Red Bull = FAIL

iFlip

iFlip

Active member
Red Bull has recently been sponsoring/pouring their time and energy into something decidedly not-rad. With all the awesome things Red Bull does for skiing, biking, and other extreme sports, this incident is a major transgression and a disgrace to the brand and what they promote. I thought I would spread word of this to the skiing community here on NS, to show a little of what Red Bull is doing that is not kosher.

In the rock climbing community (my other passion), Red Bull has been sponsoring a gifted climbed named David Lama, and his attempt to free one of the proudest lines (climbs) in the world - Cerro Torre in Patagonia. Cerro Torre could be thought of as the Chad's Gap of climbing. If you have heard of El Capitan in Yosemite, and understand how the climbing world revolves around it, then think of Cerro Torre as being the equivalent in a much more alpine, harder to reach, prouder destination.

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The Compressor Route, the prominent line on Cerro Torre, has always been an aid climb. Aid climbing is where hooks, pitons, bashies, etc, are used to reach the summit, in addition to the usual cams and stoppers. Gear is place, then pulled on, in an effort to move upward in areas where the rock is particularly difficult. Freeing a line is where one climbs a route without pulling on gear, doing all the moves "free." Gear is still placed, but only used in case of a fall.

Free climbing an aid line is a particularly proud accomplishment. Old aid routes have been freed on El Capitan, and all over the world. Freeing the Compressor Route would be like throwing a triple on Chad's Gap, times 10.

David Lama, media-hungry that he is, launched a MAJOR undertaking to free the Compressor Route, complete with porters, a film crew, etc last year. This was all funded by Red Bull. The problem is that Lama did not adhere to strict climbing protocols and ethics. He added many, MANY bolts to the route. Bolts are where one drills a hole into the rock, screws in a bolt, and attaches a hanger to it. Bolts are bombproof, and should only be used when all other options are exhausted. I can't think of a similar skiing analogy, but maybe it would be like using snowblades to spin a 2160, then claiming it as a ski trick.

Lama added 450 bolts to the Compressor Route. The film crew installed an additional 60 bolts just to film Lama. Not only did Lama blow up Chad's Gap, he blew up all of Alta. Upon leaving after the 2009/2010 season without a successful free ascent, Lama left large amounts of rope and gear on the route, a major no-no. This is littering, plain and simple. Instead of realizing their error, Red Bull has promoted Lama and his "project." Indeed, Lama is currently heading BACK to Cerro Torre, for another attempt, with full Red Bull sponsorship AGAIN!

This is one of the most hotly contested issues in the climbing world. There is almost 100% disagreement with Lama and his tactics. There have been numerous articles written, angry letters sent to both Red Bull and climbing magazines, but yet here he is, heading back to Patagonia. Two other teams are headed to the Compressor Route this year, with the same goal. However, they, like other climbers, will do so in a proud, respected style. Lama has, and still is, committing a sin, with the full and knowing help of Red Bull. Climbers have suggested a boycott of Red Bull. While this is impractical, people outside of the climbing world should at least be aware of what is going on. If you should feel so motivated, write a letter to Red Bull, letting them know that you do not approve, and that their energy and finances would be much better used elsewhere.

Related articles, should you wish to read more, can be found at:

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web10s/newswire-david-lama-compressor-bolts

http://blog.jasonkruk.net/2011/01/david-lama-to-rap-bolt-cerro-torre.html

http://kellycordes.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/cerro-torre-david-lama-and-red-bullshit/

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red bull is cool and all but not this. climbing is such and awesome sport but you should respect it just like skiing. but he is going to do what ever he wants to do because of his grip on the media. cant really do a hole lot except complain. nice find.
 
i feel like this isn't as much red bull's fault as it is lama's. as a sponsor, naturally they are going to be less educated about the sport than the pro is, and expect the pro to do the right thing.

they should more know about climbing courtesies and stuff so they did fuck up there, but lama should have never been a punk in the first place. if one of the world's best climbers is seems fine with it, it's understandable that they would go along with it.
 
