[petejh]

I mean just in general? They put out episodes every Wednesday which takes work and effort and time

I don't mind people making money from climbing podcasts or other climbing media (I never minded paying for good DVDs back in the day). I don't like the idea of news itself being a paid-for thing at quite an instinctive level (news as distinct from videos, articles, analysis covering that news - as Kingy points out). I've not spent time wondering about why and whether that instinct holds up to much scrutiny. I assume my instinct is because it feels "not very climbing".

That doesn't mean that we have the "right" to know what someone's done - they can choose not to tell anyone like they could have in the past, or to tell their mates and ask that no-one says anything. But I don't like the idea of it being some kind of paid for thing, where you buy your way into their circle of "friends" sworn to secrecy. And I think news embargos when someone does something are pathetic (I'm looking at you BoB).

Maybe an instinctive dislike of the monetisation by a climber of 'news of their ascent' stems from the fact that 'news of an ascent' is one of the few acts a climber traditionally has to sell themselves to a sponsor. In this light, you the everyday climber are being turned into the climber's sponsor. Whether you want to be or not. Well.. you don't have to, but then you don't get told the latest news.

I can see that business model dying a slow death. If a lot of the best climbers applied that model, I think it would dawn on people that news of an ascent of a boulder or route isn't really *that* valuable that it needs paying for to know days/weeks/months before general awareness.

Other content - training, interviews, opinion etc. is more valuable imo and I can see the value in it when it's of high quality.

[Teaboy]

I’m happy to wait until this is published in Rock Notes in a couple of months time.

[Bradders]

The biggest issue here is that we've had a couple of pages of posts in the significant repeats thread when this is clearly a significant first ascent! 

https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,31921.475.html

[Wood FT]

I’m happy to wait until this is published in Rock Notes in a couple of months time.

This!

[andy moles]

I heard it was just taking him a while to decide between 9A+ and 9B.

[Will Hunt]

It's the first thing in this video. The thumbnail of which says "9A Projects"

https://youtu.be/GHE6FsicWVk?si=cIDQv4i_B4xgaJFK

[PeteHukb]

Any intel on whether it's the same line Will Bosi was looking at on Thursday (cf Will's Whispers on Insta)? They're both six moves long and in the Lakes...

[Bradders]

90% sure it'll be a different problem as he says he did 5/6 moves and it was the last move he didn't do, whereas watching the video of Aidan's close attempt on the Helvellyn problem and the earlier Wedge video it looks like the last move is the easiest on that.

[yetix]

Aidan said the last move was very drop able somewhere no?

Edit spelling mistake

[Bradders]

Sure but that doesn't mean it's not a fair bit easier than the other moves.

[duncan]

That black and white can piss off. Great, super-slick climbing though!! 

I liked the film, mainly because Young People were validating my musical tastes! And if you use Joy Division then black and white is compulsory right?!

This could only really happen at a crag where you're climbing alone couldn't it. Imagine trying to keep a cutting edge repeat at eg Flatanger quiet. What would you do, swear all 50 witnesses to secrecy?

Seems unlikely but this was more or less what happened with Sharma and Sleeping Lion. There were probably 50 people at El Pati or Siuranella est on the afternoon of the redpoint and saw what happened but, other than some dick here, no-one blabbed for several days until the Climbing.com exclusive was unveiled.


Regarding Aidan's new 9A+/B, he seems genuinely uncomfortable with the rah rah of publicity. Sam is a little more commercially minded and may have nudged him into dropping a few crumbs to the patrons. We get to gossip about it, everyone wins! 

Some, none, or all of the above was entirely made-up.

[Bradders]

90% sure it'll be a different problem as he says he did 5/6 moves and it was the last move he didn't do, whereas watching the video of Aidan's close attempt on the Helvellyn problem and the earlier Wedge video it looks like the last move is the easiest on that.

I'm wrong! First time for everything.

8B/+ apparently for just the last two moves / the stand start.

Also, worth saying if you haven't listened to the short Patron's only podcast on the Patreon I'd highly recommend it. He speaks really quite beautifully about the problem and experience.

[Kingy]

Moritz Welt repeated Adam Ondra’s Stone Butterfly 9a+, Bulgaria's hardest route, at Herculane last week

He has also added one of his own to the crag with the FA of the 45m long Black Cobra 3 9a. (Technically should go in the FA thread but I will take a small liberty here).

