EXTREME SPORTS

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TOM MORDEYUNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELDMA PROJECTwww.thesports-locker.comAUGUST 2013

The changing nature of an extreme world

EXTREME SPORTS

INSIDE 03 Extreme SportsFrom reckless rule breakers to competitive professionals

SPORTS EXTREME From reckless rule breakers to

competitive professionals

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06 Red Bull gives you wingsHow the marketing concept of one company changed extreme sports forever

10 Come fly with meWelcome to the world of wingsuit jumping

14 The Ice ManMeet Gordon McArthur. The man taking Canadian ice climbing to the Olympics

18 Scaling new heightsFrom mountaineering to sport climbing - the evolution of an extreme sport

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Friday 27 July 2012. The Olympic Stadium watched in astonishment as James Bond and the Queen, the world’s most unlikely parachuting

duo, dived from the London skyline. Mark Sutton and Gary Connery captured the pub-

lic’s imagination with their stunts and kick-started the most successful Olympic Games of all time.

Wednesday 14 August 2013. Sutton, wearing a wingsuit, jumped from a helicopter at 11,000 ft in Switzerland.

Tragically, he hit a mountain ridge on descent and was killed. Sutton’s Olympic legacy ensured his death made global headline news.

It also swung the spotlight firmly onto extreme sports.

A world of danger, a world of adventure where par-ticipants and spectators feed off an adrenaline buzz.

Some pursuits, like climbing or mountain biking,

can be for the mildly adventurous, but they range to the frankly crazy such as wingsuit jumping.

Speed, height, physical activity. Three key ingredi-ents of an extreme sportsperson’s diet.

And that’s created a whole new sporting world. Take wingsuit jumping. Jumpers wear suits with ex-

tra surface area between the arms and legs and leap from dizzy heights. It’s parachuting with a twist.

The concept has existed ever since Austrian Franz Reichelt leapt to his death off the Eiffel Tower in 1912 wearing one. But the development of safe, commer-cial wingsuits in the 1990’s has seen the sport’s popularity soar.

Search the term on YouTube and you get 134,000 results. People flying off mountains, though caves and, like Sutton, within metres of cliffs.

That’s the nature of extreme sports. Thrill-seekers will go to any length to find new adrenaline rushes.

EXTREME SPORTS

It’s a mad world. One mistake and that could be the end. But that’s what drives these people.

Connery, Sutton’s jumping partner at the Olympics, tweeted after his friend’s death, “All you jumpers/flyers out there, stay safe, make wise choices and know your limits and your locations, live to tell your stories, one love.”

Although the death has clearly shaken him, he’s still philosophical about the risks extreme sportspeople take.

“It’s only dangerous if it hurts you,” he said.“Risk is how you perceive it. I got glass in my foot the

other day. I was in a lot of pain with that. Everything you do has risk attached to it.”

This is a man who’s tried everything in the extreme sports world. BASE jumping, wingsuiting, kayaking, skiing; Connery’s so good he’s made a living as a pro-fessional stuntman.

You’ll have seen him in James Bond, Batman and Indi-ana Jones without even realising. He’s jumped off Nel-son’s Column, the London Eye, even the Eiffel Tower.

In 2012, the 43-year-old achieved the world’s first skydive without a parachute, jumping 2,400ft, wearing a wingsuit, into a pile of cardboard boxes.

And he is, of course, the only stunt double to the Queen.

Extreme sports is his life. And he insists it isn’t dan-gerous.

“It’s about upping the intensity every time with expe-rience and knowledge,” he said.

“It’s just years and years of learning. Obviously a beginner who jumps off a cliff without a parachute will hurt themselves. But for someone who’s been through the learning curves, it’s not dangerous.”

Eric Brymer, an extreme sports psychology expert

from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane said: “We are talking about experiences that are beyond the everyday experiences and that are very powerful, often akin to experiences described by those who meditate; spiritual expe-riences.

Justin Anderson, a sports con-sultant for the Centre for Sports Psychology in Denton, Texas adds: “There’s an innate characteristic in some people.

“Some people are turned on by that stuff; they get a lot of adrenaline from it, and they gravitate toward activities that give them that feeling.

“For some it’s jumping out of air-planes, for others it’s climbing Mt. Everest.

“When they find that activity that gives them that feeling, they say there is nothing better.”

Adventure sports attract more thrill-seekers every year. Take moun-tain biking. In 2010, an estimated 10.4 million people flew down the dirt tracks compared to 8.6 million in 2008, according to a Global Indus-try analysts report. BMX is even a recognised Olympic sport.

The report shows that 14 million people now skateboard compared to 5.6 million in 1987.

