[jwi]

Following recent discussions about climbing routes with retrograde equipment and historically authentic climbing movements, I was starting to think about which technological advancements have made the biggest difference in making climbing easier.

I have from time to time posed this question to old (=even older than me) climbers. Often phrased as which technological advancements have made the biggest difference for them personally. The two most common answers I have had so far are 'reliable weather forecasts' and 'gore tex'. (I guess that is because I have mostly asked people with strong alpine background).

I cannot possibly have an opinon on this myself, as I do not think there has been any great improvement of any technologies since I started climbing in earnest. I started right after the introduction of indoor climbing (plastic modular holds), which might have been the last technology that made an impact on the level of climbing.

[Wellsy]

Climbing Shoes must surely be massively better than they once were

[moose]

Developments during my life-time largely been incremental (better performing rock shoes, lighter ropes and hard-wear, bigger bouldering pads etc.).  The only "new" thing has probably been commercially made knee-pads (rather than home-made / ad hoc efforts at cushioning).

I guess for rock climbing, key developments have been modern kernmantle construction ropes, rather than hemp; decent harnesses; reliable, commercially made removable protection, culminating in camming devices; and bouldering mats. 

[jwi]

Climbing Shoes must surely be massively better than they once were

Yeah, but Charles Albert climbs 8C+ barefoot, so how much do they really help with technical difficulty?

[jwi]

commercially made removable protection, culminating in camming devices

One old climber I talked to claimed it was easier and safer to free climb with pitons and a hammer than with any modern gear. It may reflect the type of rock and style of climbing he was an expert at, as it is clearly not true for wide cracks for example

[remus]

Climbing Shoes must surely be massively better than they once were

Yeah, but Charles Albert climbs 8C+ barefoot, so how much do they really help with technical difficulty?

No Kpote Only has been downgraded by repeat ascentionists who suggested it was easier in climbing shoes. It seems clear they're at least beneficial for some routes/problems.

[duncan]

The cordless drill (Hilti c.1983).  John Sherman's Sketch-Pad (early 1990s).

[jwi]

Climbing Shoes must surely be massively better than they once were

Yeah, but Charles Albert climbs 8C+ barefoot, so how much do they really help with technical difficulty?

No Kpote Only has been downgraded by repeat ascentionists who suggested it was easier in climbing shoes. It seems clear they're at least beneficial for some routes/problems.

Yeah, they seem to help a bit, but it is not like Albert would be able to boulder 9B if he put on some shoes?

[jwi]

The cordless drill (Hilti c.1983).  John Sherman's Sketch-Pad (early 1990s).

Good commercially available crash pads made a huge difference for us on which kind of areas we could develop for bouldering. The home made shit I used before really limited outdoor bouldering to areas with really good flat landings. But in areas like Fontainebleau they don't seem to change the game that much.

Hand drilling is a bitch even in sandstone, and would be completely infeasible on the style of route that is most popular today (hand drilling on a 45 degree overhang... I could get tendonitis from just thinking of it!). Cordless drills must be one of the biggest advances in climbing.

[owensum]

Not the biggest innovation, but the latest: Video beta

[danm]

Proper QA and Standards.

Since these became mandatory in the EU, equipment that doesn't work reliably has almost totally disappeared. I was going through a load of old files yesterday after we cleared out our offsite storage. From before the time of EN standards, reams and reams of equipment failure reports. A 12 strong team of experts to investigate, and piles of correspondence from injured or alarmed climbers. The volume was pretty shocking for someone who today shares the odd recall or warning and sometimes does research into improvements or edge case failures. The landscape has changed completely.

[Dac]

Since I started climbing (in the mid 90's) I'd have to say that the biggest advance in actual climbing equipment is the crash pad. The advantages between bouldering over a pad (or 3) versus the car mat and tea towel combo I started with are massive.

However the biggest technological advance the modern climber has is far and away the internet. Route details, weather, conditions, beta; all there for anyone who wants them, even while at the crag most of the time.