This news comes to you free of charge 

[SPrior]

Hey all,
To be clear, we aren't attempting to paywall the news. Aidan simply had a profound experience and he wasn't sure how to share it with the wider climbing public without the whole thing getting reduced down to numbers. The reason why he feels comfortable chatting on the Patreon is because the community on there is very wholesome and supportive and won't hold anything he says against him if he later comes to change his mind. To borrow an overly used contemporary term, it's a safe space so to speak.
To those of you who listen to the podcast, first of all, thanks very much, and also there is an update coming this week on the main feed (where 95% of our content is, free of charge and add free) so that will clarify a few bits, and for those of you who don't listen then I'm sure someone will update with a TLDR.
The only thing I would like to clarify is that I in no way pressure or coerce Aidan into any of this, those of you who know Aidan will know he's pretty hard to pressure into anything, it's like herding cats! The only reason we have a Patreon page is because the podcast takes a surprisingly large amount of man hours to produce and we want an incentive to keep doing it whilst also keeping it free of charge and add free for those of you who kind of like it, but not that much.

[abarro81]

Don't worry, I don't think any of us really thought you were attempting to do that. I just made a joke and it wandered off into tangential discussion, as always. I'll call off the hitman...

[shurt]

Having slight  regret

[shark]

I'm lost. What has Aidan done? 

[Will Hunt]

It's the first thing in this video. The thumbnail of which says "9A Projects"

https://youtu.be/GHE6FsicWVk?si=cIDQv4i_B4xgaJFK

[andy moles]

I like that Aidan has taken a more thoughtful approach to sharing a significant ascent than engaging in the standard blah mill. Fair play.

[Fiend]

I like that UKB deduction has taken a more informative approach to sharing a significant ascent of a likely 9A in the video linked above than some blah blah paywalled secrecy masquerading under some cobblers about "not sure how to share it with the wider climbing public" 

I do hope it's going to come out with a "No idea about the grade but it felt harder than Burden Of Dreams" tag though 

[remus]

I'm lost. What has Aidan done?

Spots of Time, previously The Helvellyn Project. I'd recommend signing up to the patreon for a listen to the episode where him and Sam discuss it, lots of detail in there for the discerning listener.

https://climbing-history.org/climb/2862/spots-of-time

ed: just in case the waters were looking a little too clear, it sounds like he's probably done his midnight project in Switzerland too (this one https://www.instagram.com/p/CtuChLNtivi/). Both likely 9A. Looking forward to hearing more as I midnight sounds like it's been a real journey: tiny holds, very skin intensive, fell off the easy moves at the end last season etc.

[andy moles]

some blah blah paywalled secrecy masquerading under some cobblers about "not sure how to share it with the wider climbing public" 

I'm willing to extend the benefit of the doubt, with the understanding that if you've had a profound experience and make it public straight away and by the standard soulless channels, your relationship to that experience is irreversibly changed and immediately less 'yours'. And for what, just so the consumers can have their little fix?

[Fiend]

Yeah quite possibly. It looks very cool in the video regardless.

[abarro81]

Bring back blogs, where people could try to articulate an experience through a written format that didn't totally suck...

[Bradders]

Hey all,
To be clear, we aren't attempting to paywall the news. Aidan simply had a profound experience and he wasn't sure how to share it with the wider climbing public without the whole thing getting reduced down to numbers. The reason why he feels comfortable chatting on the Patreon is because the community on there is very wholesome and supportive and won't hold anything he says against him if he later comes to change his mind. To borrow an overly used contemporary term, it's a safe space so to speak.
To those of you who listen to the podcast, first of all, thanks very much, and also there is an update coming this week on the main feed (where 95% of our content is, free of charge and add free) so that will clarify a few bits, and for those of you who don't listen then I'm sure someone will update with a TLDR.
The only thing I would like to clarify is that I in no way pressure or coerce Aidan into any of this, those of you who know Aidan will know he's pretty hard to pressure into anything, it's like herding cats! The only reason we have a Patreon page is because the podcast takes a surprisingly large amount of man hours to produce and we want an incentive to keep doing it whilst also keeping it free of charge and add free for those of you who kind of like it, but not that much.

Nice one Sam. May I also compliment you on the Patreon only podcast on it, as I felt you did really well by just letting him speak, avoiding getting in the way with questions.

ed: just in case the waters were looking a little too clear, it sounds like he's probably done his midnight project in Switzerland too (this one https://www.instagram.com/p/CtuChLNtivi/). Both likely 9A. Looking forward to hearing more as I midnight sounds like it's been a real journey: tiny holds, very skin intensive, fell off the easy moves at the end last season etc.

Interesting, where are you getting that from Remus? Other than your sixth sense for hard climbing news!