The penalizing of Adam Ondra for using magnesium at Czech sandstones areas is considered by many of the pro-chalk supporters as nonsense and to create an alibi for the Union. The reality is that in some sandstone areas in the Czech Republic chalk has been used for more than 20 years; among these areas is the Labak (Labe Valley, northern Bohemia) where the photos of Adam were taken. Not only do all the elite climbers use chalk, but nearly everybody who climbs there does too. It is considered as a big example of hypocrisy, because all Czech mountaineering union sponsored athletes climb there with chalk as well. In almost every photo of elite climbers in hard routes from Czech sandstone there is chalk, even in photos on the official union site www.horosvaz.cz http://www.horosvaz.cz/index.php?cmd=page&id=112. The prohibition of chalk was recently renewed in the climbing rules by the Union plenary assembly with the exception of the Moravian sandstone areas, where there is not a strong anti-chalk tradition (the chalk prohibition has never been implemented there). The Executive committee of the Union should have made a decision themselves about the use of chalk in the spring of 2007. But they didn't, and it was handed over to the members of the plenary assembly of the Union, which decided -without adequate and reasonable discussion- to keep the ban by roughly 2:1. Many of the delegates in the assembly represent climbing clubs which only have a few members who are still active and who really know what the situation in sandstone is today. The others are former climbers who are still members of the union for nostalgic reasons, who maybe climb three weekends a year. They would like to keep the ban on chalk because of nostalgia for the 'old days,' and as they don't climb much anymore so the ban no longer affects them. The anti chalk rule in Labak was created only by the climbing union; it is not limited by law or the rules of the national park itself. In other areas it is required even in the park's regulations; yet again the source of these rules is the climbing union. The conservationists say: If you say it is so in your rules, so we should put it even in our nature protection rules. The committee of Union punished Adam not for climbing with chalk, but because the photo of him climbing with chalk was published in the Internet media. Another curious thing has been reported that the committee decided to penalize Adam during an event with union sponsored athletes in Adrspach- the most traditional Czech area- where all of them climbed with chalk. Adrspach is one such area where chalk is prohibited not only by the union but even by the natural park regulation. The committee argued more against the portrayal of chalk usage in the media, instead of refusing it at all. Adam was punished (by the cutting of 1/10 of the Union subsidy which is about 300 Euros/year, so he lost about 30 E) but everybody from the committee knows that everybody climbs there with chalk. The reason they chose Adam was possibly because he the Czech's most famous climber right now. The incident has opened more intensive discussion between Czech traditionalists and modern active climbers who would like to compare their skills and the Czech’s charming sandstone areas with the rest of the World. Btw. Concerning Andreas Bindhammer climbing in the Labak valley, it was a week before the committee's decision. Andreas was informed about the situation in the valley, that according to the official climbing rules chalk should not be used there, but that the reality is that the climbing elite climbs hard routes with chalk. The day Andreas visited everybody was using it, even the Union sponsored athletes. Andreas just behaved like a normal person would do, that means he just followed the example of the locals.
|