Maybe he left his ropes and shit there because he knew he was coming back? lol. People do a lot worse things to the environment than leaving rope on a rock tho, or am I missing something here?
 
who's the climbing experts here... red bull or the person they're sponsoring? how the fuck can you be angry at red bull who's just giving money to someone they think is doing something awesome when the climber (who should know everything about ethics in climbing) is the one doing everything that pisses you guys off? if you're going to be pissed off at something, make sure you're putting your energy towards that right people because you are all coming off as insanely stupid people right now.
 
The issue is mainly the bolts. They are permanent changes to the route. Even if removed, they leave large scars. The Compressor Route is very popular among alpinists/climbers. Leaving his trash on the route provided a hazard/eyesore to those who ventured out to climb a (formerly) pristine alpine objective. The bolts truly are like blowing up Alta. Imagine the mountain that you most love, most enjoy, and have amazing memories from, being hugely changed forever, just to further the personal objective of one greedy ego-driven person. There is no other similar example in the entire history of climbing, save for possibly Wings of Steel, which received a similar outcry.

I do not blame Red Bull for sponsoring his initial endeavor. They did not know the levels to which he would stoop. What I blame Red Bull for is continuing his sponsorship, and sending him back there this year, after the thousands of letters that the climbing community wrote, explaining in detail why what Lama is doing is wrong. Red Bull's endeavor to gain a solid foothold in the climbing community through Lama's project backfired in the most epic way possible. They needed to apologize, apologize, and find something else to make up for this, rather than continuing the rape of Cerro Torre, and the values upon which climbing is built.
 
when it all comes down to it, redbull is just trying to get money. what do you expect from a company that big?
 
shits fucked up, i dk what either lama or red bull was thinking my bassically trashing the place. Thats not what climbing is about.
 
OP, while I am not big in the climbing world and agree that excess damage to the route should not be done simply to complete it, your information is misleading. Reread the http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web10s/newswire-david-lama-compressor-bolts story and you'll see that the initial 450 bolts were placed by a totally different attempt in the 70's, and redbulls team only placed the 60 required for filming the attempt. As well it states that afterwards redbull hired a team to go and remove the hardware, leaving only a minimal amount of gear to complete the filming the next season.
 
lama is just not looking out for any one else but him self which is a dick thing to do any ways.
you see the same thing in the back country you hike 15 or so miles to a remote place to camp and ski but when you get there you see wrappers left behind or names carved in trees some times it jut makes you cry.
 
Thanks mac!

That's a big difference than what OP said, it sounds like Red Bull was a little lazy cleaning up but not THAT bad. 60 bolts to film that route really isn't that many, not surprising at all. If they actually left gear so they could film next year(not sure why they would leave rope though) then I don't think they really did any big wrong, they mostly shouldn't have left rope on the route.
 
I don't know anything really about climbing but it seems to me like its more on Lama than Red Bull.

On a similar note, nothing pisses me off more than to build a jump in the bc, let it sit overnight to harden, and come back the next day to some bombed-ass landing because someone snaked the jump you built. Really really frustrating.
 
My error, I apologize. You are correct, Lama added only 60 or so bolts to the route. This is still a huge number of bolts, and they were not all for the film crew. Many were to aid Lama in his effort to free the route, and out of laziness. Many of these bolts have been chopped by other climbers in the past year, and as evidenced by photo records and testimonials, bolts were places right next to natural gear placements, which goes against one of the golden rules of climbing. The other major problem with these bolts is that many, possibly most/all were placed on rappel. This is another golden rule of climbing being broken. I can think of no similar skiing analogy, but this is like cheating on your medical boards, or fabricating your dissertation. Essentially Lama was "building" the route to be the way he wanted, to suit him and his goals. Countless climbers had climbed past his bolt placements in the past with no problem.

