Ashima Shiraishi, Rock-Climbing Wonder
January 11, 2016 12:46 PM Subscribe
Ashima's Ascent: Rocking the Climbing World - video from when she was 11; and her TEDxTeen talk "Just climb through it"
And then you can find related videos, and you're spending an hour watching climbing videos ....
posted by filthy light thief at 12:54 PM on January 11, 2016
And then you can find related videos, and you're spending an hour watching climbing videos ....
posted by filthy light thief at 12:54 PM on January 11, 2016
On various climbing forums when her name pops up, someone inevitably says something like "yeah, well, if my fingers were that small and I only weighed 85 pounds I could climb like that, too".
Fortunately this is always smacked down pretty fiercely. You don't get to V14 and 5.15a with tiny fingers and a high strength:weight ratio. You get there with loads of talent, winning the genetic lottery, and fierce determination.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 1:00 PM on January 11, 2016 [6 favorites]
Fortunately this is always smacked down pretty fiercely. You don't get to V14 and 5.15a with tiny fingers and a high strength:weight ratio. You get there with loads of talent, winning the genetic lottery, and fierce determination.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 1:00 PM on January 11, 2016 [6 favorites]
Ashima is absolutely from another planet - simply tremendous.
It's worth noting, though, that the New Yorker article states as fact that Open Your Mind Direct is a consensus 5.15a - this is actually very much under dispute. Within the climbing press - pretty much everyone reported it as a 'possible 5.15a.' (Even at 5.14d, though, it's obviously still a tremendous achievement.)
posted by kickingtheground at 1:05 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's worth noting, though, that the New Yorker article states as fact that Open Your Mind Direct is a consensus 5.15a - this is actually very much under dispute. Within the climbing press - pretty much everyone reported it as a 'possible 5.15a.' (Even at 5.14d, though, it's obviously still a tremendous achievement.)
posted by kickingtheground at 1:05 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Fortunately this is always smacked down pretty fiercely. You don't get to V14 and 5.15a with tiny fingers and a high strength:weight ratio. You get there with loads of talent, winning the genetic lottery, and fierce determination.
Tiny fingers and a high strength:weight ratio are pretty damn helpful, though. Unless you think she (or any other world-class climber) could do just as well while wearing thick gloves and a weight vest. Young children and other small-framed people also have the advantages of a center-of-mass closer to the wall, bouncing back from falls more easily (youth plus less force imparted on the body), and generally recovering faster.
I don't downplay her accomplishments at all. It's not as though any other young climbers can climb at her level, and the vast majority can't climb anywhere close to it. But physics and the icy grip of time will catch up to her eventually. It will be interesting to see if she continues to excel at that same rarified level or is "merely" world-class.
posted by jedicus at 1:08 PM on January 11, 2016 [4 favorites]
Tiny fingers and a high strength:weight ratio are pretty damn helpful, though. Unless you think she (or any other world-class climber) could do just as well while wearing thick gloves and a weight vest. Young children and other small-framed people also have the advantages of a center-of-mass closer to the wall, bouncing back from falls more easily (youth plus less force imparted on the body), and generally recovering faster.
I don't downplay her accomplishments at all. It's not as though any other young climbers can climb at her level, and the vast majority can't climb anywhere close to it. But physics and the icy grip of time will catch up to her eventually. It will be interesting to see if she continues to excel at that same rarified level or is "merely" world-class.
posted by jedicus at 1:08 PM on January 11, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm enjoying this article (still reading the print edition) but have started thinking about sharing it on my friend's FB pages with the intro "Yes, You Are Failing As A Parent (And Your Children Suck)"
posted by stevil at 1:12 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by stevil at 1:12 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
There's a lot to unpack in the article and it's a really interesting read. One of the things that struck me is that it's a pretty well written article about rock-climbing.
posted by Gronk at 1:16 PM on January 11, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Gronk at 1:16 PM on January 11, 2016 [4 favorites]
Ashima isn't the first young woman to be pushing climbing standards, but she's probably the most gifted (in her chosen disciplines anyway). I agree that it will be very interesting to see how her climbing changes over the years. Young male phenoms come along regularly, and there are many examples where they disappear after a while either by choice, due to injury, or other factors. There are also many examples where they emerge as among the best climbers of their generation (Sharma and Ondra are the obvious examples).
