[JamieG]

Looking forward to it whenever that day comes. Be interesting to see what he thinks to the grade   

I seriously doubt he will downgrade it unless it is way out, which I doubt since Megos is clearly no punter especially on pockets. Even if he thinks it is closer to 9b+ I think he won't say anything. The optics would look too bad. Basically would be like him saying only I can establish 9cs.

[sdm]

I think Ondra has always tried to be more objective/honest than most when it comes to grading and I think he would approach assessing the grade on Bibliographie the same as any other route.

Some climbers have a habit of sandbagging everything, some propose/take big grades to make headlines and keep the sponsors happy, some sit on the fence refusing to risk upsetting anyone.

Ondra has never seemed to shy away from suggesting upgrades or downgrades when he thinks it is appropriate, including when keeping quiet might have suited the sponsors more.

If he tried it, found it easy, and didn't downgrade it, that would just delay the inevitable downgrade. Later on, when someone else repeats it and downgrades it, that would bring the grade of Silence in to question.

I don't expect he'll find it easy though, and don't expect anyone to downgrade it.

[sdm]

I think he either tries Bibliographie as soon as he's done at Margalef, or he leaves it until after the Olympics.

With what looks like light at the end of the covid tunnel, he's going to have to start ramping up the indoor training and Olympic preparations soon.

I don't think he'll want the distraction of a long term outdoor project getting in the way of that.

[SA Chris]

And he'll come out of the Olympic cycle psyched, honed to a point, and flash it. (not)

[JohnM]

I don't think Ondra will even try Bibliographie. That is just based on a gut feeling though! TBH I thought he would be getting close to Perfecto Mundo quicker but maybe the conditions have been bad like he says in his videos.

Why? he seems one of the most consistently psyched to try others routes? I guess putting such a huge effort into something not an FA perhaps?

Like I say, it is just based on a gut feeling and idle speculation! I think he will become more and more of a brand with a heavy emphasis on producing media content. If Perfecto Mundo takes him a long time or he doesn't do it this season then there are just going to be loads of weekly videos about him complaining about conditions and talking about kneebar subtleties and hang durations. This will likely wear thin with a more general audience. I don't think him or his film crew would risk the same thing trudging up to Ceuse for the whole summer. Having said all that, I guess he probably will try it and then make an educated guess about how long it will take him and whether he wants to schedule that in to his long term plans before or after the Olympics. Time will tell! 

[teestub]

To me it feels like Ondra has jumped the shark a bit with this extended entourage. I remeber someone on hear complaining a few years ago when Seigrist hed the temerity to book a caravan at Ceuse, rather than camping like a good honest hard working climber!

I'm hoping Ondra's personal chef turns up next week, followed by his shaman the week after, and his crystal aura consultant the week after that.

[Will Hunt]

I'd like to see him carried to the crag every day on a sedan chair carried by a team of flunkies wearing Megos masks.

[moose]

I've just watched all of the Perfecto Mundo videos and think his trainer is the real star.  A captivating screen presence, whether wordlessly watching Adam do press-ups, or when wearing a mournful expression while showing Adam mobile phone footage of him falling off.  Such hidden depths portrayed with so few words.  He would have been an idol in the silent film era.

[cheque]

You’ve all seen the film where he’s writhing around on the ground with his movement coach simulating the holds by pushing him with his hands right?!



It must be a right shitshow when Ondra’s at the crag these days- screaming, entourage, drone buzzing every time he has a burn on his route, that sort of floor warm-up going on. Not sure I’d want to stick around if he turned up where I was (admittedly it’s unlikely he’ll visit Birchen Edge) I think people just put up with it because he’s so goofy and affable.

[Aussiegav]

You’ve all seen the film where he’s writhing around on the ground with his movement coach simulating the holds by pushing him with his hands right?!


.

WTF is that??  looks like either;
a: Home movie of WWE wrestling
b: some cruel scene from a panorama care home infiltration documentary.