While Lama/Red Bull did hire a crew to remove some of the gear, two haulbags were left in place, as well as a rope. This is not a minimal amount of gear. Lama is continuing to commit a travesty, and Red Bull is aiding and abetting.
 
I haven't done enough ice climbing to know a whole lot about it. But to be honest I don't understand free climbing, soloing, speed climbing, etc. I know that doing things the more difficult way can make an accomplishment that much more rewarding, but when compared to the enhancement of risk it creates, I know I couldn't justify it. I know plenty of people who can and do, and I respect the hell out of em, but fuck I've got friends and family.
 
This analogy is easy. It is exactly the same as skiing, which is probably why I love it so much. The progression is the same. You ski park, right? (logical assumption) Do you just straight air each jump, or do you add in a spin? A grab? How about going inverted? Every one of these increases the risk....and the reward.

Climbing is the same. It is as safe or as dangerous as you make it. Climbing in general, regardless of the grade, is fairly safe. If you and your partner know what you are doing, understand rigging, the different forces, etc, there is not a tremendous amount of risk.

Soloing is a whole different ballgame, and one I will not get into here. It is practiced by a select few, who crave a serious dose of adrenalin, and are willing to lay it all on the line. The different difficulties lead to different risks and presumed rewards, but for this discussion soloing is unimportant.

Skiing, especially park with inverts, is in general more dangerous than climbing. Larger alpine objectives fall into a different category, especially high altitude mountaineering, and alpinism in general. Free climbing, whether trad or sport, as well as speed climbing, are not inherently unsafe. Even ice climbing is certainly not a suicidal sport.
 
I don't even understand why a rope was left behind. That's just lazy and poor form. Lama is way too into himself. I hate climbers that make the rest of us look bad.
 
oh I definitely agree with you man. I think that climbers in general calculate risk a great deal more than skiers do, and usually plan to avoid it. Skiing to me is different, there is no way to limit the risk, unless you just decide not to do the next most difficult thing, which would not be at all satisfying. With climbing, its like, if the protection is offered, why not use it?

 
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A petition was started today to show the companies sponsoring Lama's efforts that the climbing community does indeed care, and strongly disapproves. Signing the petition will automatically send emails to the CEO of Mammut Sports Group AG, La Sportiva S.p.A. (Italy), Red Bull GmbH, Red Bull Media House GmbH, and Lama's promotion agent.

The petition takes only about a minute to sign, so if you have read up on the issue and feel strongly enough, please take a moment to sign it. I will bump this thread a few times.

http://tinyurl.com/CerroTorrePetition

 
So lemme get this in ski terms. Simon dumont went to hit chads gap. Red bull builds chads gap out of garbage and litter from alta. Simon then does a 2160 on snowblades and claims it as a ski trick. Then he and red bull, both leave, whilst using bombs to blow up not only chads (garbage) gap, but all of alta itself? Does he then go on NS to claim?
 
and then afterwards both simon and redbull get to have a kinky orgy with all of the female (and attractive male) members of your immediate and extended family impregnating them ALLLLLL.

no idiot your analogy sucks.

and OP after actually reading the articles you posted this doesn't seem like a big deal at all. yes Lama is doing some "not bro" moves in terms on climbing, but guess what?

 
lol, exactly. Except you left out the part where Simon Dumont couldn't get enough speed because he's so short, so he installed two 1,000 HP fans to "blow" him over the gap, and the fans were so heavy that they couldn't be removed, so were left there forever (they even survived the explosion from the bombs).

The petition is at almost 600 strong, growing rapdily from 70 when I posted this the other day.
 
If you're gonna free the route - don't use bolts - end of story....

Especially where there is a monster crack on one pitch, which has a bolt line next to it.... can you say Retardedly Unethical.... that was placed by a previous attempt by an austrian team i believe (may be the 70's effort.... can't remember....)