As participation levels grow, ex-treme sports develop; the whole na-ture of the concept changes. People push themselves to go higher, faster and more dangerous than before.

Take Felix Baumgartner’s world record skydive from space; the cul-mination of parachuting and BASE jumping feats constantly pushed to new levels.

But how far can extreme sports go?Society once regarded extreme

sportspeople as reckless rule-break-ers; people simply looking for their next adrenaline fix.

That’s all changed. More people are participating, more people are watching and more manufacturers are making extreme sports gear. Extreme sports have become highly lucrative.

The X-Games, introduced in 1995 as the Olympics for daredevils, was the first sign of mainstream atten-tion. Some sports in the X-Games are now recognised Olympic events.

There’s Red Bull, pumping money into any extreme sport they can get their hands on. You can now stream

all their events off their website; easy access to pursuits with no previous media coverage.

There’s even a TV channel. Extreme Sports Channel launched in 1999, bringing non-stop action 24/7 to 60 countries and in 12 different languages.

The channel had 321,000 view-ers in the first week of August this year. That’s more than ESPN, a mainstream sports channel.

The public awareness of what these people do has never been higher.

But has that changed the nature of extreme sports entirely?

Steph Davis, an extreme sports enthusiast from Utah says: “I think extreme sports are very high in the mainstream consciousness right now, and commercialisation has become a real element.

“My only reservation is that sometimes people are pushing their limits for others rather than for themselves.”

With the world’s attention cap-tured, the onus is on companies promoting these extreme sports to keep everyone watching. Their response? Competition.

Look at climbing. Traditional

climbers would compete not against other people, but against themselves, seeing how high they could climb, what routes they could conquer.

Now people race each other up artificial competition walls roared on by the watching crowd. Competitive climbing is so popular, Olympic inclusion looks likely.

And it’s the same in many other adventure sports.

Brymer says: “Not all people involved are interested in com-petition.

“But one question this poses is at what point does the compet-itive aspect override the adven-ture aspect and what might that lead to?”

Brymer has a point. Extreme sports may be a booming busi-ness, but at what cost?

The reckless rule-breakers who participate in extreme sports for love of their hobby have been replaced by a new world of commercialised extreme sports; geared towards competition, media coverage and profit.

The inherent nature of extreme sports has changed. It’s like travelling back to Ancient Rome, gladiators taking danger head-on, risking their lives, not for the love of the sport, but to please the crowds.

It’s a new phenomenon, a new breed of adrenaline junkies tak-ing things to a different level.

Welcome to the breakneck paced, ever-changing, mad world of extreme sports.

“Some people are turned on by that stuff.”

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© STEPH DAVIS

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OH MA’AM:Gary Connery skydives at the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

FALLING IN STYLE:Steph Davis jumps off Hindu Tower, India in a wingsuit.

EXTREME SPORTS

Red gives you wings

Bull

© FLICKR - GYLLE_SNOTHow the marketing concept of one company changed extreme sports forever

Felix Baumgartner stepped out of his capsule. He looked down at Earth 24 miles away. And then he jumped.

The Austrian’s astonishing feat set the bar for ex-treme sportspeople all over the world. His jump on 14 October 2012 set the fastest speed of free fall at 843.6 mph, making him the first human to break the sound barrier without mechanical help, jumping from a world record height.

Red Bull broke new boundaries that day. Baumgartner pushed extremes to the very limit. But was it extreme sports, extreme research or extreme marketing?

Colonel Joe Kittinger, the man who first attempt-ed the jump in 1960 and later became a team ad-visor with Red Bull Stratos, the mission that sent Baumgartner into space, said “The public perception

of Felix Baumgartner’s parachute jump was of an au-dacious balloon ascent, a supersonic freefall, a trium-phant landing.

“But in reality, the project had realistic scientific objectives with a secondary objective of establishing records following a jump from a stratospheric bal-loon.”

Less extreme sports then, and more extreme sci-ence.

Certainly, Baumgartner, the executioner of Red Bull’s grand plan, agreed: “I can think of no greater honour for myself - or for the team - than to know people will use the mission data to improve aerospace safety, or to spark children’s interest in science.”

While the Stratos mission will surely prove impor-tant in future space research, it gave Red Bull the opportunity to literally give its energy drinks wings.

Effective marketing and adver-tisement are constant challenges for companies striving to max-imise profits, but Red Bull have ripped up the rule book in this department.

A record eight million people watched Baumgartner’s jump live on YouTube, viewed on more than 40 networks across 50 countries, while over three million tweets mentioned the jump at the time.

