is great, Eline, but I can't manage the bike.
I can't do it, it's just too hard.
Honestly, Eline, for me, either I go to the gym, or I quit.
Rock climbing. It burns my legs, my bags, everything.
But what you're doing is really good.
But I think I'm too old.
Exactly, that's it.
Come on, Cdric. Yes, you're coming down. Great.
Exactly. This movement is still tough.
You really need to stay calm.
What I dare say is that I am not perfect and
I will never be perfect.
But I'm trying. And for me,
In the future, we must all try to do
It's good for it to work, quite simply.
We just need to become aware of our actions, and that alone is enough.
will be a big step. I'm just saying to listen to everything
That,
to realize that our actions have great importance.
If everyone thinks about it, try it a little, things will change.
This is going to change drastically.
Right, I cross to the left, I turn right again.
Vinegar water, diluted.
Luckily I have a real brush.
She's a mass, there.
Disgusting.
That's great. What's really great about Spain is
that they make poop areas. I love Spain for the
Private poop areas. But it's your private toilet.
It's driving me crazy. I've done this scene 50 times, I can't do it, my battery's dead.
I tried it every which way. So, the only solution,
I'm taking the sign with me.
With algorithms, the codes will be organized.
There will be no more smoke and mirrors to make you believe you've made progress.
Finally, in the gyms, we'll be able to have cool blocks and we'll never again have
Steps that don't work. No more sharp, arched steps, no more freezing afternoons.
the rush, the wobbly holds, the old belays on bolts, the holds
polished surfaces and routes where you can't see the summit, challenging moves, the
stones that can knock you out, the weird eliminations, the paths that make
The crossing, the annoying locals and the bitter cold that gives you frostbite, the stairs
endless approaches, air travel, conditions, ratings, the
conventions will soon be a thing of the past if we hold firm.
The real climbing would begin.