 
It isn't just about the metal being in the rock. The big issue here is that he is going against the ethics of the sport. Think of it as someone who desperately wants to play for the Yankees, but he is not nearly good enough. To make up for this fact, he goes out and manufactures a 3 ft baseball glove, so that he can always catch the ball. Lama is lowing the game to his level, and leaving what he needs in place. This lowers it for everyone else, and these are permanent fixtures. Yes, bolts can (and will) be chopped, but permanent damage is done to the route, to the rock. Would you want the X Games to feature only boxes, not rails, simply because one athlete cannot perform as well on rails? There are no analogies that work perfectly for the skiing world, as our medium is renewable (snow), and rock is not, but I think you get the general idea.
 
That is so not red bull.

But seriously, sounds like a shitty deal. Have either redbull or the climber even acknowledged that the climbing community is so against what he did?
 
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In the words of Borat, "Great success! Very nice!" (make sexy time now?) Lama has succumbed to the overwhelming outcry from the climbing community (and very possibly sponsor requests) and abandoned his rap-bolting plans. He will now go ground-up, as he should. We will have to see how the film crew situation is handled, as well as his gear and equipment management. The petition has garnered over 1,000 signatures in the short time it has been up. Lama issued a press release, which led to an article.

http://rockandice.com/news/1334-lama-has-abandoned-his-rap-bolting-plans-on-cerro-torre
 
GAHHHHHH YOU SCUFFED MY ARC'TRYX.

I'LL MAUL YOU WITH MY SUBARU OUTBACK.

I'M HUNGRY. MMMMMMM GRANOLA.

LET'S GO BLOG ABOUT HOW MANY TECHNICAL PEAKS WE SKINNED UP AND TELEMARKED DOWN.
 
Obviously the rock will never heal permanently. The damage caused to the rock is completely irreversible, and it will most likely die now, and no other climbers will ever have a chance to climb it.

Not to mention the intense radiation that is emitted from the special fibers used in ropes and the alloys used in the bolts. If left long enough, they can cause the death of the rock even faster.
 
fuck Lama, Red Bull should support Tommy Caldwell and all his projects on El Cap. Im sure he needs some money
 
Updates on this issue:

102 bolts chopped by Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk - http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web12w/newswire-compressor-kennedy-kruk-flash?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+alpinist%2FEFcn+%28Alpinist+Newswires%29

Lama frees the Compressor Route (kind of, mostly a new line) - http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web12w/newswire-update-compressor?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+alpinist%2FEFcn+%28Alpinist+Newswires%29

From Lama's blog:

"I can't believe it… For more than three years I was driven by the idea of freeclimbing the Compressor route on Cerro Torre and now this dream has become true!

My partner Peter Ortner and I started on January 19th from El Chalten and hiked in to Nipo Nino, our first camp. The next morning we climbed up to the Col de la Paciencia, rested there for a few hours and then started our attempt at around 1pm.

We climbed to the start of the Bolt Traverse, but instead of turning right, we went straight up on the technically difficult arete, a few meters left of the Salvaterra crack. I took a couple of falls, until I figured out the right sequence and then was able to send the pitch on my second try from the belay. A few pitches higher we reached the Iced Towers, where we picked a small ledge into an icefield to bivi.

Early the next morning we climbed to the start of the headwall. The fact that Hayden and Jason had chopped Maestri’s bolts a couple of days ago made my endeavour even more challenging, especially mentally as the protection was poor and I had to do long run outs. Climbing on hollow and loose flakes we followed the original Compressor route for three pitches. About 20 meters below the compressor we traversed to the right and then reached a system of cracks and corners that lead us to the summit. Climbing the route in alpine style took us 24 hours from the Col.

To me this first free ascent of the south east ridge of Cerro Torre is the end to the probably greatest adventure I experienced in my life so far. I’m especially proud having it done without adding any bolts. I learned a lot during the past years and climbing in this amazing mountain range has simply been great. Realizing dreams – it couldn’t be any better!"
 
so on the second climb(if i comprehend), he made do with the ten million bolts he had already placed? good man.
 
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