Time to be grownups and say:

I think it's naive to think Instagram hasn't changed our sport. Climbers have been taking photos since the invention of the camera, but 99.9% of the time those photos were for the individual, and to occasionally show friends and family. Climbers pushing the boundaries of the sport would of course attract--and try to attract--media attention, but that attention was curated by the gatekeepers themselves.

Now there are no gatekeepers, and Instagram is the stage, for which people perform. This Knowles kid is doing just that, with the purpose of growing an audience. When you're a nobody and want to become a somebody, you can do that through risky or outrageous acts on camera, because that's what attracts an audience. Indeed, social media drives the entire climbing ecosystem these days.

 The difference between Honnold and this kid is that Honnold was soloing the climbs by himself and later publicizing the fact. No different than Balin Miller soloing Reality Bath for its second ascent (which of course he reported via Instagram). Knowles is filming the act as a performance. It's a subtle difference but an important one. Of course that too is nothing new (hello Dan Osman), but most who partook in that form of performance had already established themselves. Nowadays the performance is seen as the route to establishment. 

I think Shively is right that the massive overall increase in climbers likely has pushed up the number of soloing accidents. But I also think that young ambitious climbers who see Knowles getting attention for his stunts may be more likely to try similar things to get attention for themselves.

Young males have been doing stupid shit to try to impress someone throughout the evolution of Homo sapiens. A bunch of ‘enlightened’ hand-wringing on the internet is not going to change that. This said, all of this fretting nicely serves the purpose of this guy‘s attention seeking behaviors.

apogeewrote:

Young males have been doing stupid shit to try to impress someone throughout the evolution of Homo sapiens. A bunch of ‘enlightened’ hand-wringing on the internet is not going to change that. This said, all of this fretting nicely serves the purpose of this guy‘s attention seeking behaviors.

Fretting for some, riffing for others.

Daniel Shivelywrote:

“Kids” and young adults (LK is 21 years old) get busted up and killed riding motos and mtbs too. Much of this activity takes place on public land too. People die hiking and climbing up in the mountains and nearly all of this activity occurs on public land. I have not seen much concern from land managers about these activities. You’re free to curtail the actions of your own children (if you have any) but as far as others go, it’s “their body, their choice”. Freedom to do risky stuff is sometimes risky.

People die doing all kinds of stupid things.....but they also, by and large, usually survive their stupid years.

The huge difference with climbing, is you are departing terra firma, and gravity gets serious. Leave out the "just in case" equipment (like a rope) and the tiniest thing could be fatal. That same tiny thing might not even be noticeable, even for all those ground based "extreme' sports you mention. Lots and lots of broken bones, concussions, etc......but fatalities are really viewed as bad luck, I think, outside of the general stupidity of whatever the dumb thing you are inclined to do in the first place.

This is, after all, a land that was colonized, and then populated, by people who were willing to push themselves, and depart from convention. That includes my own near ancestry of Oregon Trail pioneers. My dad's grandpa was one of FOURTEEN children (13 who survived) born to a woman who walked the OR trail. As a kid, I happened to meet the youngest of those 14 kids, "old uncle Henry" who I was warned would kiss anything in a skirt he could catch up with, lol! 

I'm 100% positive, and extremely grateful, I have that badass woman's genes as a good percent of my makeup, and, that bit of badassery I have, that let me become (and remain) a climber, has served me well my entire life.

I do not, however, feel.any great need to prove anything to anyone. Nothing whatsoever. That, I think, is protective against at least a little of the inclination to do stupid. And really makes life way easier and more fun, too. 

But I'm 68, not 19....

H.

Tone Locwrote:

Lincoln Knowles. Stop it, don’t be a dumba**. We should not, as a community, be ‘letting kids be kids’ on this one.

Stuff like this is going to threaten access more than any mining company. If droves of kids start peeling off routes…or even if only the public perception is that droves of kids are peeling off routes…stuff will get more and more regulated and shut down, insurance companies will start paying closer attention. It will overall make life harder for all…oh yeah…and more stupid kids will suffer life changing injuries or die.

Edit: I’m more talking about being irresponsible on social media and creating false perceptions than about free soloing. Public relations matter. Even if the number of people ‘taking their last fall’ hasn’t meaningfully changed, a significant PR problem can still cause a world of new headaches that add fuel to existing ones - like anti-climbing conservationists, commercial exploitation, mining, whatever.

But hits on the gram are worth more than gold bruh, YOLO

I don’t think it’s crazy to assume behind the scenes there is some actual preparation and real climbing that goes into the comedy videos he posts. A lot of people really really really hate this guys videos and it’s kinda weird to me. The main complaint is he is an attention whore, yet hordes of people want to sit around and complain about it, to the point where the amount of space in their brains this guy occupies is just weird. Climbing shouldn’t be a hive mind, it can look differently, and as long as you aren’t ruining anyone else’s experience (i.e. chipping, retrobolting, chopping, glueing, and so on) I don’t see what’s wrong with it. Most people don’t have a problem with soloists in general, and the type of soloing he is doing isn’t wildly different.