That’s what you call exposure. Baumgartner may as well have

showered the entire world in cans of the fizzy stuff on his way down given Red Bull’s efforts to spread the word, but at what price?

Red Bull refused to reveal how much the Stratos mission cost, but estimates from marketing experts suggest £30million.

But Ben Sturner, CEO of media marketing company Leverage Agency, told Forbes that Red Bull are more valuable because of the jump.

“The value for Red Bull is in the tens of millions of dollars of global exposure, and Red Bull Stratos will continue to be talked about and passed along socially for a very long time,” he said.

Red Bull founder Dietrich Mates-chitz is the master of experimen-tal marketing; campaigns range from art shows to music festivals while they bypass sponsorship by actually owning events and teams.

Two Formula One teams, (one a three-time World Champion outfit), a Nascar team and a foot-ball side, the New York Red Bulls, (boasting a certain Thierry Henry) are just a few examples.

In extreme sports though, Red Bull provide more than just an energy boost for the athletes.

Their investments have put unconventional sports such as mountain biking and canoeing back on the map as well as cre-ating entirely new ones. Had you ever heard of cliff diving or street luge?

Red Bull don’t just support single athletes or teams, they rebrand entire sports. Try the Red Bull air race.

Pilots fly against the clock and turn through slaloms known as ‘air gates.’ In 2008, eight cities hosted races, more than three million attended with over 500

EXTREME SPORTS 7

million watching on TV. The sport didn’t exist before

2003. Baumgartner is the prime ex-

ample of a Red Bull-developed sportsman. Before the Stratos mission, Red Bull helped him freefall the English channel using a wingsuit.

He also made the world’s lowest BASE jump from the Christ the

Redeemer statue, twice set world records for the highest BASE jump from a building, off the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Tai-pei 101 tower, and even landed his parachute inside a cave in Croatia.

“I was one of the first Red Bull athletes,” he said.

“Our relationship goes back around 20 years. We collaborated on many projects before develop-ing Red Bull Stratos.

“Red Bull athletes are involved in over 150 sports, and my mis-

sion was an example of how Red Bull helps us achieve our individual goals. Red Bull establishes a per-sonal relationship with each of us.”

Red Bull, as a drink and a brand, is designed for thrill seekers. Events match the brand persona; adventurous, daring and even re-bellious.

In essence, Red Bull create an experience for people they want drinking their product.

But is Red Bull is still merely a drinks company. Do the sports ventures support the selling of the drink itself, or vice versa?

Mateschitz said: “It’s not either or.“It’s both; the brand supports the

sports and culture community, as well as the other way round.”

Click on their website and there’s no sign of the famous silver and blue can. Instead, the home page is covered in epic tales of recent Red Bull events.

One video shows Russian ex-treme sports star Valery Rozov wearing a wingsuit covered in Red Bull insignia, shrieking as he makes the highest ever BASE jump from Mount Everest. Not exactly the way Edmund Hilary descended.

Another clip captures Austral-ian watersports supremo Jason

“Red Bull rebrand

entire sports”

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EXTREME SPORTS 8

Polakow windsurfing a wave more suited to the Day After Tomorrow film. Again, the Red Bull logo is prominent on his equipment.

Next, French rider Julian Dupont takes his motorbike for a spin over, under and through the shanty towns of Brazil. Urban motorbike parkour, the website calls it. ‘Is that even a real thing?’ Red Bull asks. Well it wasn’t till you invented it.

The message is clear. Red Bull will fund, equip and market any manner of extreme sports, from unconventional micro-sports, to Formula One, encouraging athletes to push their limits if it will help promote the brand.

How far can these limits be pushed? The suc-cess of Red Bull Stratos and Felix Baumgartner masks a potentially more serious side to their stunts.

The company came under fire in May af-ter the death of Guido Gehrmann, who crash-landed his microjet returning from a Red Bull-sponsored air acrobatics and motor-sports event in the Tyrol.

Gehrmann was the seventh person killed taking part in Red Bull-sponsored stunts.

A documentary, ‘Red Bull’s Dark Side’, was aired by Austrian broadcaster ARD highlight-ing the rising death toll among Red Bull ath-letes.

In 2009 alone, Ueli Gegenschatz was blown into a building parachuting in Switzerland, Shane McConkey fell to his death in the Do-lomites jumping from a 1000ft cliff with skis on and Eli Thompson hit a mountain on a wingsuit jump in the Alps.

Red Bull have turned McConkey’s story into a documentary, to be released later in 2013. It’s tagline? ‘You have one life. Live it.’

Red Bull responded, saying: “It is, has been, and always will be our intention to help ex-traordinary people to reach their extraordi-nary goals.

