The Future of Climbing

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 Cédric 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