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Eckenstein, not Gill, the Founder of
Bouldering
The claim that the great John Gill was the father
of modern bouldering (page 23, V.5 I.4) is a bit of a stretch. Possibly
in the U.S., but even there, climbers were bouldering by the 1930s
and some may have bouldered as an end in itself while also pursuing
other types of climbing. An evidently modest man, Gill himself mightn't
make such a claim. He likely was one of the first in North America
to put most of his climbing effort into bouldering, though his biography
by Pat Ament makes it clear he did other climbing also. History
and its interpretation can be challenging. I wouldn't be surprised
if there were some pretty focused boulderers in central Europe a
century or more ago. However, the Anglo-German scientist Oscar Eckenstein
is widely considered the founder of modern bouldering, in England
in the 1890s.
K2 - The Story of the Savage Mountain (Curran, 1995) says the following:
"Born in London in 1859 of a German father and English mother,
Eckenstein studied chemistry, first at London University, then in
his father's home town of Bonn. His scientific mind sought practical
solutions to mechanical problems and he was the first person to
understand that balance rather than brute strength was the key to
rock climbing. In Britain he devised the art of bouldering. There
is still an Eckenstein Boulder below the Pen Y Pass youth hostel
in North Wales. He also invented the prototype modern crampon and
designed a short ice axe that could be used with one hand on steep
ground. His ideas were far-reaching but his newfangled crampons
and ice-axe found little immediate acceptance. Eckenstein was a
blunt abrasive man with little respect for the Alpine Club."
Although Eckenstein was an alpinist –most modern crampons are
variants of the Eckenstein crampon– he also pursued bouldering
as an end in itself. Eckenstein accompanied the eccentric Aleister
Crowley on several expeditions to the Andes and Himalaya, including
the first true attempt on K2 in 1902.
It’s possible that Gill began bouldering without any knowledge
of its earlier history in England, Europe or the U.S., but it seems
unlikely. There really aren't that many things under the sun that
are truly new. Whether the origins of bouldering pads can be traced
to the soft furry sheep infesting the hills of North Wales is best
left unexplored.
Anders I. Ourom
Vancouver, B.C.
Reader Asks: How does Gym Climbing
Make it into the Mag?
I just wanted to say as a reader of your magazine
since day one, that each new issue seems to improve in layout and
style and I always look forward to reading your magazine. As a climbing
mag I realize that you have to try to satisfy all your customers.
Often I don’t read articles on bouldering and gym climbing
(I don’t even see how gym climbing makes it in the mag), but
in your last issue, out of boredom I read an article on competition
climbing and found it to be much more interesting then I would have
ever thought. So, please keep up the great articles on trad, alpine
and ice, the varied world content, and the quality pictures and
stories and I will remain a satisfied customer.
Stephen O’Brien
Calgary, Alberta
“If Canada is Like Gripped I’m
in for a Good Time”
It’s amazing how words can stir the bubbling
pot of emotions. Well if done right that is. Words, literature,
climbing in general. I had arrived in Canada, eyes beaming, jetlagged,
with a biological clock in a tailspin. At a friend’s house,
I caught a glimpse of a climbing magazine. Gripped, wow I thought
to my self, I haven't seen this before. After five months of language
barriers: Thai, Hindi, Tamil, German and now French, finally I had
another avenue for communication. This was a language I could understand.
Fantastic pictures had my enthusiasm bouncing to each new place
with the turn of a page. I had my hands on issue 4 vol 1. My bounding
excitement soon turned to a whirlwind cycle of contemplation. The
John Lauchlan story was the spark to this. It tweaked my heartstrings.
Soon I was assessing what really mattered. Such a strong spirit
still spurring on positivity. Unfortunately this is from a man that
I'll never know. The article had such positive inertia that my thoughts
kept on going, even after I stopped reading. The next pages were
about Pont Rouge and ice climbing, which was completely foreign
to me. Then Squamish, those walls, I'm sold. Having grown up in
OZ, this magazine was my first window to the climbing here. If Canada
is like this, I'm in for a great time.
Tyson Burns
En route to Squamish
Should
Sex Sell Climbing Gear?
Not ten minutes ago, I found myself flipping
through the latest issue of Gripped (06/07.2003). Before I could
even reach the good stuff inside, I found myself staring at the
Red Chili ad on page six. I wasn't staring because of the good lookin'
woman showing me some skin (not entirely, anyway). It was something
else. Then it dawned on me. This sport is going the way of all those
other "high-risk" sports of the past. Mainstream advertising
has struck again. Has it truly become necessary, or even possible,
to sell rock climbing gear solely with sex, as sports such as snowboarding
and wakeboarding did ten years ago? Is this what our sport has become?
Is this what we want it to become? It doesn't make me want to buy
products advertised this way. I feel used. I'm going climbing.
Paul,
Burnaby, B.C.
Gripped
“Putting Young People at Risk”?
My 10-year-old daughter and I started climbing
together two years ago; gym and toproping, with leading to follow
when she is closer to my weight. We were both disappointed to see
the cover photograph of a free climb in the 4-5, 2003 issue. Free
climbing is a dangerous reality among climbers, but one that will
certainly put more young people at risk if it is glorified in breathy
prose and dramatic photographs. I also note that you receive funding
from the government of Canada. I am considering contacting the government
suggesting that they reconsider funding a magazine that highlights
free climbing, a dangerous practice that this parent and child suggest
rather be discouraged.
Sincerely, Mark and Liane Bernstein
Reader Wants More Photos
I’m writing to say that the single photo Northern Exposures
in the June issue was pretty lame. I understand that you have limited
space in the mag, but honestly most readers would rather see awesome
photos and get psyched than read an extra page of news about how
Sonnie or Sharma sent after blah blah tries. More photos!
Dave Anson,
Vancouver, BC
Pimps
Aren’t Cool
I have a bit of a issue with some wording. Normally
I'm the last guy to complain about non-politically correct language
and such, and usually it's not a big deal, just folks overreacting
to things, but I kind of feel like I have to say something about
this one: "Gripped pimps out" Call me over-pc or whatever
you like, but the use of pimp is getting out of hand. I know more
than a few people who would take offence to it's usage, even though
it's getting pretty common; “check the pimped out Civic, dude,”
the bouldering video West Coast Pimp etc. When you step back and
look at what a pimp is, you should be offended by the word. Call
it one of my new pet peeves, but I hang out with a group of people
who work with youth, and to them prostitution is not something to
make light of, and their attitude has kind of rubbed off on me.
I don't expect you to change it, but I just thought I'd let you
know that not everyone is cool with the slang.
Pete Woods
Calgary, Alberta
Cosmo
or Gripped?
My boyfriend and I have been subscribers to your
magazine for the past year. Recently, I have noticed that some of
the ads are undermining Gripped. For example, the Red Chili ads
promoting "First Move.” I'm sorry, but this seems like
such a low, fashion magazine trick that I had to write in. Please
keep your magazine true to real climbers! If I want to see skinny
twenty-something men being seduced by muscle-lacking women, I will
pick up an issue of Cosmo!
Annie J
Vancouver, BC
Euros
“Not Chickenshit,” Anymore
Thanks for the great article on Headpointing.
I think if more climbers had taken the example of those guys in
England, the cliffs of America would have been spared a lot of bolts!
I used to think Euro meant chickenshit, but that ain’t the
case anymore.
Bob Fredericks,
Boulder, Colorado
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