UKC

I wasn't going to write about this. But the beans are already spilled all over the place, mostly here. In short, and without feeding the gossip mill too much, the story goes something like this: Nalle Hukkataival watched Chris Sharma working on his, now infamous, project First round, first minute...

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=54498

Some of these replies were posted on Björn's old blog website, and so won't be from registered UKC users

Nalle is making a reputation for himself as one who swoops in and does new hard routes. Great for him, but when it is at the expense of other peoples recent hard work, this just isn't going to be met with smiles. Perhaps if he was down in Spain bolting and being part of what is happening, he would have been invited to try and not met with any confrontation. It is a matter of respect and he may have overstepped his bounds this time. I have stolen and been stolen from and also given away new sport FA's, so I can grasp what is happening. It is a touchy but very telling incident.

Chris doesn't strike me as a red tagger. He usually doesn't have to. I doubt he did that this time either.

OH he did... as well as Jumbo Love at Mt. Clark. He closed it on Ethan Pringle.

fully agreed wyclimber...

which is why Pringle and Graham tried it, right?

and to round this off, I personally think that a climber that bolts a visionary line can close it whenever he/she wants or allow friends to try it as he/she deems fit...the line should be opened if the equipper of the line is no longe working it or has given up...anything else is just pro climbers´ consumer mentality. let the bolting be done by someone willing to tackle the strain, let´s have the merits for us...this doesn´t fly...

I don't agree with wyclimber nor with Chri. I guess if Nalle was something, that was being naif and, beleiving, as myself, that he or whomever could give it a try on the FRFM project. The route would have gained more status with the likes of Nalle (or another world class climber) trying it. I didn't know that you must bolt a route in catalunya first, in order to try another one's project... I thought that the setter was pretty much as important as the FA (JC Lafaille with Realization, Mylan Sykora with Action Directe, i.e.), and I also agree with Nalle: if you want to be call a FA's and you don't let everybody try your project, it pretty is a contradiction in itself, isn't it?
Of course I don't know personally Nalle Hukkataival nor Chris Sharma, and, blame it on the media or me being a climber, but they both seem like ok people to me; my comments are just related to red tagging.
And closing the line whenever you want, seems a little authoritarian to me...
Have fun!

As Erik already repeated Nalle's words, how can you claim an FA if you don't let anybody else try it.

wyclimber...of course you have to respect other peoples work, but for how long. FRFM has been bolted quite a long time ago. Yeah I know it hasn't been years, but for a while now. Also the part that it was closed after Nalle arrived to Spain?

And in Nalle's blog there has been talk about FRFM would not be bolted without Sharma, it's not like the sector is a huge secret, somebody would have already bolted it if not Sharma.

In my own opinion, red tagging just shows that the climber isn't confident to climb the route, also if you want to project routes and not let anybody else try them out, well find one that is a bit more hidden and don't call the BigUP crew to film it or do but top it out before they release the footage...

"Jumbo Love at Mt. Clark. He closed it on Ethan Pringle."

The 'official' story was that Ethan hurt his finger. Curious to hear what Ethan says about this.

btw, how can anyone prevent other climbers from trying routes? Does Sharma or Big Up own the cliffs?

"btw, how can anyone prevent other climbers from trying routes? Does Sharma or Big Up own the cliffs?"

haha curious as well!

is there a mafia controlling all the sponsorships and media coverage?

this is becoming a FRFM-gate


this all episode might be seen as a boomerang coming from a long time ago...when biographie was renamed realization.

(in France, the route bolter wisely gets credit and has the right to name the route even without making the FA. This also has the purpose of disencouraging red-tagging : if you let us climb this we will praise you, celebrate your vision, fund your bolting activity, etc...

The céuse topo calls the route biographie and has a page explaining us who was JC Lafaille and how visionary he had been bolting it.
Almost everyone at the crag calls it biographie or "biography", even some american pros...
...but some years ago, all the press went with "realization" and arnaud petit, who added the intermediate belay and freed the route up to that point, was more often mentioned than JC Lafaille!!!)