What Makes Climbs So Hard and Routesetting at the Olympics

Welcome to Behind The Wall, a weekly newsletter published every Saturday.

Each week, I highlight the favourite things I’ve watched, read and listened to from the world of indoor and competition climbing. I also keep track of what climbing competitions are coming up and where you can buy tickets.

The Koper World Cup concludes today, and the World Climbing Club returns to take us behind the scenes. We have a couple of videos looking at Japanese indoor climbing, and Jake Mason joins Hannah Morris to explore what makes climbs hard at each difficulty. We also had Olga Niemiec talk with Jack about climbing Curated and the route setting at the Olympics.

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Watch

Are climbing gyms in Japan really that hard? | Emil Abrahamsson. Emil Abrahamsson visits 5 different gyms in Japan to see if climbing gyms in Japan are really as hard as their reputation.
I Asked BPUMP Setters Why it’s So Hard? | Crispy Crimps. Crispy Crimps interviews two B-Pump routesetters, Aki and Hayato, about why B-Pump grades are so hard and what grades they think beginner, intermediate, advanced and elite climb in Japan.
8 Levels of Indoor Rock Climbing Difficulty - Easy to Expert | Hannah Morris Bouldering. Jake Mason joins Hannah to break down what to expect at 8 different levels of climbing difficulty.
Chatting with Janja Garnbret and a lot more on day one! Koper 2024 | IFSC. The World Climbing Club returns to Slovenia. Matt interviews Janja Garnbret, goes on a grid walk and learns more about the World Belay course aimed at standardising belaying.

Read

How did the Paris 2024 Olympic Games impact Sport Climbing Athletes’ Instagram Following? | UKClimbing. Natalie Berry breaks down the impact of the Paris 2024 Olympics on sport climbing athletes' Instagram followings where Reza Alipour Shenazandifard gained over 1M followers, becoming one of 3 climbers with over 1M followers on Instagram (Alex Honnold and Adam Ondra are the other two).
Why Janja Garnbret Says Her Coach Makes Winning “Even Remotely Possible” | Climbing Magazine. John Burgman talks with Roman Krajnik, Janja Garnbret’s coach, about how he started coaching, what makes Janja special and the relationship between indoor and outdoor climbing.

Listen

Olga Niemiec | Climbing Curated. Olga talks to Jack about routesetting at the Olympics, the combined Boulder&Lead format, and fairness in climbing.
Allen Lactaoen, Brand New Athlete | That’s Not Real Climbing Podcast. Jini talks with Allen Lactaoen, who recently competed at the Innsbruck World Cup for Guam at 29 after starting climbing 6 years ago.

International Climbing Competition Tickets

The Olympics may be over, but there are plenty of climbing competitions left this year to follow. Here is a rundown of climbing competitions to watch out for the rest of the year.