“Many of these goals are connected to low risks, while others are connected to greater risks.”

But when Red Bull-assisted stunts set the bar so high in different disciplines of extreme sports, the onus falls on athletes to engage in more reckless stunts.

Red Bull’s marketing has changed the nature of extreme sports forever.

Felix Baumgartner’s death-defying leap out of space broke new boundaries in the extreme sports world, but in ten years time, that might not be anything spectacular.

Extreme sports will go further.

PERFECT 10:A competitor at the 2012 Red Bull cliff diving World Championships.

CHUTING STAR:A pilot takes part in the 2007 Red Bull X-Alps, an adventure race for paragliders.© FLICKR - PONELIA

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LUGING CONTROLCompetitors race down DeHaro Street, San Francisco in the 2011 Red Bull street luge event.

EXTREME SPORTS©

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Come

flywith me

Welcome to the world of wingsuit jumping.And yes, man can now fly!

© WORLD WINGSUIT LEAGUE

© WORLD WINGSUIT LEAGUE

Human flight; a concept made possible by the in-vention of wingsuits.

Frankly terrifying for most. But consider the idea of jumpers competing for the fastest time. Utterly bonkers?

Not for those who do it. Wingsuits, invented in 1997 by Patrick de Gayardon,

increase the body’s surface area allowing a skydiver to glide and turn in the air before using a parachute to land.

The World Wingsuit League (WWL) was founded in 2012 by retired pro-BASE jumper Iiro Seppanen and his business partner Frank Yang to offer the world’s best jumpers a competition to not only showcase their talents, but also get paid for it.

It tests the skills of wingsuit jumpers against both the mountains and each other.

Seppanen said: “The WWL was formed for the ath-letes by the athletes. We currently hold one annual Grand Prix event - inviting the best wingsuit pilots in the world to participate.

“It will continue to grow as an international competi-tive league over the next few years.”

South African Julian Boulle won the inaugural compe-tition, taking home $20,000 for his troubles.

Sixteen athletes raced down Tianmen Mountain, Chi-na, a course almost three-quarters of a mile long, with a 2,600-foot vertical drop.

Runs start when jumpers leap from a platform atop a 900-foot cliff, fly around course markers on the ground below. They fly down the mountain, going under the

finish line before deploying parachutes and landing. The competition is a time trial; two runs per pilot

with the fastest eight progressing into a final round. The fastest time in the final takes the crown.

Seppanen said: “The WWL offers the biggest prize purses in the sport. We also take pride in treating our athletes well.

“We have been able to introduce wingsuiting into the mainstream media and our athletes are treated like rockstars at events, a unique experience for them.

“Most importantly, the location is absolutely breath-taking. All the wingsuiters would probably pay to jump from it.”

Jhonathan Florez, a Colombian jumper competing in the League, said: “To compete in the WWL is amazing; we’re talking about the Grand Prix of human flight, the best competition you can get.

“It’s scary, not because of the danger, but because you’re competing against such big names and such good athletes. There’s a lot of pressure and it’s pretty nerve-wracking!”

Florez has been jumping for ten years. He’s a profes-sional photographer and filmmaker, but wingsuiting is his alternative career.

The 29-year-old has completed over 2,000 wingsuit jumps and holds four Guinness World Records in the sport; longest time in freefall, longest horizontal dis-tance travelled in a wingsuit, highest wingsuit jump and longest total distance jumped.

Florez’s love for jumping came from leaping into his pool as a child. He progressed to skydiving, parachuting

EXTREME SPORTS10 11

EXTREME SPORTS 12 So where can wingsuiting go from here? The 2012 WWL proved so popular that

qualifiers were held in Switzerland to de-termine the 16 athletes who will compete in 2013. Prize money has also increased to $30,000 for the winner.

WWL flyer Jeb Corliss is eager to see the league extended. He wants jumps from landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower and the Christ Statue. And other competitions are emerging.

The ProBASE wingsuit racing tour started in 2008 and it’s taken off this summer, with 30 athletes competing in five televised races for $130,000 and the title of ‘World Wingsuit Champion.’

Such competitiveness will inevitably lead to people pushing themselves further.

But Florez says that won’t compromise the safety of flyers. “More extreme feats?” he said. “Of course, but that’s just the evolution of sport, just like cars getting faster.

“But the key is to see what stunts or feats you can do without risking your life. The bot-tom line is we’re still humans and we can’t make mistakes.

“We’re not just this crazy bunch. We’re pretty methodical people who just want this sport to grow.”

