Crashpad: an expensive piece of form that a climber hopefully lands on if they blow a boulder problem.
Go ahead & grab a beer, & let me take you back to the days before crashpads. First of all, you had to learn how to fall without breaking an ankle. You also had to known how to down climb if you ran into a dead end [editor's note: down climbing is a lost art these days].
In a nutshell, bouldering was a bit more dangerous & you had to be a bit more committed to the boulder problem at hand.
But I guess one could make the argument that with a crashpad, one can do higher problems. And I guess I agree with that to a certain extent, but in my mind, crashpads have soften the sport of bouldering.
Bouldering is the most pure form of rock climbing; it should stay uncluttered.
And yes, I don't own a crashpad.
Go ahead & grab a beer, & let me take you back to the days before crashpads. First of all, you had to learn how to fall without breaking an ankle. You also had to known how to down climb if you ran into a dead end [editor's note: down climbing is a lost art these days].
In a nutshell, bouldering was a bit more dangerous & you had to be a bit more committed to the boulder problem at hand.
But I guess one could make the argument that with a crashpad, one can do higher problems. And I guess I agree with that to a certain extent, but in my mind, crashpads have soften the sport of bouldering.
Bouldering is the most pure form of rock climbing; it should stay uncluttered.
And yes, I don't own a crashpad.
1 comment:
i like your take on them. i've climbed less since i haven't had access to a crashpad. i am now inspired to climb more, and more carefully.
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