There are fewer examples of young female phenoms who stay at the top of the game for a prolonged period. The top female climbers of the past (Lynn Hill, Bobbi Bensman, Robyn Ebersfield) mostly became great when they were already older than Ashima is now. Youngsters like Katie Brown, who occupied a similar position to Ashima in the collective imagination of the climbing world, have mostly exited the spotlight.
I'm sure I'm missing obvious examples and counter-examples, but I think it's fair to say that super young, super talented female climbers are breaking new ground in many ways. Ashima seems super cool and grounded and I'll be watching her career for sure.
Bonus: Ashima and Kai Lightner (who deserves his own post along with his mom) climbing together.
posted by that's candlepin at 1:31 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
There are fewer examples of young female phenoms who stay at the top of the game for a prolonged period. The top female climbers of the past (Lynn Hill, Bobbi Bensman, Robyn Ebersfield) mostly became great when they were already older than Ashima is now. Youngsters like Katie Brown, who occupied a similar position to Ashima in the collective imagination of the climbing world, have mostly exited the spotlight.
I'm sure I'm missing obvious examples and counter-examples, but I think it's fair to say that super young, super talented female climbers are breaking new ground in many ways. Ashima seems super cool and grounded and I'll be watching her career for sure.
Bonus: Ashima and Kai Lightner (who deserves his own post along with his mom) climbing together.
posted by that's candlepin at 1:31 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
I wonder what it's like to have that much grip strength. I just figured out how to open a bottle without having to ask for help all the time around 6 months ago /looks at hands/ Amazing.
posted by yueliang at 1:38 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by yueliang at 1:38 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
Oh, and I agree with Gronk. This is a well-written piece about climbing. Mainstream publications have a hard time describing the sport in simple terms and explaining the weird cultish slang, but this strikes a good balance.
posted by that's candlepin at 1:46 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by that's candlepin at 1:46 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
(speaking as a climber:)
Ashima has, with a doubt, the best smile in climbing. It's infectious, and I'm glad she's out there, crushing it, having so much fun, and spending some incredible time with her family.
Thank you, Ashima!
posted by alex_skazat at 1:52 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
Ashima has, with a doubt, the best smile in climbing. It's infectious, and I'm glad she's out there, crushing it, having so much fun, and spending some incredible time with her family.
Thank you, Ashima!
posted by alex_skazat at 1:52 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
I would like to (less sarcastically this time) suggest that having children attempt major achievements in dangerous sports has ended badly for them many times in the past. Furthermore, child sports stars are often the result of unsavory practices by parents or coaches, and sometimes represent unhealthy obsession even when not. Should we really be supporting something like this?
posted by Mitrovarr at 2:00 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by Mitrovarr at 2:00 PM on January 11, 2016
The type of climbing she's doing is no more dangerous than any number of sports that we support kids doing: gymnastics, football, (never mind actual dangerous things like BMX and skateboarding). With modern crashpads, ropes, bolts, belay devices etc modern climbing really isn't very dangerous. You'll have to read the article to get a measure of her parent's unsavoriness, or lack thereof.
posted by Flashman at 2:25 PM on January 11, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 2:25 PM on January 11, 2016 [7 favorites]
Should we really be supporting something like this?
Absent evidence of stage-parenting, "this" sounds like an argument against youth sports in general.
posted by rhizome at 2:26 PM on January 11, 2016 [6 favorites]
Absent evidence of stage-parenting, "this" sounds like an argument against youth sports in general.
posted by rhizome at 2:26 PM on January 11, 2016 [6 favorites]
WRT The Olympics: Be careful what you wish for.
