The Future of Climbing...

Kirk miller said: Enough with these rosy, la de da, predictions: Global warming really heats up.... Due largely to a radical right-wing coalition green-party coming into power, all access to the outdoors beyond paved areas is restricted, climbing is banned; climbers become outlaws. Individuals caught attempting to climb are placed into re-education camps where their forced labor is used to create parking lots and golf course club communities for the very wealthy. Authorities actively and aggressively attempt to erase all evidence of climbing, both in the history books and in the field.

Meanwhile on the Mars colony climbing continues to thrive with the first pressure suit free, unsupported ascent of Olympus Mons.

Its as if you plucked the thought right out of mind...

Guides and permits required for Olympus Mons? Stocked camps or will we have already genetically altered ourselves (kind of scary but soon you'll be able to choose your childs eye color, skin color and hair color, etc) to not need nearly as much food and water as we do now? Does Mars have wind? If so I wonder what that would be like and I wonder if the winds intensify the higher you go into Mars atmosphere? I just realized I don't know much of anything about Mars. As if a down suit isn't ackward enough, especially with multiple layers on already.

Ill bet there's some dude already figuring out how to make money, gain power and /or fame for something like this.

Would Olympus Mons be the ultimate first ascent in our solar system? If not what and where is it?

The Stoned Master wrote: Would Olympus Mons be the ultimate first ascent in our solar system? If not what and where is it?

it's the tallest mountain in our solar system, but I don't know about weather patterns.

Sport climbing doubles, trad climbing halves, what's mountaineering?

tr solo device could be a robot that flies near you and catches you if you fall. program to turn "beta mode" on or off.

Unfortunately I can see busy crags being run similar to a ski resort. Limiting number of climbers, someone checking your gear and knowledge, chairlifts to the base of the cliffs and $10 beers and $10 hamburgers at the lodge

if climbing ever gets to these extremes i'll quit.

I think a lot of the gear we use hasn't seen much more than small cosmetic improvements in the last decade. Lighter, smoother, more breathable, but fundamentally the same.

Captain Kirk will free solo the Nose because that is a common way to spend a vacation in 300 years.

Some of the high school students who climb today will become engineers and develop equipment that you've probably not thought about. Our children and their children are our the future leaders; even in Rock Climbing.
Many climbers will search the world for new climbs, don't think they have all been discovered.
Look at the changes in surfing. The US coast gets crowded and those committed to surfing went exploring and found waves that no one thought possible to surf. The equipment changes over the history of surfing are tremendous, even the changes in materials and shapes are way ahead of those five years ago.
Skis, backcountry equipment, packs, bikes, tennis rackets, track equipment, running shoes, headlamps, sailboats, clothing .......... all continue to change. Never stop dreaming what we can do tomorrow.

In the near future Anti Personnel Mines might be used to keep Scottish climbers from whacking themselves. WTF???

Question about the future:

Will we update the difficulty rating of climbs when they become so polished? Example (1 of 1,000s): the first pitch of Le gourmet 5.4 at Seneca has some very, very, very polished holds. In time more and more holds will become like this. Will Le Gourmet in 5 years, 10 years be a 5.5 or 5.6? Polishing holds isn't making it any easier that's for sure. OR will we keep it 5.4 out of tradition?

One thing the future will have that we don't (we do but not as much as climbers 10, 15, 30 years from now) is A LOT of polished holds.

Thoughts? Think also routes like high exposure, the nose, etc

What about routes like cobra crack 5.14? You think one day cobra crack will have been climbed so many times it'll be polished?

human civilization would be pretty successful in cobra crack EVER gets polished!!! LOL...

perhaps we will have to climb out of necessity rather than recreation

The Stoned Master wrote:
> "Will we update the difficulty rating of climbs when they become so polished?"

in the Future ...
wouldn't it simpler to use New Technology X to just de-polish some key holds?

Ken

P.S. I once saw a climb where someone had applied Old Technology to deal with well-polished limestone on a crux near the ground).
If you have not climbed a fun popular limestone route near a large city, you have no idea what "polished" really means.

Darren Mabe wrote:perhaps we will have to climb out of necessity rather than recreation

i suppose zombies would NOT make very good climbers, the climbers of the apocalypse would need to be a hardy group, re-soles on-the-go and no chalk likely available, maybe no shoes at all... i'm glueing rubber to my big toe and wearing a pink, form-fitting costume with a chest-symbol of a man climbing an overhang w/ his feet cutting whilst dozens of leering zombies stand below and a lone strawberry grows from a bush just in-reach above...

In 2090, we discover how to completely alter our genetics and DNA. By 2222 the human species all have wings and climbing becomes incredibly boring. All climbing gear manufactures go bankrupt and new shops open up for equipping weapons to your wings. Men inject themselves with other genetics to grow sharp teeth, gills, camo skin and poisonous glands to defend themselves against the evil forces of Invader Zim. A former cartoon character that was obviously based on true events. As he leaves planet X, we invade planet Nawb and conquer the Nawboo fleet because, well, that's the last time they talk shit. Sick of them. Anyway, Zim, knowing our plans to grow hordes of genetically altered super mutants on planet Nawb, Hade, Doma, Brane, and Beejay effectively shuts down our URS (universal radar system). We didnt know where he was at first. Next thing you know BOOM! Planet Beejay blows up in the queens face. Damn, theirs goo everywhere.
We seen his ship in the silohuette of Beejays 4th moon Carsacuss with the telescope on mt Sakinawa-topaddius-charles-dance-from-fresh-prince-of-bel-air-is-funny in Tokyo and blast him outta the sky!!!! woohoo.
We invade his planet, conquer all... and blow up Earth cuz this planets waaayyyyyy cooler.
Then... we underwater basket weave.

Until...

MHLeitch wrote:Infinity cams, one size fits literally anything.

This I could see happening. A camming device that fits a larger range of differently sized cracks. That would be a sweet improvement to the rack. Carry a smaller lighter rack that can fit a larger range of cracks.

Boots Ylectric wrote: This I could see happening. A camming device that fits a larger range of differently sized cracks. That would be a sweet improvement to the rack. Carry a smaller lighter rack that can fit a larger range of cracks.

I thought it would kinda suck, things would become way too easy when placing gear.

The Stoned Master wrote:One thing the future will have that we don't (we do but not as much as climbers 10, 15, 30 years from now) is A LOT of polished holds. Thoughts

I just got back from a climbing trip to the Arco, Italy area where polished holds are the norm. 30 years of climbers on limestone has left a crazy amount of way slick polished rock. Thus I was thinking about this and the future of the rock in popular, crowded areas. Is there any reasonable way to restore some texture to the rock? In addition to rebolting efforts every now and then, maybe we'll see some sand blasting of routes to get some texture back.

As a mainland European, I actually think trad is going to see an increase. All our crags are bolted and the few elite climbers that get to travel enough to know trad climbing condemn our bolting and praise trad. The notion that trad = more badass than sport, though inherently true, spreads more easily if its touted by the local heroes. There are some pretty hard routes around where I live that can be trad climbed, if you really want to, even thought they're bolted, and a surprising amount of good climbers actually do so.

Add to that Environmental protection doesn't like bolting too much and has forbidden it on quite some crags. No bolting of new lines, only rebolting/maintenance of established routes is allowed. As the policy makers know jack about climbing they probably meant no new routes, but the rule is no new bolts, so I can see trad first ascents becoming a thing here in the near future.

Oh and definitely way more polish. Would chipping and sitka become less unethical if the route is polished beyond climbability anyway?
On the other hand, the amount of climbing quarries will always be on the rise. :D