But is the idea of wingsuiters racing each other down mountains a step too far? The stakes are high. Jumpers lived on the edge even before competitive flying.

As competitions become more widespread, the risk factor increases.

But isn’t that what wingsuit jumpers live for?

and BASE jumping before turning to wingsuits.

He is proud to be living out his childhood dream.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I was drawn to anything that could fly. You want to be like Superman or Batman and this is pretty damn close. It’s a pretty unique feeling.”

Wingsuit pilots jump off anything from airplanes to vertical cliffs and mountain tops. Jumpers fly through valleys, caves and gorges, pushing the boundaries of adven-ture sports to new levels.

Florez says the feeling while in the air is like nothing else.

“In order to understand it, you have to live it. And those who live it, can’t explain it,” he said.

“It’s a sense of freedom, of liberty, we emerge with the elements. There’s no past, no problems, everything goes clear in your mind once you’re flying.

“It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever experienced.”

But wingsuit jumping is dangerous. Between 1930 and 1961, 72 out of 75 par-

achuting pioneers died flying experimental contraptions, according to the Adventure Sports Journal.

The safety of wingsuit jumping is still questionable today; especially after the deaths of jumpers Mark Sutton, Alvaro Bulto and Mario Richard in August alone.

There are no official statistics for wingsuiting deaths, but unofficial tolls esti-mate between 20 and 50 since 1981.

But regulations are in place. Different countries have different rules, but the Brit-ish Parachute Association say wingsuiters need to have made 500 skydives - or at least 200 skydives within the last 18 months.

It’s hard to imagine jumpers competing safely in the WWL. Seppanen admitted wingsuit flying is dangerous.

“We don’t do anything that would add risk though,” he said.

“We have created a stunning course, but at the same time, it guides the pilots down the mountain on safe calculated lines.”

Florez believes competition makes wingsuit jumpers better athletes.

“People actually put in the time and jumps to get better and faster.

“Also, it pushes the manufacturers to make faster, safer wingsuits, to help people win races, but also stay alive.”

Wingsuit manufacturing has taken off. Four companies dominate the market, Tony Suits, developed by British jumper Tony

Uragallo, Phoenix-Fly, S-Fly and Birdman. Professional suits cost between $1000 and

$2000. It’s an expensive business for athletes. That’s where Red Bull comes in. They help

athletes turn professional and their funding set up the WWL.

Florez praises Red Bull’s impact on his beloved sport.

“When I wasn’t professional, I didn’t know if I could continue without the support I need.

“Red Bull has been the main source of fund-ing in growing non-conventional sports.

“Finally the outcasts can knock on the door without being rejected. Red Bull have been the ones who actually recognise potential here.

“It’s helped us grow and compete at what we do and I feel extremely lucky.”

Yet Seppanen believes the WWL is sustaina-ble without the help of Red Bull.

“With or without Red Bull, the sport will explode into the mainstream media over the next few years and WWL athletes can be as popular as other top sports stars,” he said.

“We are proud to continue our relation-ship with Red Bull, but at the same time, the league is about more than just an energy drink.

“In the future, I want there to be team structure in the races and Red Bull will have their own team, just like in Formula One.

“We are often referred as the ‘Formula One in the Sky’”.

Florez said: “I’m pretty sure with our sport, we can get there.

“It’s a matter of when the world goes ‘Hey. Look what these guys are doing, it’s awesome.’ It won’t be long before the sport blooms into an amazing thing.”

BORN TO FLY: Jhonathan Florez before the 2012 World Wingsuit League.

© WORLD WINGSUIT LEAGUE © WORLD WINGSUIT LEAGUE

© WORLD WINGSUIT LEAGUE

MIND THE GAP Jeb Corliss flies through Tianmen Cave, China.

THE ICE MANMeet Gordon McArthur.The man taking Canadian ice climbing to the Olympics.

EXTREME SPORTS © GORDON MCARTHUR

Few people get the opportunity to represent their country at the Olympics. Especially not at ice climb-ing. For Gordon McArthur, that dream will come

true. The sport will be included as a cultural event for the

2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. While no medals will be awarded, this is the chance to present the sport to the watching world; a first tentative step towards becoming a fully-fledged Olympic event.

Ice climbing is the ascending of ice formations; athletes climb frozen waterfalls or icefalls, conquering overhangs and cliff or rock falls covered in ice. Climbers fix cram-pons and ice screws into the surface and use ice axes to lever themselves up.

But competitive ice climbing is staged on an artificial wall, built out of plastic, granite and ice with inserted boulders for climbers to scale, designed to mimic move-ment on the real stage. A similar wall will be built for the Olympics.