Apart from my general disdain for the IOC, I also don't see terribly many [adults] in the community clamoring to make the sport more competitive.
Apart from the risks that such a shift would introduce, the climbing community seems to pride itself on being friendly and accessible. Competition simply doesn't seem to be a motive for about 95% of the people that I've climbed with (a sentiment that is especially true among the better climbers that I know).
Admittedly, I'm told that the West Coast takes its climbing a bit more seriously, but I'm pretty consistently amazed at how uniformly nice and chill everybody in the climbing community seems to be. (I've met enough climbers to suspect that this isn't an anecdotal coincidence either)
I want more people to climb! But I also wouldn't mind if my weird little community stayed a weird little community.
I also have some concerns about the ability to set fair competition routes for adults.
Body type plays a huge factor in a person's climbing "abilities." Most climbers "compete" against themselves, because differences in height/weight/composition between two people can dramatically affect the difficulty of a particular route, without actually demonstrating a meaningful difference in the actual "skill" required to climb the route.
It would be very easy to set contrived routes that are difficult/impossible for people of a certain height/weight/composition.
That being said, I don't think that anybody is surprised that the best climber in the world is a 14-year-old girl of Asian descent. That seems to pretty much be the sweet-spot (although I would stress that this doesn't mitigate Ashima's accomplishments in the slightest!)
posted by schmod at 2:29 PM on January 11, 2016 [8 favorites]
Apart from my general disdain for the IOC, I also don't see terribly many [adults] in the community clamoring to make the sport more competitive.
Apart from the risks that such a shift would introduce, the climbing community seems to pride itself on being friendly and accessible. Competition simply doesn't seem to be a motive for about 95% of the people that I've climbed with (a sentiment that is especially true among the better climbers that I know).
Admittedly, I'm told that the West Coast takes its climbing a bit more seriously, but I'm pretty consistently amazed at how uniformly nice and chill everybody in the climbing community seems to be. (I've met enough climbers to suspect that this isn't an anecdotal coincidence either)
I want more people to climb! But I also wouldn't mind if my weird little community stayed a weird little community.
I also have some concerns about the ability to set fair competition routes for adults.
Body type plays a huge factor in a person's climbing "abilities." Most climbers "compete" against themselves, because differences in height/weight/composition between two people can dramatically affect the difficulty of a particular route, without actually demonstrating a meaningful difference in the actual "skill" required to climb the route.
It would be very easy to set contrived routes that are difficult/impossible for people of a certain height/weight/composition.
That being said, I don't think that anybody is surprised that the best climber in the world is a 14-year-old girl of Asian descent. That seems to pretty much be the sweet-spot (although I would stress that this doesn't mitigate Ashima's accomplishments in the slightest!)
posted by schmod at 2:29 PM on January 11, 2016 [8 favorites]
Climbing is somewhat unique, as most injuries/accidents are preventable, rather than being inherent to the sport. Climbing safely does not require split-second decisions or instincts. "Freak accidents" are extremely rare, and generally only happen after a climber has made several stupid mistakes.
posted by schmod at 2:37 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by schmod at 2:37 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
The lede article is a great read, although it makes me want a longer-form DFW piece.
Ashima is insanely talented and I hope she continues to shred.
posted by a halcyon day at 4:54 PM on January 11, 2016
Ashima is insanely talented and I hope she continues to shred.
posted by a halcyon day at 4:54 PM on January 11, 2016
Climbing skill seems pretty subjective and there's 100 different ways to do it, not that she's not awesome. But it'd be pretty hard to develop an Olympic sport in climbing without having judges like figure skating or something.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:18 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:18 PM on January 11, 2016
The type of climbing she's doing is no more dangerous than any number of sports that we support kids doing
Right, modern gyms are pretty accident proof. I've been several times and fallen off the wall, because 6'5, 200lbs with giant feet is less than ideal for climbing, and it's almost impossible to get hurt using the ropes, and the fall pads would take some kind of freak event to cause anything more than a sprain.