When I think back to some of my old pre-internet practices it seems like I'm describing something from 100 years ago.
Going winter climbing: don't forget to look at the mountain weather on Ceefax for a week or so before you go (it shares a page with the fishing information).
New route / significant repeat? Well in about 2 months you can read all about it in the climbing mags.
In the Alps and wondering if the weather is going to hold, well just walk into town go to the guides office and see if they have put today's forecast on the notice board yet.

The amount of information now available, it's ease of access, and it's rapid rate of update is far more valuable any downturned shoe or lighter rope will ever be.

[webbo]

Chalk.

[edshakey]

Surely ropes you can actually fall on is up there, or even top of the list

[jwi]

I very much agree on ropes

[colin8ll]

Resin climbing holds. They fuelled the comp scene which led to our modern understanding of training, rest and nutrition which, in turn, raised standards across the sport.

[andy moles]

I'm surprised that Gore Tex is mentioned as one of the biggest advances in making (alpine) climbing easier, compared to some of the other things mentioned (like weather forecasts!).

I'm consistently disappointed by my Gore Tex clothing failing, more or less out of the box, in what I consider to be its primary function of keeping me dry. I'm using it for guiding in the wettest conditions that the west of Scotland has throw, but still.

I don't doubt it's much lighter and more comfortable than what they had before, but doesn't it only come into play when conditions aren't good anyway, i.e. a game changer when the shit hits but not necessarily so vital to max standards of performance?

The waxed cotton or whatever they were using before must have been properly grim!

[Fiend]

Ropes you can fall on, resin holds, weather forecasts, and bouldering mats for me.

Having seen the latter appear in my climbing lifetime and as someone who lands like a sack-o-spuds, even the basic small proper mats made a huge step forward.

Protection and shoes have seemed more incremental to me (maybe not cams), and chalk, whilst undeniably physically essential for some of us, is maybe not quite a leap if you were choosing good conditions anyway.

[jwi]

I'm surprised that Gore Tex is mentioned as one of the biggest advances in making (alpine) climbing easier, compared to some of the other things mentioned (like weather forecasts!).

If you don't climb when the conditions are absolutely awful you don't get an impressive list of FAs in northern Scandinavia I guess?

[Dexter]

Maybe not as a positive advancement but instagram....

[mr chaz]

Those little brushes that unscrew at the end so you can keep things in, like your CBD gummies

[andy moles]

Interesting to reflect on developments in the last fifteen or so years that I've been climbing.

I don't think the majority of things have improved to any significant degree. When I started bouldering we didn't have pads, but that was because we were students and it wasn't long after that everyone had one. They definitely got bigger and better, was it about ten years ago?

I guess leashless ergonomic tools were taking off in a big way around the time I started, which have made a big difference in Scottish mixed climbing standards.

Helmets have got lighter and more comfortable, and the culture around wearing them has changed, but that's more to do with safety than making climbing itself easier.

Knee pads I guess. I took some contrarian pleasure in not using one (because I didn't own one) in Leonidio last winter, then relented when I realised how much of a difference it made on some routes.

I sometimes think it's like new cars now, where manufacturers are so desperate to innovate that they do something new for the sake of it, but it's actually less useful and more annoying than what came before, e.g. magnetic helmet buckles, string crampons, niche belay devices, integrated harness shorts, scented chalk...

[James Malloch]

Training plans? Everyone is a training machine these days…

[andy moles]

I bet some climbers have always had something of a 'training plan' though, like doing Font circuits for the Alps.

[Muenchener]

Maybe not the biggest, but I remember the arrival of Firé's with sticky rubber being an immediate half a grade jump from EB's for everybody, even for me at my total punter level.

Probably my proudest ever bouldering achievement is a 6c at the Manchester Uni MacDougall wall that I managed once in a brand new pair of Firé's, and was never able to repeat.