Remember “Devious Licks”?  Social media definitely does create blooms of irrational behavior.  I know nothing of Lincoln Knowles, but the potential is definitely there for a lot of people to get hurt.  It may also stimulate a rash of bad-ass soloing.  We’re already way down this rabbit hole.  

Soloists are nothing new and neither are dramatic threads about them.

Garrett Swankwrote:

...as long as you aren’t ruining anyone else’s experience (i.e. chipping, retrobolting, chopping, glueing, and so on) I don’t see what’s wrong with it. Most people don’t have a problem with soloists in general, and the type of soloing he is doing isn’t wildly different.

I'd venture that many people over 25 think soloing harder than 5.easy is kind of whack and are pretty uncomfortable with it being done around them. Nobody wants the risk of being traumatized.

Patrick Vernonwrote:

He is trying to stir the pot and get views, threads like this only further his cause, this is exactly what he wants.  If you really care about his wellbeing, best thing is to ignore him.  Who knows if he is soloing for “the right reasons” or how solid he actually is, only he knows, and he probably doesnt know either.

100% agree with this. He's rage baiting, and plays the heel. Climbers with a sense of moral superiority will always take the bait.

I don't have a concrete stance on the ethics of free solo-ing and influencing being a relatively new climber, but it's clear that a lot of people react negatively to it. It could be the right thing to do to try and disavow what he's doing, but I think it'll fall on def ears since it seems his brand thrives from 'controversy' rather than from his climbing feats. Personally, I'm ambivalent to the guy and think he can do what he wants. On the flipside, people can shit on him if they want.

If the goal is to lessen his popularity, ignoring is the way to go, but people (me included) gotta speak their piece so here we are.

My intent was really to have a conversation mainly about social media, not free soloing.

Tone Locwrote:

My intent was really to have a conversation mainly about social media, not free soloing.

As mtn proj goes this seems completely normal, after all you immediately called out one specific person instead of the thousands of climber influencers. 

I know as a parent I'd be kinda embarrassed if my kid spent hours a day trying to get hits on the gram. I appreciate a few folks out there that are teaching worthwhile skills but for every one quality video you have 200 shit videos that are either 100% copies/unoriginal content or just plain garbage and a waste of life.

Now I gotta go and work on my story for an hour (best one yet) even though tomorrow it won't exist

Land manager, “kids seem to be doing dangerous stuff on social media, better shut the crag down!”

Same land manager, “ yeah we have had 20 rescues this year better keep the climbing area open.”

I don’t know if I have ever heard of a free soloing incident at my local crag…most the accidents are run of the mill. If crags are going to get shut down for free soloing why are the flat irons open.

The point about liability is also absurd. Most municipalities, parks, land held by some government entity are self insured. They do not pay for insurance. So in order for a crag to get shut down for liability, a claim would need to be paid out from the parks wrong doing.

If your crags are on private property the liability rate is likely derived from ISO loss costs. Thus many claims would have to be paid if the rate was going to go up because of free soloing deaths.

Eric Mosswrote:

How is it any different than that free solo movie you all love?

I don't know a single climber who actually likes that movie.

Free soloing is against human nature and a proper challenge to make yourself do.  Good on ya for trying if an influencer influences you to be brazen.  Social media is an absolute waste of life, not unlike forums, and all those engaging could be considered fools throwing precious time (life) down the drain.  At least brazen acts are action.  

I dont want to be around when a fool splatters.  Act foolish away from the crag and other people, eh.  Make SAR do a body recovery the next day instead of Suzy Q. Public mopping up your brains and bowels from her brow.  Style does matter.

It'd be rad if somebody did something cool with the ability to move light and fast.  Put on a base rig and expound upon what Potter started.  Or emmulate Leclerc, or Lafaille.  Post THAT shit on the 'gram, brah!    Unfortunately, not at all likely.  

Tone Locwrote:

My intent was really to have a conversation mainly about social media, not free soloing.

Social media is simply an invention designed for mass dissemination of narratives. Social media relies on (like previous media- print, radio, tv) the lack of critical thinking, introspection, and in group bias tendencies of the majority of humans, to shape narratives. I acknowledge that sometimes I fall prey to this but constantly strive remain aware of my own relationship with media. So it goes with most devices and tools, it’s up to the users whether the tools will be used in a positive or negative way. 

I have to admit I have neve heard of him. Clicked the climbing article and ultimately ending up at YouTube. His videos are pretty funny. Some of alex videos are authentically cheesy. It kindof makes fun of that, which I support. 

Given the chance, do you think the legends of yesteryear would have been modern day spray lords?

Would Royal Robbins be universally hated with access to a keyboard during the height of his career? 

Lane Mathiswrote:

Given the chance, do you think the legends of yesteryear would have been modern day spray lords?

Would Royal Robbins be universally hated with access to a keyboard during the height of his career? 

Probably. Didn't he start a clothing company with his name on it? Warren Harding on the other hand probably not. Or if he did it would it be pretty over top and funny