Where the hell did this decade go? Is time accelerating? Intellectually, I know that the distance between years is pretty much consistent, delineated by the Earth’s rotation around the sun, but experientially, each year grows shorter and shorter as I age. I’ve decided it has something to do with relativity — i.e., relative to the amount of time you’re alive, a year is increasingly small. When you’re 5, one year’s a fifth of your life; at 10, a tenth. By the time you’re 50, one year will feel ten times shorter than it did when you were 5. Even now, in my early 30’s, I’m experiencing this strange effect. Which leads me to a totally unrelated observation: climbing has changed a lot in the past decade.

The most obvious change has been in difficulty standards, which rose significantly. The 5.15 barrier was broken (Realization, Flex Luther, La Rambla) . . . and 5.15 quickly became commonplace among the world’s mutants. Bouldering standards have been set in the V15 range (in the states: Jade, Terremer, Witness the Fitness. . . . And some V16s were suggested overseas). Onsighting 5.14 has become increasingly common (as evidenced by Jonathan Siegrist’s recent blitz in the Red River Gorge, p. 26), and 5.14 trad climbs are cropping up more and more.

But more important than all the gradespray are the larger trends, one of which has been cross-pollination, which Josh Lowell talks about in Meet Your Maker (p.74). “There’s a huge element of crossover that people are using to break through to the next level,” he says. “Like with Chris [Sharma], taking his bouldering strength back to sport climbing.” Another trend, highball bouldering, is in the midst of its 15 minutes of fame right now. Climbers like Shawn Diamond (p.50), Kevin Jorgeson, and Jason Kehl (the latter two are featured in the new climbing flick, Rocky Mountain Highball — go behind the scenes on p.58) have been turning the difficulty/danger dials up past 10, resulting in problems that, in some cases, are pretty much 5.14 free solos. But on the whole, such breakthroughs and changes have come at the very top of the climbing pyramid, thanks to pro-level athletes who can climb full-time, or almost. For the rest of us, the big trends that make a difference in our lives came in the form of gyms (more, bigger, better — see UC34’s “Future Gyms”) and all the things they bring (more climbers, younger climbers, more comps, new styles), and the Internet, which has utterly revamped the way we get our news, fi nd crags and climbs, and communicate with each other (see. p.28 for cool new sites and apps for climbers). Through gyms bigger, more inclusive, more diverse, and more accessible. Frankly, we’re psyched.

Judging by the previous decade, the next 10 years will be full of surprises. What can we expect to see? Here are some possibilities. Send us your predictions for the future and we’ll run ‘em in the mag (word@urbanclimbermag. com):

The 8a.nu reign. By 2017, 95% of the nation’s climber population (10 million, by this time) will have registered on 8a.nu. The climbing scorekeeping site in turn will allow users to track and comment on gym routes. “Caution- tape problem. Soft. More like 7c. First GO.” The result of it all will be the most comprehensive data set on climbing ever compiled, from which great truths will be deduced, such as: why we climb, what’s the best climbing area in the world (actually somewhere in Florida), and how hard the pink-taped problem is.

Climbing in the Olympics. After a long push from USA Climbing and the rest of the community, the IOC fi nally gives our sport the green light. Participation bumps up 10 percent virtually overnight and Dave Graham gets his picture on the cover of a Wheaties box for real. (Cruel alternate reality: only speed climbing is admitted to the Games.)

Forcefield crashpads. Picture a tiny box you can carry in your pocket that will emit an anti-gravity field capable of stopping a big fall. Imagine a world where you never have to explain your pad to curious hikers again. . . .

Tapeless routesetting. New walls and holds will use nanotechnology to change color when hit with a lowlevel electric current. Routesetters will be able to push a key on the ol’ laptop and bing! The route’s up!

The end of spray. After 8a.nu takes control of the climbing universe, and 5 out of 10 climbers have their own blogs, spray saturation will reach critical levels. One sunny September day in 2019, climbers everywhere will suddenly wake up totally uninterested in hype, sending climbing back to the “dark ages,” in which people climb without ego and purely as an expression of inner joy. Until then, climb on!

—Justin Roth

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