Vertical, overhanging, inclined: Yoshiyuki Ogata and Miho Nonaka on the wall (Seoul, 4/30/2023)
Mid-May is almost half-time in this year’s Bouldering World Cup season. It started in April with competitions in Hachioji (Japan) and Seoul (South Korea). This weekend the athletes will meet in Salt Lake City (USA) for the third time.
Bouldering is jump height climbing and one of three disciplines of sport climbing. In contrast to climbing in nature, sport climbing involves climbing artificial rock walls. When bouldering, they are up to four meters high, which is why there is no need for safety devices (ropes, hooks, etc.). Versatile athletic ability is required to solve the so-called bouldering problems: climbing technique, strength, balance, body tension as well as courage and strong nerves. There is a starting point, an intermediate rating (zone) and a target grip (top) that the athletes have to hold securely for a few seconds. There are points for reaching a zone or a top, and the attempts required to conquer a boulder are also counted. A preliminary round with around 70 participants at the end is followed by the semi-finals and finals with the eight best, with four to five different boulders to be conquered and the difficulty increasing.
The builders of the climbing routes have to achieve peak performance. Between decisions, dozens of handles, heels, steps, ledges and other elements have to be unscrewed and the new bouldering routes installed. Since the routes must be neither too easy nor too difficult – in both cases the competitions would not be very exciting – the route setters have to tinker for a long time in advance, try out variants and adapt them.
Even the climbing structures to which the handles are attached are redesigned for each competition. The walls are both vertical and overhanging and inclined. Some steps and ledges are only a few centimeters wide, round elements require special holding techniques, and some holds can only be reached by jumping or exceptional balance. This is what makes climbing so varied, especially since the time limit of four minutes per boulder can mean an additional burden. The route assemblers are invisible and highly respected at the same time.
The season opener in Hachioji, Japan (April 21-23) showed how difficult the route setters sometimes make it for the athletes. In the women’s final, the winner, Brooke Raboutou (USA), achieved three target holds (top) and an intermediate score (zone). The second-placed Hannah Meul from the German Alpine Club only managed one top, with two other boulders she achieved an intermediate rating. Anon Matsufuji only managed three zones in front of his home crowd. For the 19-year-old Japanese, it was the best result of her climbing career so far. The sports climber Janja Garnbret from Slovenia, who has been dominating everything for years and who has won 37 World Cup victories, six world championship titles and Olympic gold, was unable to compete due to a foot injury. In the men’s category, Mejdi Schalck (France) won ahead of Hannes Van Duysen (Belgium) and Paul Jenft (also from France).
The start of the season was overshadowed by the accidental death of German athlete Christoph Schweiger. The Ingolstadt resident was hit and killed by a car while crossing a zebra crossing over the Easter weekend. Schweiger was part of the DAV climbing squad and should have taken part in the competition in Japan. The online magazine climbing scene quoted silver medalist Hannah Meul: »The most important thing in this competition was to carry my teammate Christoph Schweiger in my heart. He should have been here to climb and show what he could do.”
The program of the second World Cup in South Korea (April 28-30) was shortened due to bad weather. After the preliminary round, the medals were decided in the semifinals between 20 athletes. In the women’s category, Miho Nonaka from Japan won with two tops and one zone score. France’s Oriane Bertone, like Brooke Raboutou, made two tops but needed fewer attempts to finish ahead of the American. In the men’s category, 19-year-old Mejdi Schalck won his second gold.
After the tournament in Salt Lake City, three World Cups will take place in Europe in June, in Prague, Brixen and Innsbruck. The highlight of the year, however, is the World Championships in Sport Climbing from August 1st to 12th in Switzerland. Up to 800 athletes from 60 nations are expected, including numerous paraclimbers. The athletes compete in four disciplines: bouldering, difficult rope climbing (lead), speed climbing (speed) and the combination of bouldering and lead. In Bern it is also about the allocation of the first starting places for the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris. Sport climbing is then an Olympic discipline for the second time.
