UKC

Very soon, Alizée Dufraisse is going to try something, if not new, then at least out of the ordinary. She is tagging along the Euro-posse to Bishop, Californ.I.A. for some serious bouldering.
Whether this step will prove significant in some way will be revealed sooner or later (he said with a...

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=60079

In reply to Björn Pohl - UKC: What a bizarre post. SO in summary, a girl called Alizee is going bouldering in America? and she normally goes sport climbing? Crikey.

In reply to GDes:

I see what you are saying, but in fairness other sports news pages are filled with non-stories (http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/6713850/Kobayashi-ready-to-step-up-for-Sa... so why not UKC?

In reply to Mr Plow:

But this does not mean UKC should sink to the same level.
This is just yet another irritatingly uninformative and smug "Lowdown" report. Can't UKC sort this out and get someone better reporting on non-UK sport climbing and bouldering?

In reply to Robert Durran: Better than Bjorn Pohl?

In reply to @ndyM@rsh@ll:

Yes, who else?

In reply to Björn Pohl - UKC:
The lowdown news is the best part of UKC, and pretty much the only reason I go on here...

In reply to Björn Pohl - UKC:

I think Lowdown news could be improved if they were generally a tad longer, written in a more straight-forward style (though I appreciate this is Bjorn's style) with more facts and kind of explanation of why it is news and I should be interested i.e. some context. It seems kind of closed and cliquey at the moment, but maybe makes more sense if you are also following sport and bouldering on other sites.

In reply to abarro81:

It has exciting stories but never any details.

This is a UK website and most of the Lowdown news is about foreign climbers on foreign crags and boulders of which I (and I suspect many other UKC users) often have very kittle knowledge. A report which says hardly any more than "climber A sent route B on crag C" (sometimes ridiculously cryptically) tells me very little indeed when I have never heard of A,B and C. It is simply lazy reporting. Bjorn needs to give far more background and context if we are to become better informed about the climbers, climbs and climbing scenes on which he is reporting. The style of his reports and the language he uses frequently give the impression that he is addressing a few cliquey insiders who are already in the know.

I liked it far better when Bjorn had his own website; he seemed to have more freedom to go into items at length. With that said though, I'm from across the pond and I find that I don't usually get lost when he's covering European climbers and crags. Occasionally I have to search around a bit on the internet for some background information, but this additional searching never takes long though. Overall to me Bjorn has been doing a fine job on reporting on happenings in the international climbing scene.

In regards to this particular piece: she already has a proven track record on sport climbs, and now she's going to a place reknowned for its heady and tall boulder problems. Perhaps this bouldering trip might be mental-preparation for some future trad or grit adventures? I don't mind a bit of speculation now and again, it can help to keep things lively as long as people don't go overboard with it.

In reply to Björn Pohl - UKC:

@szechwan_platypus "I liked it far better when Bjorn had his own website" Agree completely. I used to go daily to check out the Lowdown when Bjorn was on his own. I come here less and less. Last time was maybe a month ago. Just not the same.

@abarro81 "The lowdown news is the best part of UKC, and pretty much the only reason I go on here." Same here. Just can't get into the UKC site as a whole, though I've tried. The hassle of registering and logging in to post a comment like this is one example of why.

@Ged Desforges "What a bizarre post." Agree! Another example of how much the LowDown content has gone, well, down hill.

In reply to szechwan_platypus:

I don't think anyone minds speculation. It's the cryptic presentation of such speculation that seems to be irritating people. The speculation in your post, is perhaps what should have been included in the report.