 

[cheque]

The film’s called Age of Ondra. It’s currently free online but impossible to link directly to because UKB autocorrects the name of the soft drink company that hosts it so you’ll have to Google it.

[JohnM]

You’ve all seen the film where he’s writhing around on the ground with his movement coach simulating the holds by pushing him with his hands right?!



It must be a right shitshow when Ondra’s at the crag these days- screaming, entourage, drone buzzing every time he has a burn on his route, that sort of floor warm-up going on. Not sure I’d want to stick around if he turned up where I was (admittedly it’s unlikely he’ll visit Birchen Edge) I think people just put up with it because he’s so goofy and affable.

Also, it often seems when these sorts of things are being filmed at least one of the neighbouring routes becomes off limit. I wonder what the etiquette is if one of those routes happens to be your project. Do you just have to accept that you won't be getting on it as you'd wish that session? This happened to me once at LPT and I remember feeling a bit miffed at the time.

[spidermonkey09]

Also, it often seems when these sorts of things are being filmed at least one of the neighbouring routes becomes off limit. I wonder what the etiquette is if one of those routes happens to be your project. Do you just have to accept that you won't be getting on it as you'd wish that session? This happened to me once at LPT and I remember feeling a bit miffed at the time.

Who was the offending party John?  Depends on the setup I'd have thought as often the rock is so steep the photographer is way off the rock and only the belay is in use.

[Will Hunt]

You’ve all seen the film where he’s writhing around on the ground with his movement coach simulating the holds by pushing him with his hands right?!

I really hope we find out later that the real "movement coach's" car broke down on his first day at the crag with Ondra and, in a case of mistaken identity, this is just a random guy who is now determined to ride the gravy train for as long as he can.

[remus]

Also, it often seems when these sorts of things are being filmed at least one of the neighbouring routes becomes off limit. I wonder what the etiquette is if one of those routes happens to be your project. Do you just have to accept that you won't be getting on it as you'd wish that session? This happened to me once at LPT and I remember feeling a bit miffed at the time.

Surely no different to what happens if you're on a project that has a shared start with a route someone else is on? You have a chat about it at the start of the day and work out a compromise.

[Bradders]

You’ve all seen the film where he’s writhing around on the ground with his movement coach simulating the holds by pushing him with his hands right?!



It must be a right shitshow when Ondra’s at the crag these days- screaming, entourage, drone buzzing every time he has a burn on his route, that sort of floor warm-up going on. Not sure I’d want to stick around if he turned up where I was (admittedly it’s unlikely he’ll visit Birchen Edge) I think people just put up with it because he’s so goofy and affable.

Also, it often seems when these sorts of things are being filmed at least one of the neighbouring routes becomes off limit. I wonder what the etiquette is if one of those routes happens to be your project. Do you just have to accept that you won't be getting on it as you'd wish that session? This happened to me once at LPT and I remember feeling a bit miffed at the time.

Come on though, if Adam Ondra rocks up at the crag to try and flash a 9a+ or work something harder you're gonna be watching that not climbing!

The film’s called Age of Ondra. It’s currently free online but impossible to link directly to because UKB autocorrects the name of the soft drink company that hosts it so you’ll have to Google it.

Thanks for mentioning this, hadn't seen it before. Cool little series. I hadn't realised he actually did that last vert 9b in Canada, I'd just seen the pics and fail videos, looks absolutely heinous.

[gme]

Guess this is all pretty standard in top level sport its just not carried out in such a public space.

Other than ride their bikes i dont think any of the tour boys lift a finger and i suspect Ronaldo doesn't wash his boots after the match, or potentially even tie them himself before hand.

I am really enjoying the Ondra vids, despite what you see online i dont think hes struggling with it and suspect a few days of better conditions will see it ticked. It is 9b+ remember, still pretty hard.

[teestub]

Other than ride their bikes i dont think any of the tour boys lift a finger

It’s quite interesting that you mention the Tour, as the way Ondra is going reminded me of an incident a few years ago. Sky rocked up with an RV for their lead rider to sleep in so they’d have the same bed/ sleep better/ have somewhere nice and private to take some asthma medication/ etc. They were widely derided for the decision as it being a step too far, and they actually rolled back on it and sent the RV home.

