Climbing
OFF THE WALL 2
Climbing "Player" profile: Jon Cardwell - VOLUME 3 - DECEMBER, 2006

Maple Canyon
Photo by Steve Woods

Does it bother you to climb on boulder problems or routes that are manufactured?
It doesn’t really bother me. Sometimes it's upsetting. Someone pounds some jug, two-finger pockets in a wall that had potential for some 5.15 or 5.14 or something, just to create a painful and sequenceless 5.13a. I think they should have just left it for someone stronger to climb. Some of my local areas has some chipped holds, but I enjoy climbing on them very much. Its hard to say. I will not not climb a route, just because its chipped. 

Describe your climbing ethic.
I try to be respectful to people's FAs, especially with routes. I understand how much work is involved with establishing a route. When I tried to bolt a line near Albuquerque, I put four bolts in. It took me, like, four hours to figure it out. Then I cleaned it. And turns out I can't do any of the moves in the crux. It’s a beautiful face. Just another level of climbing. Point is, people put a ton of work into establishing the routes we climb, and I think it's a bit disrespectful to snake someone's climb. If it's an open project, that’s another story, though. 

Clear Creek
Photo by Steve Woods

It's 20 years from now: What does the top of the sport look like in sport climbing and bouldering?
It's hard to say that we will see 5.16 soon. Or V17, but I do think what will change is the rate at which people will be climbing hard. Such as 10-year-olds doing 5.14c, or 5.14c onsight. Or people doing 5.14c second try regularly. I would say V17 and 5.16 is still so far away. It's going to be amazing once someone reaches that level. Imagine Realization 10 degrees steeper — that’s probably 5.16a, or 5.15d.




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