It's not like she's out there competing with Alex Honnald. Completely different things.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:23 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Right, modern gyms are pretty accident proof. I've been several times and fallen off the wall, because 6'5, 200lbs with giant feet is less than ideal for climbing, and it's almost impossible to get hurt using the ropes, and the fall pads would take some kind of freak event to cause anything more than a sprain.
It's not like she's out there competing with Alex Honnald. Completely different things.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:23 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
I feel totally gauche asking this about this cool, accomplished, brilliant kid, but I'm totally fascinated by the question of who is paying for all of this. I assume there's a lot of family money coming from somewhere, because I can't figure out how they're affording their $750-a-month loft, let alone private school tuition.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:42 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:42 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
I was a bit glib in dismissing the dangers inherent in climbing. Even gym climbing puts you in situation where if something in your safety system is wrong, you can die or be badly hurt. You can neglect to tie the rope in properly (as happened to a/the top American climber back in the late 80s in France; only hitting some tree branches on the way down saved her life); you can fall out of an ill-fitting harness; your belayer can misthread their belay device. Any kid Ashima's age is going to need close supervision to make sure they're doing things right, that they build up the right experience and reinforce the right practices.
There was a terrible accident in the last couple of years when a young Italian climber, with something approaching Ashima's ability and fame, borrowed his friend's quickdraws (an assemblage of two carabiners connected by a short length of strong nylon webbing, which you clip between the bolts and the rope as you progress upwards) to lead a sport climb. Reaching the top, he put his weight on the rope and quickdraws to be lowered back to the ground, and fell to his death. The friend had assembled the quickdraws incorrectly, attaching the carabiner to the webbing with a rubber band that is intended to bind the 'biner tightly to the webbing not to hold any weight: each one snapped in rapid succession as he leaned back onto the rope.
posted by Flashman at 5:58 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
There was a terrible accident in the last couple of years when a young Italian climber, with something approaching Ashima's ability and fame, borrowed his friend's quickdraws (an assemblage of two carabiners connected by a short length of strong nylon webbing, which you clip between the bolts and the rope as you progress upwards) to lead a sport climb. Reaching the top, he put his weight on the rope and quickdraws to be lowered back to the ground, and fell to his death. The friend had assembled the quickdraws incorrectly, attaching the carabiner to the webbing with a rubber band that is intended to bind the 'biner tightly to the webbing not to hold any weight: each one snapped in rapid succession as he leaned back onto the rope.
posted by Flashman at 5:58 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Well, and then I realized that 99 percent of climbing is falling, and that you might consider failure. And that means I just fall on my butt, over and over and over again. And that success -- that's only one percent. Yeah. It's so worth it. At the end, it's so worth it. (@4:55 into this vid)
Ashima Shiraishi
A great teacher
posted by dancestoblue at 5:59 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ashima Shiraishi
A great teacher
posted by dancestoblue at 5:59 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's not like she's out there competing with Alex Honnald . Completely different things.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:23 PM on January 11
Exactly right. They are completely different things. She is in gyms, and bouldering. Alex is on walls.
She's not trying to be Alex Honnald. She's succeeding at being Ashima Shiraishi.
EDIT: I stand corrected by ArbitraryAndCapricious -- thx.
posted by dancestoblue at 6:06 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:23 PM on January 11
Exactly right. They are completely different things. She is in gyms, and bouldering. Alex is on walls.
She's not trying to be Alex Honnald. She's succeeding at being Ashima Shiraishi.
EDIT: I stand corrected by ArbitraryAndCapricious -- thx.
posted by dancestoblue at 6:06 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
I don't think that was meant as a criticism of her abilities, dancestoblue. It was meant as a rebuttal of the idea that we shouldn't be supporting her because climbing is too dangerous.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:08 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:08 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
Climbing is the best!