McArthur, 33, will represent Canada in Russia. Having competed for his country for three years in ice climbing World Cups, the Olympics allows him to take his dream to the next level.

“It’s pretty much the best opportunity in my climbing career,” he said.

“I’m excited and honoured to be representing Canada on the greatest stage of competition.”

Urs Stoecker, President of the International Commis-sion of Ice Climbing Competitions for the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) be-lieves ice climbing’s inclusion in the Olympic cultural programme will give the sport momentum.

“The sport will hopefully gain more recognition and the athletes seen as serious people with a great commitment for performance,” he said.

“It’s also a great opportunity to show the IOC that our sport is attractive and would add incredible value to the Winter Olympics – it’s a sport that is totally different to all other winter sports which mostly go downhill or horizontally.

“We will put in some serious effort in the next year to build an application that will be included in the 2022 Winter Olympics programme.

“Our chances are realistic, but we need to improve fur-ther to be in shape to win the bid.”

McArthur backs the involvement of ice climbing in the Olympics.

“It will create a huge awareness of what’s actually in-volved,” he said.

“It’s still fairly unfamiliar in North America, so having it at the Olympics will open people’s minds to its possibili-ties.”

McArthur started professional ice climbing nine years ago. He’s one of his country’s best.

“I do a lot of competitive ice climbing,” he said. ICE COOL: Gordon McArthur ice climbs a route in Canada

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EXTREME SPORTS

“My entire winter is essential-ly based around it.

“I train for seven months in preparation of a long winter travelling around the world and competing.”

Competitive ice climbing is a new concept.

The 1995 Winter X-Games was the first attempt to bring competitive ice climbing to the public, but was axed in 1999 because of its limited audience.

The UIAA are working hard to establish ice climbing as a com-petitive sport again.

World class climbers now compete in World Cups, World Championships and other con-tinental events that form the Ice Climbing World Tour.

Events are staged on artificial walls. Athletes take part in two disciplines; lead, where compet-itors concentrate on technique and skill to climb tricky routes, or speed where competitors aim for the quickest time racing up walls.

Artificial walls make for an exciting spectacle; people watch on as climbers dash for the top

or manoeuvre their way through a tricky route.

McArthur said: “I love the idea that ice climbing is a competi-tive sport. It draws big crowds, it’s intense, it gives climbers a huge adrenaline buzz.

“The experience throughout the entire process is such a huge rush, from training to the exhila-ration of reaching the top.”

Stoecker believes competitions are essential for the sport’s de-velopment.

“Competitions are important to provide role models for the climbing masses. They see what’s possible and have idols to admire,” he said.

“The performance level and the professionalism of the ath-letes and the federations have really increased in the last five years since competitions began.”

Sochi 2014 will allow the UIAA to demonstrate the sport can work both on a competitive level, and as a crowd-pleasing spectacle worthy of the Winter Olympics.

There’s a real chance that, come 2022, three ice climbers

will be standing on a podium, Olympic torch glistening in the background

Ice climbing is evolving. Previously, it existed out of

necessity, the only way to reach mountain summits. Sir Edmund Hilary was not just an explorer, but also an ice climber. Everest’s icy cliff faces had to be scaled to reach the top.

It was never a sport in its own right; more a discipline of mountaineering.

Ice climbing became an adven-ture pursuit through people’s desire to conquer more complex passages and make speedier ascents.

But now competition is taking over.

Will that turn ice climbing into a mainstream sport, where money and competition come above adventure and traditional mountaineering values?

Ron Fawcett, one of climbing’s first superstars, says ice climb-ing will continue in traditional fashion.

“The modern stuff, it’s more like gymnastics.

It’s not as popular,” he said. “Ice climbing, it’s more tra-

ditional, more old school. You can’t do it indoors.

“It’s got this old mountaineer-ing image and I can’t see that changing.”

“I love the idea that ice climbing is a competitive

sport.”

Stoecker wants the sport to be multi-dimensional. He wants more athletes to turn professional, to make money from UIAA-funded competi-tions, but he still wants a place for traditional climbers in the sport.

“There will be the competitors and the adventurers,” he said.

“The competitors will focus on high performance at set competition days and the adventurers will focus on great achievements in the wild.

“But I do not think the sport be-comes solely competitive.”

The sport faces an interesting fu-ture. Will it succumb to competition, where pay cheques hold more impor-tance than unconquered ice faces? Or will ice climbing retain the moun-taineering purist’s values?

In the wake of its changing nature, ice climbing has big choices to make. © GORDON MCARTHUR

© GORDON MCARTHUR

COMPETITIVE STREAK: Gordon McArthur scales an artificial competition wall.

