Climbing in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's was about sending hard routes, with a focus on FA's and new routes. Now we have "influencer's" via Instagram and Facebook, who have huge followers, and for most of these climbers, they do not put up routes, they either repeat routes, or are gym/competition climbers. The Elite level are on IG and FB, yet do fall short of the traffic generated by the influencer's.
If climbing is to continue, we need new routes and the elite to keep pushing the envelope, so those coming up have routes to develop on and then take over the envelope push.
The Olympics will bring the masses to see the sport of climbing, and likely will take on following the influencer's versus following the elite or the developers. Gyms share in this as well, as they offer learning areas and training grounds for those committed to rock. Why do our elite's or developers get left aside for these influencer's? One answer is the mass appeal they have on Social media sets the ahead on any hashtag or search and thus they seem to be the actual elite level athlete for our sport.
Our old guard was fortunate to not have social media,and any climber that has sponsorship really earned it. They either climbed at the 8b to 8c level and or built routes and areas. Now that elite level is really 8c+ and up, which is really a huge jump, and the low end was the max of the old days, give a route or two, Hubble and Action Direct and OM/Open air.
Social media has kind of allowed our manufacturers to be "lazy" and use IG to find climbers to sponsor. This really places a lack of focus on what makes climbing climbing. New routes and pushing into the 9th grade are what will actually keep our sport moving forward.
This is no relation for male of female, yet most females do not put up new sport routes. They do put up a lot of Alpine routes, Climbers like Ines Papert continue to push that realm. Repeating routes is important and keeps our grading system accurate, or at least tries to do such.
We need more females to put up routes, they obviously have the elite level to climb at the upper elite level, and really always have.
Lynn Hill, Catherine Destevelle, Liv Sansov, Robyn Erbesfield/Raboutou climbed 8b+ back in the late 80's/early 90's and continued for years, and/or are still cranking away. They were climbing alongside male climbers, often in way better style. We all were just climbers gunning for the send.
Currently in North America, we have some of our best climbers, and route developers who are fast falling off the sponsorship radar, or already have, for pure IG influencer's, who are very good climbers, but not in at the elite level or the current climbers.
Chris Sharma is still putting up new high end routes, he is getting older and his business life will take over more of his time.
Dani Andrada is still bolting new high end routes and like Sharma, is getting older. What will happen when these two stop bolting routes? I am sure Spain has other builders.
France has the new machine Seb Bouin, who is not only sending 9b repeats, but bolting and FA'ing as well. Like Spain, I am sure France has more than just SB.
What about North America? Western USA has one main bolter and repeater, who is really pushing the envelope, regardless of the Social Media scourge on him (right or wrong). Without this man, that part of the USA would be pretty shy of routes to do at the new level. Joe Kinder is still sending and putting up 9's and discovering new areas as well. He really is one of the keys for our sport in the USA. I am not arguing about his Social media demise, nor about the one climber out of that left standing, climbers will recognize their importance for climbing.
The Vegas area has Andy Raether who seems to stay in the showdows, yet once you drill down, you realize he has either put up the new 8c+ or harder, or done the second ascent. The main man Jonathan Siegrist continues to repeat, and build. He really is the main USA climber at the top and continues to impress and push. He is the true professional.
The female side, really should not be a side, just another climber. I learned more from my few routes done with Lynn Hill way back in the late 80's, movement and power.
I will note that the one main difference is route building, where there is a lack of female route builders. As I know many female climbers stronger and better than most males.
So all this said, climbing for climbers is about just that, climbing. The media and companies have focused more on the social marketing side versus the actual climbing side. With this focus, we will have no new routes, just repeats of existing climbs, and focused on likes and visual posts.
