Peter Beal has responded to the growing commercialization of rock climbing with a post (and online article at Alpinist's site) suggesting we progress climbing not by legitimizing it commercially--the progression so often espoused by the young pros today--but by finding some new direction or point of growth--"a new vision of climbing"--outside the system.
While I'm sympathetic to any dislike of commercially inflected climbing, I am at the same time utterly dubious of positing some imaginary opposite: non-commercial climbing, climbing as art, soul-climbing, whatever. There is nothing in this world close to such a thing. It doesn't exist outside of a vague romantic longing from us privileged few rock climbers. And it only becomes a problem when this longing is couched and articulated in fancy enough terms to endear it to enough other climber-romantics.
The journey inwards isn't the prescription climbing needs. That journey to the "inner frontier" has long-since been co-opted by market interests anyway. Take the prototype of that narrative, the R/X-rated inward adventure, in both person and as corporate entity: Steve House and Patagonia. Their drivel is sickening, and yet their drivel sells Asian-made products like the newest snake oil never before seen.
Yet here I sit wearing Patagonia jeans. But that's the point: there's no way out, and there is not good excuse for climbing (no authentic foundation in other words, whether commercial, artistic, ascetic, etc.). I'll use the teenager concept reluctantly, but there's nothing outside of the oh-so dreaded "SYSTEM." We are the system.
Climbers should spend less time worrying about the soul of their sport/art/leisure pursuit and more time worrying about people who actually have problems. People with real problems don't get to choose whether to describe their climbing in more elevated terms. They don't even get to choose when they eat, or even if they'll eat. Now that's a problem.
