Can you and your film crew reserve a single route, if not an entire mountain—literally tying it up (with fixed ropes and camera operators) for not just a day, but an entire summer?
Do you believe that when someone else’s goals or presence seemingly conflicts or compromises your own climbing goals that you have more of a right than that person to be there?
Especially when the goal involves a certain “prize” such as a first ascent or even a first female ascent?
Determining how to answer these questions are issues that professional climbers haven’t really had to wrestle with—at least not publicly. Yet, yesterday, in a lengthy blog post, Sasha Digiulian stewed over those questions after fellow professional female climber Nina Caprez asked her not to come to Orbayu, the 5.14 big-wall route located on Naranjo de Bulnes (2,519 meters) in Northern Spain and established by Iker Pou and Eneko Pou in August 2009.
“I have told several media outlets and friends about my plans to try Orbayu with Edu Marin, my climbing partner from Bellavista. Iker Pou established the route a few years ago, and since, the route has seen few ascents, and no women.
We had arranged media and aligned our sponsors with the project proposal, yet this morning I received a message from a friend of mine from Switzerland, Nina Caprez, informing me that this has been her dream project and that her and her boyfriend, Cedric Lachat, have plans to rig the route with static lines and equipment for the film crew in June, and then they will be on the wall and try to complete it by August.
“I have tremendous respect for both Nina and Cedric as professional climbers. Due to this respect for them, I have decided that I am not going to intertwine myself with doing this route this summer because their film agenda already seems pre-baked.”
The reason, explains Sasha, that she decided to write the post is, first and foremost, to let her sponsors and affiliates know there was a legitimate reason why she was backing away from the Orbayu project. After securing funds and preparing logistics to shoot her own film, Sasha’s Orbayu goals involved much more than just her and her climbing partner, Edu Marin, traveling to Spain and roping up for a 5.14 romp in the mountains. Thousands of dollars (ostensibly) in funding and film-crew support, not to mention everyone’s plans and time commitments, were now in flux for Team Sasha … all because Team Nina said she called it first.
Note that Nina and Cedric had also put in a lot of work securing funds and promoting their upcoming ascent of Orbayu, even crowdsourcing the film’s budget. In other words, it was a coincidence that both made these plans, and both put in a lot of work to realizing them.
Let’s step back for a second and interject some much-needed perspective on this (non)quagmire. First of all, there is the obvious irony of two female climbers vying for the same random big-wall project, with both putting in a lot of effort in terms of preparation to secure a film crew to document their respective, hopeful first female ascents.
Of course, these are decidedly not issues that 99.9% of other climbers have to think about or deal with. It’s easy, therefore, to dismiss the issue as juvenile squabbling. Yet if one can swat away the faint hints of cattiness wafting through the air, there are some interesting issues at the heart of this now public collision of two power climbers gunning for the same first female ascent.
As Sasha observantly notes in her blog, professional climbers have an obligation to create media—particularly, films—about their ascents. This is correct. Step outside the world of competition climbing to the world of real rock (the only one that matters to most), and you won’t find stadium seating beneath today’s most cutting edge objectives. For better or worse for pro climbers, if their ascents are to mean anything to a wider community, those ascents need to be filmed, edited and broadcast on film tours, television and the Internet. If you can’t watch it on Vimeo and you can’t share it on Facebook, it may as well have never happened.
(This is nothing new, by the way. Climbers have been reaching out to big sponsors and creating media in order to fund their ascents since the end of the era of nationalistic, government-funded conquests and explorations of the greater ranges after World War II. After which nation-sponsors were replaced by corporations.
For example, the 1963 American expedition to Everest was funded by the American Tobacco Company, National Geographic, Life and Rainer Beer.)
This is good for the rest of us, of course, because we get to view inspiring climbing footage daily, footage that takes us around the world and makes us feel like we’re part of the action.
But with that film comes the need for a hook. A storyline. Or, as Sasha eloquently put it, “that extraordinary special factor.”
“This extraordinary factor includes the line being undone before, or for women, undone by other females.”
Herein really lies the issue: It’s not just that you have to chose a hard project that will shoot well, look beautiful and that you believe you are capable of actually climbing—it also has to be a great story! Once you begin to take stock of all these factors, you can begin to see how the wide world of rock might begin looking smaller and smaller to today’s professionals. What trip or expedition hasn’t already been done? What story hasn’t already been told? Are those “extraordinary special factors” that need to align for a climbing project becoming rarer than the black rhino?