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SCALINGNEW HEIGHTS

© FLICKR - GYLLE_SNOT

The evolution of an

extreme sport

From mountaineering

to sport climbing

When Dame Kelly Holmes describes a sport as having the ‘wow factor’, you sit up and take notice. The 2004 double gold medallist might

be more accustomed to the track, but her admiration for sport climbing is well documented.

Competitive sport climbing was only recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2010, a nod of approval for the sport to apply for Olympic status. Its growth is phenomenal. The 2012 World Championships in France attracted competitors from over 50 nations - more than cycling, rowing or diving.

Sport climbing consists of three disciplines. In speed climbing, competitors race up identical routes to see who reaches the top quickest. In lead climbing, climbers compete with ropes in a test of endurance to see who can climb highest. Bouldering is the combination of strength and power; climbers tackle routes without the use of ropes or harnesses.

A triathlon-esque competition comprising all three dis-ciplines was designed to propel climbing into the Olym-pics. The IOC decided against awarding sport climbing an Olympic spot for 2020, but as a competition sport, it’s scaling new heights.

Gaz Parry, four-time British Lead Champion, two-time British Bouldering Champion and British Speed Cham-pion says international climbers are now major public stars.

“When I started representing Great Britain, there was no publicity around it, you were just pleased to go

away and pull on a GB shirt,” he said. “It didn’t really seem to be as big as it is nowadays. Take Shauna Coxsey (Brit-ish Bouldering and Lead Champion). She’s recognised wherever she goes.”

Rob Adie, the British Mountain-eering Council’s Competitions and Climbing Walls Development Officer says competitive climbing is growing rapidly at grassroots level too.

“I organise competitive climbing for

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a living and it is definitely a very worthwhile part of the sport which a lot of people get a huge amount from,” he said.

“Most of the modern sport climbers got their back-ground in youth competition climbing and the GB climbing team is improving in both junior and senior disciplines.”

Adie will run 15 different events this year, at which he expects over 3000 competitors.

Young people are immersing themselves in compet-itive climbing, with the BMC Youth Climbing Series participation levels rising 50% in the last five years.

Climbing ethics have evolved. Sport climbing is the development of an activity that began with moun-taineering.

Traditionally, climbers would make their way up a crag by placing temporary “belay” points in cracks in the rock. These would catch their safety rope in the event of them losing their grip, and would prevent them falling to the ground to possible injury or death. The belays, or “runners”, would be removed after the climb, leaving the rock undisturbed.

Climbers did routes for their own sake, and whilst there was competition it focused on pushing the lim-its of new routes rather than who could climb fastest, highest or best.

Sport climbing, though, uses pre-installed pro-tection and anchor points to allow competition on artificial structures, with very precise measurement and analysis of how different climbers have tackled the same challenge.

Adie believes the nature of climbing is changing. “The Sport England active people survey showed

last year for the first time that there are now more people climbing indoors than outdoors,” he said.

“I think the vast majority of climbers fully embrace both aspects of the sport and most climbers do both

LEFTTHE PRO: Gaz Parry competes at the 2012 British Bouldering Championships.

BELOWCLIFFHANGER:Steph Davis tries traditional climbing in Utah.

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on a regular basis. There are some that will only climb indoors or outdoors, but the two are not mutually exclusive.”

According to BMC statistics, there are currently approximate-ly five million climbing wall users in the UK and around 350 public access climbing walls.

Four out of five climbers use artificial climbing walls and 33% use them every week.

Leeds Wall instructor Alan Bradshaw says indoor walls have seen a massive surge in usage over the last ten years.

The Leeds Wall opened in 1996 and has around 43,700 regis-tered members.

Bradshaw said: “I instruct a wide variety of people. We run a lot of sessions for school and youth groups to give them a first experience of climbing.

“We also run ‘Beginners’ Class-es’ and ‘Belay Courses’ where we teach adults to become safe, independent climbers.

Along with the Leeds Wall, two dedicated bouldering walls, the

City Block, and the Depot have now opened in the city. But does Bradshaw believe the indoor scene is replacing more tradi-tional versions of climbing?

“I don’t believe that it’s replac-ing outdoor climbing but rather adding to it,” he said.

“Many people get into climb-ing via climbing walls and then transfer their skills to the out-door arena.

“Climbing walls provide an ex-cellent introduction to climbing and give a wonderful opportu-nity to develop and hone move-ment skills which are of great and direct benefit to the outdoor situation.

“Most climbing walls, Leeds included, run outdoor sessions designed to encourage indoor climbers to sample climbing on real rock.