I do my thing at a local gym that also trains the local kids' team. Those little fuckers are unreal - scampering up 5.12s while I'm like, totally stymied by 5.10+s, even after years of practice. It's fun to watch.
posted by ph00dz at 6:37 PM on January 11, 2016
I do my thing at a local gym that also trains the local kids' team. Those little fuckers are unreal - scampering up 5.12s while I'm like, totally stymied by 5.10+s, even after years of practice. It's fun to watch.
posted by ph00dz at 6:37 PM on January 11, 2016
I'm glad Katie Brown was mentioned in the thread. She was on-sighting at age 15 5.14 back before there were scouted 5.15 climbs.
posted by persona au gratin at 6:46 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by persona au gratin at 6:46 PM on January 11, 2016
Re: the Italian climber who died-- you really do rely on your partners for your life. Obviously so with a belay, but also in their gear placement, quality of gear, and knots.
Thanks for posting on Ashima. She's incredible!
posted by persona au gratin at 6:51 PM on January 11, 2016
Thanks for posting on Ashima. She's incredible!
posted by persona au gratin at 6:51 PM on January 11, 2016
Climbing skill seems pretty subjective and there's 100 different ways to do it, not that she's not awesome. But it'd be pretty hard to develop an Olympic sport in climbing without having judges like figure skating or something.
There's already an International Federation of Sport Climbing which provides a structured competition series (World Cup), so the, "how are they going to judge this all?" isn't a big huge unknown:
A route is set, and you climb the route. Whoever gets the farthest up the route, wins. If there's a tie, whoever did better in qualifiers wins. Climb it any way you want. It's not, "Artistic climbing", or anything, where you have to make a routine up.
Living in Boulder, competition climbing is sort of a big thing, but living in the USA, the pros aren't very well supported, when compared to their European brethren. The USA Pro Climbing team has to almost do bake sales to raise money to compete in the World Tour circuit. I see a lot of wunder kids that are supposed to be the next big thing in climbing - there's an entire gym just for them. There's a big burnout rate, where young crushers kinda just get bored with it, and want to move on and have a life outside of climbing. Climbing can really take up all your time, as progression can be an addictive thing.
As for safety: sport climbing indoors is pretty safe. The "scary" part is in your head, and a lot of books on how to climb better really teach you to just be OK with falling. All the equipment is rated many times more than you would see in the real world. Example: a modern bolt in a wall can hold up a car.
What does happen is operator error: you forget to tie in a knot. A lot of high profile climbers that have died in the past or very recently - example: Dan Osman, Dean Potter didn't die climbing, they died in various different ways of falling off cliffs. Lynn Hill had a serious accident, while being distracted on the top of a climb when she was retying her rope to her harness (she never finished).
Another area of accidents is rappelling - where you have to trust the system in place. People have accidents doing that, usually by rappelling off the end of a rope. It's not something you would see in a sports climbing competition though - you just get lowered.
Other accidents happen when you make impact with a various feature when falling - like a ledge. That's another thing that doesn't happen all that much in an indoor sport climbing competition.
posted by alex_skazat at 7:42 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
There's already an International Federation of Sport Climbing which provides a structured competition series (World Cup), so the, "how are they going to judge this all?" isn't a big huge unknown:
A route is set, and you climb the route. Whoever gets the farthest up the route, wins. If there's a tie, whoever did better in qualifiers wins. Climb it any way you want. It's not, "Artistic climbing", or anything, where you have to make a routine up.
Living in Boulder, competition climbing is sort of a big thing, but living in the USA, the pros aren't very well supported, when compared to their European brethren. The USA Pro Climbing team has to almost do bake sales to raise money to compete in the World Tour circuit. I see a lot of wunder kids that are supposed to be the next big thing in climbing - there's an entire gym just for them. There's a big burnout rate, where young crushers kinda just get bored with it, and want to move on and have a life outside of climbing. Climbing can really take up all your time, as progression can be an addictive thing.
