NYT on the rise of climbing

Didn't see any posts on this yet, then again I should figure this bunch of dirtbags doesn't actually read anything:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/14/style/bouldering.html 

Over the past five years, rock climbing has become a popular activity among young professionals and families, documented on social media and in films like “The Dawn Wall,” “Valley Uprising” and “Free Solo,” an Oscar winner that chronicled Alex Honnold’s ropeless ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

In 2016, rock climbing was added to the 2020 Olympics. New climbing gyms are mushrooming like cycling studios before them, and U.S.A. Climbing, the competition circuit, signed a multiyear broadcast deal with ESPN in January.  Popular street wear brands have been mining “old-school climbing stuff” from North Face, Patagonia, Eddie Bauer and L.L. Bean for inspiration, according to Matthew Schonfeld, 27, a climber who lives in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn and does marketing for Rowing Blazers.

“It’s a moment, you know?” said Jimmy Chin, 46, who directed “Free Solo” with his wife, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. “These moments happen when a bunch of different variables all line up.”
According to Climbing Business Journal, which tracks gym openings nationally, the commercial climbing gym industry grew at a rate of 6.9 percent in 2016, 10 percent in 2017 and 11.8 percent in 2018.

This oughta get people going:

Harley Pasternak, who trains celebrities including Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian West and Gwyneth Paltrow, isn’t a fan of rock climbing. None of his clients do it, though climbing makes a few appearances in Goop.com’s travel pages.

“It’s really not a full-body workout,” Mr. Pasternak said, though many climbers argue otherwise. “Most of the muscles that people really need to strength-train — hamstrings, glutes, lower back, rhomboids, triceps — are not really worked during rock climbing. Rock climbing is mainly lats, forearms, quads and calves, so these are not going to contribute to better posture.”
Not to mention, he said, most people aren’t strong enough to hoist themselves up a wall without getting hurt.

“Keeping in mind the average American is significantly overweight, I would talk everyone I could out of rock climbing unless you are incredibly light, agile, fit and functional,” said Mr. Pasternak, 45. “There is a very small minority of this country that should be rock climbing.”

"It’s really not a full-body workout,”

Add running and some pushups and it's pretty good. FIGHT ME.

Tot adorbs! (did I use that term correctly?) :) why are the ropes hanging diagonally in that picture?

it reads like a comedy. So many gems in that article!

They were destined for the nearby Red River Gorge, a dramatic rocky cliff that Mr. Woodruff has explored eight or nine times.

In the most well-known form of rope-climbing, “top-roping,” partners on the ground “belay,” or gather the slack as you climb higher, so you won’t fall too far if you slip.

 Engineers in particular seem to be attracted to the sport, because each “boulder problem” of holds is a three-dimensional puzzle, and gyms reset them monthly to keep things spicy. 

Sasha DiGiulian, 27, is a three-time United States National Champion climber who helped design a climber emoji and now hosts high-end climbing wellness retreats in Kalymnos, Greece.
There, groups of 16 to 20 — often millennials from Silicon Valley, San Francisco and New York City — shell out $3,500 for luxury accommodations, four days of climbing with Ms. DiGiulian and three guides, dinners of freshly caught fish and ouzo, and a rest day swimming with wild dolphins.

O.K., I give up!

Nice work if you can get it.

Also 16 year old millennials?  So born in 2003? Ok boomer NYT.

Can someone post their username and password so I can read it? 

“If you walked in and saw my itty-bitty 5-year-old, you’d be like, Oh my gosh! She goes high. She goes to the top, and she’ll rappel,” said Megan Novotney, 36, a yoga teacher whose 6-year-old triplets also partake, sometimes rappelling down together while holding hands. 

Clearly this article's target audience has very little overlap with MP aficionados ... 

F Loyd wrote: Can someone post their username and password so I can read it? 

Trust those who have read it when we say you don't want to do that.

It's not behind a paywall so read away or not.

This Harley Pasternik dude is an undercover homie! He’s telling everyone they can’t climb and they shouldn’t try! Someone get this man a beer and a high five stat!

What’s the Times say about the crux on the pink route?

Monopkt wrote a response that's been circulating on IG:

https://www.monopkt.com/blogs/news/a-response-to-new-york-times-article-climbing-is-for-everyone

Honest question (because I don't do any other sport seriously, and am subsequently in the dark): Do other sports/outdoor activities have this "It's for everyone" propaganda going on? I can't imagine campaigns and articles espousing the need for everyone to kayak or surf or whatever. Am I wrong?

“It’s really not a full-body workout,” Mr. Pasternak said, though many climbers argue otherwise. “Most of the muscles that people really need to strength-train — hamstrings, glutes, lower back, rhomboids, triceps — are not really worked during rock climbing. Rock climbing is mainly lats, forearms, quads and calves, so these are not going to contribute to better posture.”
Not to mention, he said, most people aren’t strong enough to hoist themselves up a wall without getting hurt.

“Keeping in mind the average American is significantly overweight, I would talk everyone I could out of rock climbing unless you are incredibly light, agile, fit and functional,” said Mr. Pasternak, 45. “There is a very small minority of this country that should be rock climbing

This is extremely true. Funny how rock climbers don't get it.

This is great, everyone needs to know how terrible climbing is. The last thing we need is more people trampling on Cryptobiotic soil.

Short Fall Sean wrote: Honest question (because I don't do any other sport seriously, and am subsequently in the dark): Do other sports/outdoor activities have this "It's for everyone" propaganda going on? I can't imagine campaigns and articles espousing the need for everyone to kayak or surf or whatever. Am I wrong?

Honest answer: of course!

And I think you misunderstand the basic tenet of “it’s for everyone” campaigns: it’s not that everyone SHOULD, or NEEDS to climb, bike, kayak, or surf, etc. It’s about eliminating the attitudes of “people like THIS don’t do THAT”. Whatever the this/that combination is.
“Amputees can't play soccer”
“Overweight people can’t climb”
“Old ladies don’t surf”
“Brown people don’t ski”Etc. 

Tradiban wrote:
This is extremely true. Funny how rock climbers don't get it.

I couldn't agree more. If it was such a great workout why the hell do we have to train just to avoid injury let alone advance

Adam Smith wrote:

And dips

Only kinda dippin' I do

Brandon Fields wrote: This Harley Pasternik dude is an undercover homie! He’s telling everyone they can’t climb and they shouldn’t try! Someone get this man a beer and a high five stat!

No reason to argue with that guy.

The real reason he doesn't recommend climbing for celebrities -- it's the fingernails, stupid.

author must have read this thread...

​https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/117765801/how-to-keep-people-out-of-climbing​​​

Celebrities climb. Who's Jason Mamoa's trainer?

Ooooooh yeah.