Most of all, is a first female ascent even valuable if you don’t invite other females to try the route with you?
Mo’ Pros, Mo’ Problems, I guess. I reached out to Sasha to find out more.
What first drew you to Orbayu?
After finishing Bellavista last August, Edu Marin and I decided that we needed a project for the next summer. Returning to try Panaroma [Ed.: another Huber 5.14 on the Cima Ovest] was an option—it was wet when we were there, and it may be permanently slightly wet!—we wanted a change of location because Panaroma and Bellavista share all but one pitch. So Edu told me about Orbayu. I watched the video produced on it, and was hooked. The line looks amazing, and I love Spain!
Explain what goes into planning a route such as this for you as a professional climber. Do you feel like you need to bring sponsors on board for any big projects/goals? Give us a glimpse into your professional life.
During the school year [Ed.: Sasha attends Columbia University in New York City], I really have limited time to climb outside. Every trip I make is very low key and may just be for a day or two. The windows in which I have more time to climb outside are December-January, and the summer, June through August. So, when I am planning out longer trips, I like to include my sponsors so that they can be a part of my climbing journey.
Generally, I think that as long as you are working with a good film crew that you share good energy with, then filming is not intrusive. I am interested in creating videos around my pursuits as a professional climber because I want to share my experiences with the world. When other people find these videos inspiring, that is a bonus to making content.
My ultimate goal in climbing is to share my passion with a wider audience and help make climbing a more well-known sport. Promoting an active life outside, chasing personal dreams, and putting yourself on the line are values I believe are worth sharing with other people.
To prepare for a trip/film, the process begins with an idea. Then I will discuss my project with my sponsors. Depending the scenario, the film crew will develop a production schedule. We will then go to that destination and follow either the preplanned objective, or, as it worked out in South Africa, change plans depending on what I am most inspired to do once I am there. The most organized film projects are when I have a specific route I have in mind to go and try, and we can plan the trip around this goal. Though, in the past I have also chosen locations that I want to visit first, and then the route has come subsequent.
Either way, I think that filming and capturing media around my proudest accomplishments is important not only to document my feats, but also to share my love of climbing and experiences with the community.
What specific arrangements had you made for climbing and filming this route? How many months had this been a plan? How much thought, time or preparation had been put in?
With Orbayu, actually, I had done a media tour with my publicist around the build up to this climb. I was in NYC meeting with several media outlets including ABC and NBC, both interested in the climbing realm, project pushing, and telling new stories. So correspondents have shown interest to accompany me on a journey in which I have a set goal. I had also green-lined the approval with my sponsors and with a film crew.
Explain what happened when Nina contacted you. How did she hear about your similar goals? What were her concerns with you coming as well? Did she give you the dates that she has “reserved” this wall?
Nina and I had both expressed interest in the route in online publications. SHAPE magazine recently published my plan to go to Orbayu in August. Though there has also been slight miscommunication about the route regarding the grade—which has now been confirmed 8c not 9a.
Nina told me that Orbayu is her dream line and that she and Cedric have been working toward arranging a film crew to document them climbing the route. In June (this month), they will be rigging Orbayu with static lines for filming and protection. I am not sure, actually, but I believe they will be there starting June and going until end of August. I know because I told her that we were planning to go August 10-30 and that was a conflict. Being there on the wall as two separate groups filming would be crowded.
Really, a solution would be if we both went without media. Nina asked me to kindly respect that this is her project and to find another one. She did recommend that I go and try Adam Ondra’s testpiece that he completed in Switzerland, WoGu, and also to try Yeah Man. I appreciated the redirect.
Why does Nina get the right to do this route before you?
In the greater scheme of things, it’s not worth having drama around a route when I can go after a bigger goal. Orbayu was a route that I wanted to try in August, but I can go another time when it’s not an issue—and have an enjoyable experience on it. Since Nina asked me to respect her project, then, yes, I am “throwing in the towel.” I’m not going to try it this summer, not because I doubt any sort of success, but because I don’t want to fight over a rock climb.
Do you think that she is right that doing two film projects at once would be impossible?
