Swiss Review 3/2019

Swiss Review / May 2019 / No.3 16 Sport mats are used to cushion falls. Indoors it is a world away from the wild, risky unpredictability of climbing in the Alps. If something untoward happens, the climbing cen- tre operator will inmany cases be liable, hence the people who run such facilities are acutely aware of the need to minimise risks. Overused rock faces However, the flourishing indoor scene has implications elsewhere. “People who suddenly want to climb outdoors expect the same high level of safety that they enjoyed in- doors, so they transplant their ‘all-risks-insured’ mind- set to the mountains,” says Tim Marklowski, mountain- eering project leader at the alpine protection organisation MountainWilderness. As Marklowski explains, it means that in various climbing areas around Switzerland, in- cluding the high Alps, many routes are dotted with per- manent bolts to secure belays, whereas easily accessible unmarked routes are now few and far between. The bolts allow everyone to climb safely. Such routes are very pop- ular. He points out that the resulting rock erosion is dra- matic in some cases. This “human encroachment into the Alps”, as he calls it, means that we lose something along the way. “We no longer enjoy nature in its original state, or the pleasure of making decisions for ourselves.” Moun- tainWilderness is therefore working to preserve bolt-free routes that “allow you to take charge” and experience a purer form of climbing. Marklowski says: “There are climbing areas in the UK, the USA and Italy where bolts are still a no-no.” Greater recognition for the elite The sport’s burgeoning reputation is changing the way we view the athletes at the top. For example, elite climber Petra Klingler is no longer the complete unknown that she used to be. She was crowned BoulderingWorld Cham- pion in 2016 in front of a crowd of 10,000 in Paris. This world title as well as the inclusion of sport climbing in the Olympic programme have helped the 27-year-old to at- tract new sponsors. “I can nowmake a modest living from climbing – but not enough to feed a family,” says Klingler, who finished her degree in psychology and sports science last year. Nevertheless, Klingler is inclined to think that the sport has not yet reached its full “monetary poten- tial”. This may well change after Tokyo 2020. At any rate, Switzerland’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), Swiss Olympic, believes that sport climbing is a particularly good fit for Switzerland on account of its varied nature. “Sport climbing connects the alpine with the urban,” says Swiss Olympic media officer Alexander Wäfler. The NOC hopes that Tokyo 2020 “will ignite this spark and get lots of peo- ple interested”. Janik Spindler and Delia Büchel scaling the Rotsteini near Meiringen. Climbing is purely an indoor sport for many children. But not for these two. Photo: Silvan Schüpbach, SAC Indoors instead of outdoors, artificial instead of natural. Sport climbing has changed a great deal in the last 20 years. Photo: Danielle Liniger