Climbs.me - The Climbing Blog (Climbing Tips)

A Short Talk With a Legend of Rock (Yvon Chouinard)

Great short article from Smithsonian Magazine about Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia and Black Diamond and first ascentionist of many classic rock climbs in Yosemite and elsewhere.

Some interesting passages:

In the 1950s, Chouinard says, there were fewer than 300 climbers in America

and Yosemite National Park estimates that in the park,

climbers log between 25,000 and 50,000 “climber-days” per year.

and

Chouinard thinks that gyms simply don’t replicate the real spirit of rock climbing. “Climbing without risk isn’t climbing,” he says. “And in gyms, there’s no risk. You aren’t leading, and you’re not using your head. You’re just following the chalk marks to the top.”

and

If you follow the chalk marks, you’ll get to the top—but are you really climbing?