What You Are Touching Now—A Route Setter, 2024, 2-channel video, color, sound, 11min
Commissioned by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Last year, I happened to meet route setters preparing for the “2023 IFSC Seoul Sports Climbing Youth World Championships” at the Seoul Mountain Culture Experience Center. Route setters did not design their routes by drawing on a desk and then installing them. Instead, they repeatedly fell at the climbing wall, moved around at the bottom, adjusted their positions, and then climbed up to remove and move bolts. It was a site of performance, where they repeatedly experimented and practiced through their bodies how to fall, how to defy gravity, and how to climb. The difference from rock climbing is that you can fall infinitely. Therefore, the floor is made of a strong sponge about 30cm thick. There were a total of 12 route setters preparing for the competition, including a manager, and they seemed to have come from various countries around the world. There were two women, and one of them, Maragda, a route setter from Spain, kindly allowed filming.
Although route setters are non-regular employees, they are the dream job of all climbers. It is one of the few jobs that allows you to earn money through climbing, but only those who are skilled(?) at climbing can do it. Route setters use their own bodies to set routes of various difficulty levels and styles so that climbers can practice their skills and challenge themselves. Therefore, they must develop creative and innovative routes.
Each route is designed like a puzzle, and climbers ascend by solving it. Route setter seeks out various problem-solving methods to ensure climbers have an enjoyable and challenging experience. Of course, she may need to improve the routes based on climbers' feedback. Climbing techniques and equipment are constantly evolving, so route setter must continuously learn about the latest trends and technologies and incorporate it into her designs. Route setter does more than just set routes; she plays a crucial role in enriching the climbing community's experience and providing new challenges. In the above sentence, “route setter” can be replaced with “artist.”