“The availability of indoor climbing walls is recognised as a major contributory factor in the massive leap in outdoor climbing over the last couple of decades as they effectively enable climbers

to train on a year-round basis un-affected by our variable weather.

“However, many climbers, it’s true, don’t make that step, and remain indoor climbers.”

Parry agrees people get into climbing in different ways. He says it helps that even the small-est climbing walls now host their own competitions.

“The number of complete be-ginners coming into the sport is pretty phenomenal,” he said.

“People start indoors nowadays before progressing to outdoor climbing.”

Climbing is no longer an activi-ty where traditionalists conquer mountain faces on their own. Sport climbing has changed its nature.

Olympic inclusion would see competitive climbing explode into the public consciousness. But would it work on such a grand stage?

Parry said: “I think the triath-lon concept is great. You get to do all three events and compete more.

“For those watching, it’s more interesting, there’s more going on and people do enjoy these mul-ti-discipline events.”

Adie also believes climbing would work as an Olympic sport.

“It will be great for the progres-sion of the sport right from grass roots up to the elite level,” he said.

“It will need to be carefully man-aged, but I think it would make fantastic Olympic sport.

“We were close this year and will have to now wait another four years to be shortlisted again.”

Not everyone agrees though.Bradshaw said: “I’m personally a

bit “old-school” when it comes to climbing as a competitive sport.

“My main concern with the Olym-pics is selecting the appropriate types of competition and compro-mising our sport to make it more ‘media-friendly’.

“When I started climbing in the 1960’s there were no climbing competitions in Britain and my formative climbing years were in an atmosphere where you challenged yourself rather than competing with others.”

Bradshaw’s ‘old-school’ approach to competitive climbing is shared by others.

Whilst the nature of climbing has evolved, tensions have risen be-

tween climbing purists and those who enter the sport in a compe-tition-driven environment where money can be earned.

Ron Fawcett, one of Britain’s first professional climbing superstars, says climbing has changed beyond all recognition.

“It’s become a lot more profes-sional,” he said. “I’m jealous, there’s a lot more money in it than there used to be!

“Big gear companies, like Adidas, have been throwing money at the sport, that’s become very profes-sional. All the grassroots compa-nies have been bought out by the multi-nationals.

“There are a lot more people climbing at very high standards. Back in my day you’d get a dozen top climbers, nowadays there are hundreds.”

Anne Hunter, an amateur climber from Leeds, started climbing out-doors at 17.

“I’m not a massive fan of the arti-ficial structures,” she said.

“I prefer climbing outside; climb-ing indoors is like a gym, it’s a good way of keeping fit in winter.

“Traditionally, there wasn’t the sense of competition with some-body else. The competition was who would be the first one to climb a mountain or a certain route.

“I’ve always liked climb-ing for that.”

Fawcett admits there are tensions between modern day climbers and purists, but says the old guard should embrace climbing in its new format.

“A lot of climbers from my generation are stuck in the past, but times move on. You’ve got to go with the flow,” he said.

“It’s a different world, but it’s good for the sport.

“I embrace all aspects of climbing, I love going to the indoor walls. They’ve got this real fantastic atmos-phere, a real energy about it.

“The competitions are spectacular. Look at the World Cup events on TV - they’re brilliant to watch.”

But Fawcett says there’s still a place in the sport for

climbing tradition-alists.

“I got into climbing through a love of

the outdoors; I wanted to explore.

“Obviously, it’s a competition sport at the upper end these days because people are trying to make a living from it, but for the vast majority, it’s still a way of life. It’s a lifestyle.”

BMC membership has spiralled from about 25,000 in 1990 to over 75,000 in 2013. Clearly the love of the great outdoors isn’t dead. Peo-ple still want to climb in traditional fashion.

But has sport climbing devalued those fashions?

Climbing was once an extreme sport. There’s an open graveyard on Mount Everest called the ‘Death Zone’. Corpses litter climbing routes, bearing a stark reminder to those who try and conquer the world’s most challenging mountain.

Yet people still persevere. Moun-taineering in its purist format is sport at its most extreme. Fall off a cliff face and survival is unlikely.

Sport climbing is not so extreme. Tumble off an artificial wall and you crash into a safety mat. Bruised ego maybe, but actual injury is rare.

The new competition-driven version of climbing might be a grip-ping spectacle for those watching, but it’s a sanitised, distilled version of the extreme sport traditionalists know and love.

Climbing has become more of a competitive sport, but less of an extreme sport.

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BOULDER TO BOULDER: A climber enjoys the Leeds Indoor Wall

CLIMBING TENSIONS: Can traditional climbing exist alongside sport climbing?