Totally. I think that we both would need to be respectful and create windows of opportunity. What would be ideal is that we both go without media and just are both there working on the route and climbing without media. I am fine with this, but it is not an option in this case.
What do you think the larger issue is here? Do you think it’s about whether or not someone has the “right” to reserve a route for a film project?
I think that the larger issue is this: when there is media involved in a climb, there is an added pressure, and climbers tend to get protective over something that they do not own. No, no one has the “right” to reserve a route. But, someone has the right to profess their concern because people can say whatever they want, and that’s what has been done.
Do professional climber have a right to ask average, everday climbers to stay off a particular route while they are filming?
Honestly, I really don’t think so. That is elitist and selfish. Sure, it is easy to get tunnel vision if you are a professional athlete looking to create a film on a route and want other people not to be on it at the same time as you because it interrupts the film. But having the actual right to ask people not to climb it is not very fair. With a multi-pitch route, the issue is complicated because a wall becomes crowded very quickly with multiple people on it at once. It’s not like a single pitch when you just lower to the ground and another person tries it.
With this, I think that sharing the route is important.If you want to film the route, have a designated window and then be flexible to other people having a run at it, too.
Maybe instead of repeating Orbayu, you should just go do something else?
Haha. That’s the plan. Edu and I are going to go to Switzerland and try out WoGu and Yeah Man. I’ve never climbed outside there, so this is the silver lining.
What is more important to professional climbing, in general, these days: Actual achievement, or media creation? Ideally, of course, the two come together. But they aren’t necessarily dependent on each other. Would you say that the state of professional climbing today leans too heavily on media creation, with not enough emphasis on actual groundbreaking achievement?
Social media and marketing are large components to a professional athlete’s career. Though, the athlete needs to deliver, too. Without groundbreaking achievements, then the buzz is not really grounded in anything. So, sure, this can be stressful.
Now I am in University and have limited months to actually get outside and go climbing. I love to go out and have fun, but I also want to be pushing myself physically and to be realizing new boundaries of achievement. So, I guess the answer to twofold—create media around achievement. For instance, looks and hype alone are not going to take you too far.
Why can’t you push Nina harder to let you both go and do it together?
You know, I could say “Hey, whatever, I’ll be there too and we can duel it out,” but then I am abandoning a large element of what I love about climbing—the encouragement of those around you, the positive energy, the tranquilness of being outside and striving for your personal goals. Dealing with a junk show of hanging lines and people trying to film, feeling like I’m “in the way,” and not really respecting someone else’s proclaimed project, whether it’s my project too or not, isn’t exactly my goal in climbing.
So…why did you feel the need to mention a whiff of “cattiness” here? What I read about is some unfortunate timing a really mature and honest depiction of what happened. In fact, the ONLY reason I see to mention cattiness is that both Nina and Sasha are women, and obviously women can’t run into any problems without becoming catty. I don’t think the author meant to specifically insult either woman, but the piece does so. Cattiness implies a level of disrespect juvenile behaviour that does not seem to be present. Any sort of conflict between male climbers would never be described as catty, so can we please stop using it for women? One of the most inspiring things about the climbing world is how the female climbers seem to use each other as inspiration and encouragement. Can we please stop perpetuating the stereotype that women can’t get along with each other?
Nicole you are totally right. I get a sense of zero cattiness or juvenile squabbling from Sasha or Nina. Sasha is if anything professional in all she does and how she portrayers herself. The female climbing community has been growing strong by leaps and bounds over the years in every dimension, and to assume or allude to cattiness only propels chauvinism. Too bad, because it is an otherwise interesting article with insight into the changing landscape for pro climbers, and as you said Nicole, a honest depiction of what happened.
I agree with you both, Nicole and Smith.
Just in defense of myself as the author of this article, I think I should say that “cattiness” is the word that Sasha used when we first started talking about doing this interview. It was how she was worried about being perceived. So it is not as though I am interjecting a word out of the blue; nor did I use it carelessly without thinking about what it meant.
I was trying to provide some perspective and deeper context to this situation. I was worried about people simply disregarding this issue as being superficially catty, and missing some of the deeper points and issues. That use of the word catty comes in a section in the story in which I am trying to build a case for getting people to move beyond the “cattiness” of the issue and try to see the more interesting nuance and details in the story.
