Noah Kane shorts comments

Wading through the HP derailing to try to provide legitimate feedback.

I think my distaste for it is mostly in the platforms in use that are talking about climbing. I don’t like tiktok or insta, etc. Condensing a varied sport like climbing to a decently-well produced tiktok format was only a matter of time, and it’s no surprise with climbing. Climbing is photogenic, and is asking for “a manager”. With these formats (for those of us who use them) we are simultaneously over and underexposed. Overexposed in terms the volume of content, and underexposed because the content doesn’t show enough.

In the case of Noah Kane content, it’s pretty harmless. Choss is a consideration while climbing, and worth noting. Via Comatose Amigos at one of my home crags just had a human-sized rock pop off of it last year, and it sees a lot of traffic. You might also see him weight-testing a piece of gear in a rock a couple of feet off the ground that in reality could hold his weight falling at terminal velocity provided a good belay. See what I mean? A lot of content that is well made and informative in a small way, but doesn’t show the whole truth. This sport is growing faster than it has knowledgeable people to teach the new people.

Climbing is a wild sport born out of a truly wild world and cannot be condensed to any such format. If you’re feeling inundated, go find a rock that evades the reach of MP or at least cell signal and have a great day. 

When i learned to climb just a few years ago, i was told that spraying about anything and everything was considered to be in bad form. That said, there are certainly climbing influencers/youtubers who broadcast themselves without being obnoxious and cringe. I can't point to the exact difference between them and this guy, but there's clearly one there.  I see a big problem in this all with the prospect of someone who comes across as a bit of a gumby creating dozens, maybe hundreds of new gumbies. I say this as someone who is definitely still a bit of a gumby-- I'm sure he's competent or whatever but the need to portray "oh wow look how cool and crazy this thing im doing is!"  is a bit annoying. 

I got sent an instagram video of his by a nonclimber friend-- he was testing if a piton would hold his weight, and he hammers a pin into a boulder that could have been a stellar problem, but the need to be performative for his feed trumps all considerations of minimizing impact.

Christopher Smithwrote:

Anyone else get driven nuts by the normies that think all us climbers are like one piece of choss away from dying?  "Sorry but the statistics don't agree with 'is pretty safe when you do it right' people die like bugs in a windshield during summer when practicing climbing" was the one that drove me up the wall when I saw it.  Can't remember the last time I only hit 30 bugs a year on an entire continent.  And these people get behind the wheel of a car and go 70 mph like it's nothing....

Only time climbers end up like bugs on a windshield is when the dirtbags roll out of the campground after downing five craft IPAs. 

Marc801 Cwrote:

OK. Y'all are confusing me, so I had to Google 'muggle'. Having never seen a  single Hairy Potter movie (and no desire to do so), I at least get the reference now.

And before anyone else jumps in, I generally dislike magical fantasy stories - eg: I despise Tolkien. Tried to read The Hobbit once and tossed it after 30 or so pages of dreck.

Hahahahaha!  Is it even legal to say this?

Wali Kwrote:

When i learned to climb just a few years ago, i was told that spraying about anything and everything was considered to be in bad form. That said, there are certainly climbing influencers/youtubers who broadcast themselves without being obnoxious and cringe. I can't point to the exact difference between them and this guy, but there's clearly one there.  I see a big problem in this all with the prospect of someone who comes across as a bit of a gumby creating dozens, maybe hundreds of new gumbies. I say this as someone who is definitely still a bit of a gumby-- I'm sure he's competent or whatever but the need to portray "oh wow look how cool and crazy this thing im doing is!"  is a bit annoying. 

I got sent an instagram video of his by a nonclimber friend-- he was testing if a piton would hold his weight, and he hammers a pin into a boulder that could have been a stellar problem, but the need to be performative for his feed trumps all considerations of minimizing impact.

I've mostly just seen a few of the random shorts that pop up in my feed, most of the being about gear which haven't been too bad.  I might have seen the piton video, can't remember.  Definitely not a huge fan of him but the comments are annoying.  Then again I'm just a wee bit pedantic so it's hard for me to just walk away from blatant misconceptions like that.

That guys videos are at best amusing and at worst possibly fatal, like one talked about flipping on the "no fall" headspace, like yeah real good advice just don't fall why didn't I think of that. Ryan Tilley on the other hand is super informative and an actual guide with only 5k subs and also talks about snow and ice 

Brian Cwrote:

That guys videos are at best amusing and at worst possibly fatal, like one talked about flipping on the "no fall" headspace, like yeah real good advice just don't fall why didn't I think of that. Ryan Tilley on the other hand is super informative and an actual guide with only 5k subs and also talks about snow and ice 

Going to disagree on this one.  

The "no fall" headspace is incredibly valuable to understand.  In any form of climbing, there will be places where you simply CANNOT fall without dire consequences. Understanding where you can and cannot fall is an absolutely essential skill.

I watched his short and he actually gives solid advice:  stay calm, don't panic, be mindful of your body, move smoothly, and don't tense up.  When someone is faced with a bad fall which could potentially cause serious harm, it's easy to panic, over-grip, tense up, and lose your focus.  Counteracting those urges is the best way to keep yourself safe.

His advice wasn't "just don't fall".  It was how to force yourself into a different mindset when you know you're in a place where you can't fall, and the things you should do to maintain your composure/headspace when climbing.  

For a video that's maybe a minute long and meant for total newbies or non-climbers, it's honestly not a bad explanation of the concept.

Video

Marc801 Cwrote:

What’s a normie?

Frank. 

Reese Stanleywrote:

Going to disagree on this one.  

The "no fall" headspace is incredibly valuable to understand.  In any form of climbing, there will be places where you simply CANNOT fall without dire consequences. Understanding where you can and cannot fall is an absolutely essential skill.

I watched his short and he actually gives solid advice:  stay calm, don't panic, be mindful of your body, move smoothly, and don't tense up.  When someone is faced with a bad fall which could potentially cause serious harm, it's easy to panic, over-grip, tense up, and lose your focus.  Counteracting those urges is the best way to keep yourself safe.

His advice wasn't "just don't fall".  It was how to force yourself into a different mindset when you know you're in a place where you can't fall, and the things you should do to maintain your composure/headspace when climbing.  

For a video that's maybe a minute long and meant for total newbies or non-climbers, it's honestly not a bad explanation of the concept.

Video

I'll turn on my "agree to disagree" mindset and leave it at that 

Annnd the Muggle Stump award goes to this thread.

Brian Cwrote:

I'll turn on my "agree to disagree" mindset and leave it at that 

Nice passive-aggressive way to avoid an actual debate.  

Christopher Smithwrote:

Nice passive-aggressive way to avoid an actual debate.  

so play devil's advocate and debate for me 

Noah Kanes video's are clickbait for non-climbers. He's only been climbing a couple years and regularly struggles to place gear properly. I wouldn't feel safe or confident climbing with him.