Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

At the Rocodrome

Eneko Akarregi is the protagonist of our sport today. He is a climber and climbing technician, but in addition to walking up the wall, he is developing his thesis on ethnomotricity at the University of the Basque Country. Motor skills or body movements have an absolute relationship with the habits and education of a society, and this is what ethnomotricity studies. Among other things, the cultural context in which each sporting activity takes place. In fact, sport is a mirror of the characteristics of society.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: In the Basque Country there is a lot of appetite for climbing, mountain climbing... On the part of the Rocodromes, how is the Basque Country equipped? Are there many? Do they need more?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: Well, it's a lot of questions one after another. There are rocodromes, and more and more. People want to climb the climb. And so, in many places, they are expanding their rocodromes and making new ones. After all, part of the training is done at the rocodrome. Not reluctantly, but it is usually preferred to work on the rock, and the rocodrome is used to improve the season.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: Is there a big difference in rock or climbing in an artificial space like this?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: After all, a rocodrome is a technological place where rock climbing and climbing on the rocodrome is completely different. They cannot be compared.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: Is the technique different?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: Especially the technique of interpretation. Here a person can get very physically strong and then guess on the rock; there is a transfer. But when you climb the rock, when you see the environment for the first time, you have to interpret it. And that doesn’t happen here. At the Rocodrome you have a grip here, the next one there...

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: They are also very remarkable.

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: Yes, I'll follow these colors and that's it. There's nothing like that on the rock. You are asking: “Where’s a grip?” and following that question you’ll climb step by step.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: Now that you’ve mentioned handles, what materials do they usually come from?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: They are made of resin and sand. The first rocodromes here were made of wood. At present, the production process of these is highly developed, and most of them are made of this material.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: They have a rough texture, don't they? Similar to the rock.

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: More than hard, that is, they seek to be similar to the rock. Don't be too different from the rock when you grab it. And a little bit of roughness to get stuck in it. One of the techniques is adhesion, which should also be taken advantage of in the rocodrome to have similar sensations of rock climbing.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: How are the handles fixed to the wall?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: The handles are usually fixed with a screw. All the handles are provided with a hole and are fastened with a screw of the same dimensions. They are prepared for this: they have a small ring in the hole, a small washer to hold the wall with more force. There are other smaller handles that, like these, are attached to the wall with gables. And this allows the placement of other types of handles. On top of that, there are other large handles like this one. Other small handles can be placed on it. The way this has been put, the other can be put in place, so that we have different options to change the size and shape of the handle.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: How many steps, movements, do you need to complete a path in the competition?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: There are different championships. In Boulder the movements are fixed: at least three and at most twelve. It should be noted that they walk at a low height, which ranges from 3 to 6 meters. But in difficulty tournaments you can climb up to 15-16 meters, and how many steps do you need there? Well, as much as the wall gives.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: And the climbers are bound?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: We have to separate there, too. Boulder operators use a safety mattress, as they fall from a low altitude...

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: Then they don't have a rope.

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: That's what it is. Those who climb the wall, yes, carry the harness and tie it to the harness, the rope, to ensure safety.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: How do you make a journey more difficult? What factors are taken into account?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: There are five variables that the equipper takes into account. The sense of difficulty is internalized, but it has five variables to use. One, the inclination of the wall. Since the inclination of this wall is greater than that of this rear wall, the difficulty will be greater. We'll have to exert more strength to contain it. The second variable is the distance between the handles. The greater the distance, the more explicit, the stronger the movement will have to be in order to move from one to the other. And that increases the difficulty. The third is the direction, that is, whether the direction from one handle to the other is upward, to the algae... the angle is one of the components of the path. The fourth is the size of the grip: the smaller it is, the more it will cost to grip it. This one, for example, can be matured very well; but this little one we have here will cost more to mature. This raises the difficulty. And finally, the shape of the handle. And that can’t be measured. All the others are measurable, but this is not. It can be of this shape (the shape in which the fingers penetrate), it can be of this shape in which the hand penetrates very well, or it can be of this other shape: here there is no specific place to grip, it is a blunt grip, the fingers cannot penetrate and the grip is also very different.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: It's more difficult.

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: That's what it is. These five variables are used.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: What if the height has a psychological effect?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: Of course, height has a psychological effect. When you make a very difficult move down here, about a meter or two, you're confident that you won't get hurt when you fall. Even 20 meters away you don’t have to hurt yourself, but you know that if you make a mistake you have a flight, you will be suspended from the rope, which has its effect.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: After all these explanations, one question remains unanswered: what is a climbing wall?

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: A climbing ground is, after all, a technological space for climbing. What we built as an alternative for when we are not able to climb on the rock. That's what it is.

NAGORE REMENTERIA; Elhuyar Foundation: Thank you very much, Eneko!

ENEKO AKARREGI; climbing technician: To you guys!