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L
climber
California dreamin' on the farside of the world..
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L--truth is that that sentence was intended to be sarcastic sexism about this post -- you may have gotten that.
My humble apologies, Dingus, I didn't. But I hadn't had any java yet so the synapses weren't firing.
Thanks for the clarification. I always thought you were one of the good ones. :-)
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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What a senseless idea. Do we really need to follow the petty accomplishments of the weaker sex?
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cuvvy
Sport climber
arkansas
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I wish I had size 15 feet......
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cuvvy
Sport climber
arkansas
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I always wanted to pull a Jesus
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Women can prove they're equal to men by celebrating female ascents only on their merit. If the ascent would be unremarkable for a man, why should it be remarkable for a woman.
The magazines and brands are trying to allow (almost) equal representation to males and to females. That's why some of these ascents are reported. Some are bad ass. Some are....personal accomplishments.
The product wouldn't be as interesting to female readers if it was 99% about guys. Overall, I noticed the major brands sponsor female athletes with a climbing resumes that wouldn't be anything to be proud of (if compared to a bunch of people whose names are rarely noticed).
Good tool for climbers (males and females) to get free products or get publicity. For those who seek it, or need the free gear, being a good salesman/woman is a great quality to have. In the media, the ability to sell a good article, is as important, if not more important, than the climb itself. Who do you know? Where do you live? How good are you at whoring yourself out?
Why should it be remarkable? Well...because the product has to be bought! And it will be bought by more people if there is diversity.
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CCT
Trad climber
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In Reel Rock this year, there was a segment on high ball bouldering. The route is hard, but not that hard, and the hero of the story is clearly uncomfortable with the level of risk.
<spoiler alert>
He does the climb.
In the film, this was treated like a positive accomplishment. As if overcoming your natural fear and risking serious injury to pull a technically difficult move is something to be proud of. This made me feel bad for today's young boulderers. It's no longer enough to be good at your sport and pull really hard moves. To get attention, you also have to be willing to risk life and limb.
Climbing media reports on whatever people want to hear about. That includes females, risk for the sake of risk, personal accomplishments, heart-warming stories, whatever. Much of what they report is not interesting to me, and some of it, like the film at Reel Rock, I actually consider dangerous and possibly misguided. But I accept that many people enjoy it and do find it inspiring.
Similarly, first female ascents are inspiring to many people, as are women who climb hard relative to other women. I'm not sure why reporting on this, or sponsoring women who do FFA's, or being a woman who focuses on FFA's over FA's, could be considered a negative thing. Myself, I enjoy stories about amazing lady crushers knocking out well established test pieces. If the focus were exclusively on long-armed skinny necked dudes climbing yet another high number, it would be a lot less interesting. And personally, I would consider it rather rude to write an article telling someone else what they should climb while trying to make a living in our drastically underfunded sport.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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It is not at all a surprise. I think Kevin has asked a different question.
Yes, the media usually shows the send. It doesn't usually show the process of top roping the sh#t out of that problem to make sure there is 99.9 chance of succeeding. Not sure if they did or not this time. But that is how people send high ball boulder problems with a risk of getting mangled in case of a fall. One critique I have to offer is that the real process is sort of hidden usually...anyway doesn't really matter. No one wants to see 3 months of top roping the proj..by the way I consider these people climbing these difficult problems totally bad ass and wish I was as skilled! Not trying to put down the accomplishment here...but personally majority of the climbing flicks lack the presence of reality.
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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How about recognizing First Morbidly Obese Ascents?
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viv.r.e
climber
a marmot hole
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Here are some questions that I think actually would move this forward if there is good data out there:
1. Who are the women doing first free ascents and first ascents? (Ed had good numbers that this number is rising if you sift through the posts: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=2672439&tn=120);
2. Is there climbing media coverage on them?
3. How does that media coverage compare proportionally to coverage of women doing first female ascents?
4. Why? Is coverage different in other countries?
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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long-armed skinny necked dudes
That is profiling.
I dunno, I think it's the chicks' job to come up with something.
As a man, you decided this?
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anita514
Gym climber
Great White North
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hey Warbler! It's OK. I hate women too.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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FBA?
(rhymes with reader not witch)
One of the tricks archeologists use to distinguish female bones from male is the length of digits. Women have longer index fingers than ring fingers, while males are the opposite.
I have often wondered if this unknowingly gave Lynn an edge under the Great Roof and, after she got it, caused the guys to figure they could too (and we know how much difference that makes).
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Gilroy
Social climber
Bolderado
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Yeah, if it's the second, third, ninth or twenty-ninth ascent, I'd give Maldaly credit for pulling through for the first adaptive ascent even if it's just a FAFA. ;) And I do wonder what Hugh Herr thinks about all this since his FA's put up on stilts. (more emoticons)
If FFFA means the first woman powered up a significant line then "First Female Ascent" describes a significant achievement and that reality is noteworthy to me. Not sure if it ought to be in the AAJ but that's up to Dougal, et al. If the second ascent of a Shanti Pack route was by a dude it might be a First Fellow Free Ascent, eh. Bet he'd be chuffed.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Can't have FFA FFFA = First Female Free Ascent
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anita514
Gym climber
Great White North
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Dammitall, I'm a man after all.
That's probably a step up from your current status of hardwoman, eh Tami?
Don't worry, my ring finger is slightly longer than my index too. Man hands samesies?
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Kauk has particularly stubby index fingers, check it out sometime! I have a clear mental image of his hands from so much time spent with him... I've seen Ron navigate his way into some impressive situations.
You really should keep that to yourself.
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jstan
climber
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Apr 11, 2016 - 11:34pm PT
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Wasn't today's weather great?
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Apr 12, 2016 - 05:13am PT
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I just think there is too much hype in general. First this first that.
The firsts that really count are mostly in the hard alpine realm.
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Pewf
climber
Gunnison, CO
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Apr 12, 2016 - 08:05am PT
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Didn't see this the first time around. Regarding that post back a few pages asking for stories of sexism, here's my fave:
International climber's meet, Scottish winter climbing, in the 90s. I was making polite conversation with a mountain guide from somewhere in Eastern Europe. I guess he was probably in his 40s but since I was something like 23, he appeared to me to be positively ancient. Anyway, after a couple minutes, he looked at me and said, "I just don't understand why you would want to climb when you already have the greatest gift given to humans. You can have babies and take care of them."
I mean, duh. Why hadn't I already popped out a couple by then??
As for first female ascents, I dunno. I tell my daughter (thank goodness, I've finally fulfilled my life's purpose by giving birth) that she has the ability to be the first person to do all sorts of things if that's what she wants. I don't think that it's useful to tell her that she could be the first girl/woman. IMO, that kind of mentality only leads to self-limitation. She can decide later if there's utility in the distinction (if she wants to become a weight lifter or something).
But I think it's also very important to show what women are achieving and have done in the past. Especially when breaking new territory for the gender.
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Pewf
climber
Gunnison, CO
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Apr 12, 2016 - 06:03pm PT
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HI TAMI! I guess those Scots are trying to affirm their masculinity after centuries of kilts?
I don't even want to think about the job market when my girl finishes school...
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