As for safety: sport climbing indoors is pretty safe. The "scary" part is in your head, and a lot of books on how to climb better really teach you to just be OK with falling. All the equipment is rated many times more than you would see in the real world. Example: a modern bolt in a wall can hold up a car.
What does happen is operator error: you forget to tie in a knot. A lot of high profile climbers that have died in the past or very recently - example: Dan Osman, Dean Potter didn't die climbing, they died in various different ways of falling off cliffs. Lynn Hill had a serious accident, while being distracted on the top of a climb when she was retying her rope to her harness (she never finished).
Another area of accidents is rappelling - where you have to trust the system in place. People have accidents doing that, usually by rappelling off the end of a rope. It's not something you would see in a sports climbing competition though - you just get lowered.
Other accidents happen when you make impact with a various feature when falling - like a ledge. That's another thing that doesn't happen all that much in an indoor sport climbing competition.
posted by alex_skazat at 7:42 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
For me the serious injury came not from a single incident, but the accumulated wear on finger joints. Now in my 40s I find myself unable to play anymore.
posted by humanfont at 10:39 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by humanfont at 10:39 PM on January 11, 2016
My kids Boulder (nothing like Ashima) and it is great for them in ways other sports just weren't. It's a bit nerdy and internal but also you're hanging out with other kids between tries. And to watch the progression as they figure out a route, by the time they top it there's real grace.
Lately the whole 'competition' thing has started to take off and I had a long conversation with the guy who runs the gym. He's old like me (damn near 50) and his experience of climbing is one based outside, on rocks - you come inside because you have to, not because you want to.
A little while ago I saw this great video that shows the difference between climbers and the limits of brute strength. The reality-tv style is a bit annoying but what it shows is impressive. A day at the gym with Tommy Caldwell, Hazel Findlay, Emily Harrington and Alex Magos
posted by From Bklyn at 2:05 AM on January 12, 2016
Lately the whole 'competition' thing has started to take off and I had a long conversation with the guy who runs the gym. He's old like me (damn near 50) and his experience of climbing is one based outside, on rocks - you come inside because you have to, not because you want to.
A little while ago I saw this great video that shows the difference between climbers and the limits of brute strength. The reality-tv style is a bit annoying but what it shows is impressive. A day at the gym with Tommy Caldwell, Hazel Findlay, Emily Harrington and Alex Magos
posted by From Bklyn at 2:05 AM on January 12, 2016
I assume there's a lot of family money coming from somewhere, because I can't figure out how they're affording their $750-a-month loft, let alone private school tuition.
$750/month is crazy cheap for New York, especially the size of apartment they have. There may be a scholarship involved in her schooling. Her mom makes their clothes; I'm guessing they live a relatively ascetic lifestyle. I don't find it hard to believe that they're living off of her mothers' income alone, given the details portrayed in the story.
These days, her sponsorships probably help out, too.
posted by explosion at 5:27 AM on January 12, 2016 [4 favorites]
$750/month is crazy cheap for New York, especially the size of apartment they have. There may be a scholarship involved in her schooling. Her mom makes their clothes; I'm guessing they live a relatively ascetic lifestyle. I don't find it hard to believe that they're living off of her mothers' income alone, given the details portrayed in the story.
These days, her sponsorships probably help out, too.
posted by explosion at 5:27 AM on January 12, 2016 [4 favorites]
She's sponsored by a whole slew of outdoor brands. They'll fund her trips to the various world climbing hotspots, with the understanding being that she'll use their gear or clothes and will have photographers/videographers, and if they're really lucky New Yorker writers, around when she does her thing.
posted by Flashman at 5:58 AM on January 12, 2016
posted by Flashman at 5:58 AM on January 12, 2016
Yeah. I really liked the part where the NY Times described their $750 2,000 ft2 apartment in midtown Manhattan like it's living in squalor.