I never called either person catty, nor do I personally believe either person exhibited catty traits. In my article, I’m explicitly asking people to move beyond those initial, base impressions and try to see the nuance. It’s great to hear that both of you never got the impression of any perceived cattiness from the story. Sasha was worried about others not falling in your camp. And there were those readers who jumped to that conclusion. This piece implores those readers to move beyond that …
The context definitely helps. Unfortunately, as a reader without context it appears as if you are interjecting the word yourself. If Sasha were concerned about avoiding being perceived as being catty isn’t describing her as catty exactly what she is concerned about? Wouldn’t it have been better not to mention the word or concern at all? Once again- I am not trying to imply you had anything but the best intentions. Just trying to point out that it is very important to pay attention to nuances of wording. Cattiness has a very strong sexist subtext, especially when used to describe a situation in which all parties are acting maturely.
Well, I didn’t actually describe or name anyone specifically as being catty. That’s an important difference. I only used that word to describe the overtones to this situation in order to attempt to move the readers beyond those sentiments and push them to see the deeper side of the story.
Besides, and once again, this word was used in this context first by a woman–that context didn’t come through in the actual story (and honestly that it was first used by a woman to describe this situation isn’t really relevant in my opinion, and I only mention it once again to make a case that its use was not meant to be sexist, nor do I feel that I am being sexist for using it.)
If this is the adjective that first comes to mind for other, less-discerning readers/observers of this situation (which it has in my research of this story), then I believe it’s appropriate to use the word to describe the overtones of this issue … especially if it comes within a sentence/graph that urges readers to move beyond that impression and see the deeper issues at play
I totally agree with you Nicole. There are two major problems I see with using that word in this context. First, I very much doubt that if the article was about two male climbers that the word “catty” would be used at all, which is why my reaction to reading that paragraph was not “okay, let’s move beyond” but “um . . . sexist much?” The second issue is that “catty” and “cattiness” are not used to describe “situations”, as Andrew explain. They are used to describe people and their behavior–in the same way that a situation is not mean or happy, people are mean or happy.
I really think that charges of sexism are grossly inappropriate here.
While you may not have meant to be sexist, as Nicole pointed out, that term has sexists connotations, which can’t be ignored. And given that you’ve said that Sasha specifically wanted “cattiness” not to be linked with what happened, why use that term at all? Surely there’s a better way to express the sentiment that “well, this is kinda awkward. Maybe we should talk about it.”
The “cattiness” issue is a storm in a teacup here. Bisharat may be a rather controversial writer to many, but his job here is pretty much spot on this time around.
Sasha shouldn’t be too disappointed about her change of plans, there’s plenty of great sport multipitch challenges who never had any (decent) footage, unlike Orbayou.
WoGü is definitely one of them.
To finish, I’d question whether it’s a good idea for Sasha to set her goal on hard multipitch redpoints located in a different continent from the one she is living/studying. See how even the Ondra came to term with the fact that, as a university student, he can’t travel for climbing as much as he’d love to…
The story here isn’t the conflict between the women. There isn’t one, and I respect Sasha’s level of compassion for her fellow climber. The story here is the idea that fixing a route and using it exclusively it for the entire season even constitutes “climbing” at all.
Climbing used to be about freedom. Climbing was about uncertainty. I guess I can’t define someone else’s experience… but has the goal of climbing ever been “by hook or by crook?” If answer is yes, the result is the Compressor Route. A season-long seige goes beyond redpointing–especially when it affects the experiences of others. This seems like a materialistic approach to climbing walls – collect them all! Apparently, 5.14’s in the Dolomites are the new Seven Summits.
I value climbing because it taught me, like nothing else has, that there are some things in life that I cannot have. Climbing, in this regard, is an antidote to consumer culture. There is beauty in not having the things that you want, despite the fact that you may want them badly.
All of this is a game. We are not saving lives here, up in the mountains. Let’s be honest. That cannot be anger in this situation, only disappointment. But let’s also be honest about what we are really “achieving.” The act of climbing exists in the shadow between certainty and impossibility. Everything else is just a commercial.
Nina Caprez brings charm and a joie de vivre to her climbing films. Anyone unfamiliar with her might like her Silbergeier film. I can’t wait to follow her adventure on Orbayu. In full disclosure, I donated to the crowdfunding effort.