TAGS

Chris Sharma, Big Up, Nalle Hukkataival and the Red Tag

posted by dpm on 03/31/2010

by Matt Stark
 
Everyone has an opinion, and like your opinion, mine stinks . . . a little. I’ve held this opinion close for a long time, but recent events have allowed me to voice it, and hopefully by doing so others will be able to express their opinions about this as well.
 
This opinion surrounds an old yet still sometimes heated topic of Red-tagging. It has existed for some time in our community. Some climbers respect red tags and stay away from the off limit projects, others don’t. My opinion has been on the middle ground. If someone is actively working a project they pioneered, they should have a window of opportunity to do the first ascent.
 
My opinion never came into question until July 2008 when I was approached by someone I respect and have the utmost admiration for, Chris Sharma. He approached us after what looked like a lecture from Josh Lowell who was commanding a jib arm at the Mammut Bouldering Championships above the Shiloh. Dead Point had just launched at this trade show and with our launch came the announcement that we were placing a $1000 bounty on the Mt. Clark project, which later became known as Jumbo Love. Chris humbly asked for us to remove the bounty because he had red tagged it. Knowing that Randy Levitt originally bolted the line, I was a bit reluctant to remove the bounty. At first, I found his request a bit unreasonable. He then explained that Big Up already had spent time filming the “ascent” and if someone else did it first, that footage would be wasted. Knowing Josh and the amount of time and money that likely went into the filming of that project, we removed the bounty. Chris would have likely claimed the money, but another individual was making strong headway on the route and the risk of it falling to another was there. Ethan Pringle of California reportable was falling high on the headwall in the spring before the desert temps soared to an intolerable level. He too was asked to respectfully stay off the route and under the circumstances, he did so.
 
Recently, Nalle Hukkataival traveled to the famed cliffs of Margalef to attempt the now famous project known as First Round, First Minute. The route is shorter in length than many of Chris’s other benchmark routes and requires explosive bouldering power, a trait that Nalle Hukkataival has no shortage of. Unfortunately, his intentions to attempt the route were stymied shortly after arriving in Spain. After hearing of his intentions to try First Round, First Minute, Nalle was asked to stay off the route. It was officially a “closed project”.
 
photo courtsey of Joe Kinder @ joekindkid.com
 
“It's not like I went to Spain just to sneak some poor dude's closed project. In fact, this particular route wasn't even closed before I got there . . . You can't really claim a First Ascent if you won't let others to try your project. The word 'first' has no meaning in it, if no-one else even had the opportunity to try to do it before you.” Excerpt from Nalle Hukkavtaival’s Blog
 
Chris, who makes large endorsements from various companies, has the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world to pursue the progression of the sport. He has a multitude of projects from China to Kentucky. Some he bolted, other were bolted at the hands of others. So why are all of these projects being red-tagged? Could it be that pressure from certain media groups are protecting some of the most spectacular routes in the world for Chris Sharma? Considering the money that is involved in travelling, logistical support and filming, I think the scenario is likely. The question is, is the practice of red tagging these projects wrong?
 
Chris responded to the controversy on his girlfriend’s blog with this:
 
"People like to say often "The first ascent is not important. I just want to climb this amazing route." Honestly these kinds of statements are pretty naive I think. From my perspective the process of discovering a line, all the work put into it to bolt it clean it etc, and finally climb it , is what climbing is all about. And the first ascent is very different. It only can happen once. Let’s take for example; I have no experience climbing on El Cap. I don't think it would be very appropriate that all of the sudden I decide I’m going to go and try to free Mescalito before Tommy (I’m not saying in any way that I’d be able to, but just for an example). But it would be a little like: he did all the work to get it ready, has shared with the world his vision of the next level in trad, so now I come and want to snag it and the glory from him. I think he and others might be like "Dude go find your own project" And in my opinion rightly so. He has spent a lot of time, energy and emotion preparing himself for this route. I don't believe there is anyone more capable than Tommy, but even if there were, I think it would be kinda bad style. People love to do first ascents but don't want to do any of the leg work". More from Chris HERE.
 
Chris is arguable the best climber in the world, but other climbers are at or near his ability right now and are just as capable of pushing the sport.  Climbers like Nalle Hukkataival, Ethan Pringle, Daniel Woods, or Adam Ondra, the youngest climber to climb 15a. All of these climbers have the talent to potentially push our sport to the next level. Some of these climbers simply lack the financial freedom and support from their sponsors to jet set with a film crew around the world the way Chris does, and when they do . . . they are met by the tattered colored webbing we all call the red tag.
 
Please weigh in your thoughts and visit Nalle Hukkataival’s Blog and to hear what Chris had to say on the topic check out Dalia Ojeda’s blog