That's a deal that even the cast of Friends would have been jealous of.
posted by schmod at 6:32 AM on January 12, 2016
That's a deal that even the cast of Friends would have been jealous of.
posted by schmod at 6:32 AM on January 12, 2016
> I really liked the part where the NY Times described their $750 2,000 ft2 apartment in midtown Manhattan like it's living in squalor.
Not Midtown, the garment district!
With that New York nitpick out of the way: great article, thanks for posting it!
posted by languagehat at 8:41 AM on January 12, 2016
Not Midtown, the garment district!
With that New York nitpick out of the way: great article, thanks for posting it!
posted by languagehat at 8:41 AM on January 12, 2016
Great article. Youth climbing teams in the US are really coming into their own with dedicated facilities and great coaching. These crush-beasts will be doing some amazing things. Financially, the US has a long way to go. Two friends of mine recently won the US World Cup in speed ice climbing. The purse was $750. So their world cup tour (in South Korea this week!) is pretty much self-funded.
Here's a shout-out to one of my favorite young climbers crushing it in Yosemite. The video itself is really nice because it really shows her struggle on the wall. Emily Harrington on Golden Gate.
posted by misterpatrick at 9:00 AM on January 12, 2016
Here's a shout-out to one of my favorite young climbers crushing it in Yosemite. The video itself is really nice because it really shows her struggle on the wall. Emily Harrington on Golden Gate.
posted by misterpatrick at 9:00 AM on January 12, 2016
I'd really like to see video of the climb at Heist described in the article.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 3:51 PM on January 12, 2016
posted by vibratory manner of working at 3:51 PM on January 12, 2016
I see in the article where they refer to the family's rent-controlled loft, but where does the $750 figure come from?
(If one had such a place, one could hold on to it for dear life and AirBnB it for $750 a night!)
posted by theorique at 3:04 AM on January 13, 2016
(If one had such a place, one could hold on to it for dear life and AirBnB it for $750 a night!)
posted by theorique at 3:04 AM on January 13, 2016
This part:
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:56 AM on January 13, 2016
The Shiraishis’ loft is in the garment district, five flights up in an old sewing factory. The elevator is ancient and balky, and so the family walk up and down. The apartment is two thousand square feet: seven hundred and fifty dollars a month.I imagine that sixth-floor lofts in the garment district were pretty cheap when the Shiraishis moved to New York in the late 70s.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:56 AM on January 13, 2016
Video of the 2015 'heist' competition.
The editing isn't so smooth but you can see the (almost)uncanny stillness of her climbing.
posted by From Bklyn at 7:27 AM on January 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
The editing isn't so smooth but you can see the (almost)uncanny stillness of her climbing.
posted by From Bklyn at 7:27 AM on January 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
That was very cool. And thanks to everyone who shared videos in the comments. She's a joy to watch.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:46 PM on January 13, 2016
posted by jacquilynne at 9:46 PM on January 13, 2016
I imagine that sixth-floor lofts in the garment district were pretty cheap when the Shiraishis moved to New York in the late 70s.
Ah, thanks. I was Ctrl-F'ing for the digits, not the fully spelled out number! I'd love to have a 2000 square foot place in NYC for so cheap. So many opportunities!
Back on topic: this girl is an amazing climber and wonderful to watch in motion. It's also remarkable, for this sport, that she originated from Manhattan rather than from somewhere like California or New Mexico!
posted by theorique at 3:25 AM on January 14, 2016
Ah, thanks. I was Ctrl-F'ing for the digits, not the fully spelled out number! I'd love to have a 2000 square foot place in NYC for so cheap. So many opportunities!
Back on topic: this girl is an amazing climber and wonderful to watch in motion. It's also remarkable, for this sport, that she originated from Manhattan rather than from somewhere like California or New Mexico!
posted by theorique at 3:25 AM on January 14, 2016
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posted by filthy light thief at 12:51 PM on January 11, 2016