I feel that the situation with Ondra is now not dissimilar, where he’s pushing the edge of professionalism in climbing, where as previously the people projecting 7a or 9c were essentially doing that same things day to day and only the number was different.

[T_B]

As YouTube seems to be the advertising equivalent of being a landlord, it’s going to be massive for climbing pros. 100k subscribers and the option to have memberships etc can earn you a serious living if you’re putting out content frequently enough. Better to siege a project over a month with daily updates than send it in a few tries. I’m not suggesting that’s what he’s doing of course, but I think his channel is a smart move. He’s a likeable and engaging character, that’s for sure.

[gme]

Are you suggesting he should reign it in as its a step to far?

Most of the top climbers do it i think hes just very open about what goes on behind the scenes. The mellow mob seem to move around in a permanent entourage and Megos often has his coach with him.

Re Toms comment i think the youtube route really puts the climber in control rather than being dictated to by your sponsors. Get your self enough followers and provide good content and they will be begging to pay you.

[petejh]

Didn't Ondra study economics? It shows.

[Johnny Brown]

100k subscribers and the option to have memberships etc can earn you a serious living if you’re putting out content frequently enough.

I'm not sure about that, (although your 'landlord' comment needs expanding on).

I've looked at this a few times as our business channel has 28k subscribers and folk are surprised we don't bother monetizing it. Most estimates suggest you can expect to earn about £1.10 / 1k views. Ondra's videos look to average about 140k views with only 8 passing 500k and Silence having racked up 4 million. So he might be pulling in £150-200 a video, twice a week, even for Silence its only £4500 over 2 years (I imagine Stick It did a lot better, let alone Hard Grit). Adding together the views for his top 20 videos suggests maybe 15 grand tops a year which is a paltry sum for the number involved in the production and realistically is barely even covering his shaman costs.

If there is 'serious' money involved it is entirely from direct sponsorship to the individual not paid ads on the channel. I'm sure the follower figures you can show your sponsors now are much more powerful than the odd mag cover ever was, but the idea that you are freed from relying on them with your independent youtuber income seems a fantasy, at least for the viewer numbers in climbing.

Presuming by landlord you mean having the biggest channel means the sponsors are fighting to be on it?

[gme]

He has a fair few videos that are now getting 500k views and he’s only just started really.
Also it works a bit like loyalties so each clip is in constant rotation so all of them still give you income after the initial rush of the first few weeks.

To really make money you need to have masses of content. The big you tubers are putting things out daily. Car you tubers like Shmee 150 have new stuff daily and getting 250 k hits daily. Making content is so much easier for him though than ondra, seems to be all done by him and his girlfriend with a couple of cameras.

I find it all fascinating

[gme]

Guess it’s a bit like having 100 jobs at once all paying you a little bit. Soon adds up to a lot.

[Wil]

Most estimates suggest you can expect to earn about £1.10 / 1k views.

I think Ondra might be able to get more than double this CPM as his audience is going to be young and wealthy and hence appealing to advertisers. It still wouldn't cover the whole cost of production though. I suppose the standard model has to be that many of your videos tick over and every now and then you make your money from a big hitter. It's all going to make him more valuable to his sponsors, so I guess he's making money from both sides.

It would be interesting to see the cigarette packet calculation for something like this. What are the numbers you're expecting to hit and the money that's coming in? How much extra do you hope to squeexze from sponsors as a result? How much is just that you make enough money to cover the shortfalls and you want to secure your legacy?

Magnus Mitbø get 3 times the traffic that Ondra does and follows a more "traditional" YouTuber style with his videos. I find this sort of thing interesting mainly for who controls the narrative these days. The idea of there being a central place where you get your climbing news is dead, and the judgment on what is newsworthy changes with it. What's "shareworthy" is more important.